Team17 and Ghost Town Games have absolutely outdone themselves with the wonderful addition of Overcooked! All You Can Eat to the Overcooked canon. This special edition boasts all the culinary chaos you could ever desire as it includes Overcooked, Overcooked 2, Overcooked multiplayer, and all additional DLC that has ever been released for the Overcooked games. The developers went the extra mile with the renewed optimizations as well, rebuilding Overcooked on the same engine as Overcooked 2 so that people are able to compete in multiplayer and co-op from the original game as well as the newer game. Did I mention that this game also has cross-platform multiplayer? So now you and any of your friends regardless of device will be able to whip up some mayhem in the kitchen.
Overcooked! All You Can Eat also recently implemented some new accessibility features and an “assist mode” in order to improve the quality of life for the players. The assist mode allows for players to have longer round timers, skip levels, or slow timeouts on recipes so that they can enjoy the experience of the puzzles without necessarily having the stress associated with it. Additionally, the developers implemented new color blindness settings, a scalable user interface, and dyslexic-friendly text. This game is designed in and out to be the most inclusive title it can possibly be by appealing to and catering to every possible audience, and they absolutely nail it.
I played a good amount of all the optional modes (Overcooked 1, 2, and arcade) and they all looked and played absolutely beautifully. The color palette is breathtaking with stunning, creamy colors and smooth environments that are just so aesthetically pleasing. The design of the environments and the levels themselves are phenomenal, with each level providing new challenges to the player and provoking them to create their recipes in the most efficient manner possible. Levels contain a plethora of obstacles and changing environments to keep players on their toes such as pedestrians walking through the kitchen area or moving platforms which shift depending on environmental events such as wind. Each level is about finding the optimal routine to complete the task, but it requires precise problem-solving skills, fine-tuned mechanics, and teamwork (if you have a teammate, that is). That’s not to say that it’s impossible for players to succeed without finding this efficiency sweet spot, it’s actually very plausible that anyone can succeed without finding said spot, it’s just all the more satisfying to truly solve the puzzle.
The music and general storyline of the games are an absolute treat as well, with quirky and silly humor sprinkled throughout the text-based dialogue as our hero chefs are challenged to fight the “UnBread” or “the Insatiable One” by providing them with necessary dishes. The chefs must hone their skills through the levels in order to defeat these big baddies and the puzzles are meant to train them to be the most elite chefs possible so that they may be up to the task. The background music cheerily bops along, keeping the player pepped up and ready to make some delicious dishes for their customers. The act of cooking is also incredibly satisfying as the player learns new recipes over time and is met with more and more tasks and ingredients to work with. Whether it’s chopping ingredients, cooking things in a pot, cooking on a stove, washing dishes, plating items, or serving up plates to go to the customers, the player’s mind must constantly be firing in anticipation of the next task. The game is fast-paced without feeling overwhelming (usually) and the satisfaction of figuring out how to operate on each level, move around the map, and manage time is unmatched in almost any other puzzle game I’ve had the privilege of playing.
I could not recommend this game enough for people who love co-op puzzle games as it was a total blast solo and with a friend. It’s fun and fast-paced in a refreshing way which, when accompanied with a humorous storyline, phenomenal game mechanics, and delightful graphics creates a holistic experience that only leaves the player wanting even more. The amount of content they’ve crammed into this game and the quality-of-life changes and optimizations that Team17 and Ghost Town Games have made to this edition make it an amazing entry into the puzzle-game and party-game genres and anyone who is a fan of these types of games should absolutely consider buying it.
Rating: 9/10
Check Out the Overcooked! All You Can Eat Trailer:
Overcooked! All You Can Eat is available digitally on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Steam.
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Related: Overcooked! All You Can Eat Now Out on Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One
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I've been playing video games since I got a Playstation 2 when I was about 5 or 6 years old. The original Star Wars: Battlefront series and the Spyro series initially ignited my interest in gaming, but it wasn't until I got older that I truly appreciated the subtle details that make video games such a unique form of entertainment. My favorite type of video game would have to be any lengthy and plot-driven open world game, with my favorite games of all time being Batman: Arkham City, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Assassin's Creed: Revelations, and Firewatch.
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