Welcome to the Indie Spotlight! This will be a series of pieces done by myself when I find indies that I have enjoyed or have just completed that I think more people should know about. With that being said let’s dive in and talk about the first game to kick off this series.
Who are the Developers & Where Can I Buy it?Â
Overcooked is a game developed by Ghost Town Games and published by Team 17. Team 17 will sound familiar as they are responsible for the Worms franchise and many more different titles including one of my all-time favorites, The Escapists. Overcooked is available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC and Nintendo Switch. The game retails from $18.99 and lowers depending on your platform, it has been on sale for under $10 a few times and is also playable currently through Xbox Game Pass. This means there is no excuse for you not to own this awesome indie title
Gameplay
Overcooked is a co-op style cooking game, in which you can by yourself or with up to four friends can cook and assemble food. The game offers two primary modes. A two-player co-op campaign which you can play by yourself switching between two characters. As well as up to four player versus mode where you compete on who can make the most food. In the campaign portion of the game, the mechanics are quite simple to understand. You have a time limit and a certain quota to fill with each level. Depending on your end score, you will get a star ranking either one, two or three stars. Within each area, you must earn a certain amount of stars in order to progress to the next area. Sounds pretty straightforward right? Now comes one of the most fun aspects of the game, which is the level design, which is a strong mixture of brilliant and absolutely challenging in the later parts of the game. By the end of the campaign, you and your co-op partner have to make food like a well-oiled machine.
The game beautifully scales its difficulty, starting you off with very easy and straightforward standard kitchen levels. These then escalate into some very hard and intense levels that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end. The section of ice levels prove particularly difficult, because if you move to quickly you will find yourself sliding off the edge very quickly. With all these different variables it makes each level unique and fun, which will have you and your partner laughing (and maybe swearing a little) for hours! With cute and funny characters you can unlock this game bleeds charm and is genuinely one of the best co-op games that has come out this generation, especially in the indie genre. Now with all this information, you may not be convinced that this game is for you if you do not have a consistent co-op partner to play with. Have no fear, the developers did a fantastic job optimizing the controls so that you can play this game in single player while switching between two characters which adds its own unique challenge to the game itself.
A Good Showcase of Gameplay and Art Style
Negatives or Glitches?Â
I played around 20 hours into this game which included playing through the campaign twice and the DLC as well. I had no bugs or issues in any technical form, I played through the entire game on Xbox One. The only minor complaint I had with the game as a whole was that in certain levels where you needed the controls to be super precise in order to complete objectives in a timely manner. They sometimes felt too loose and sometimes if you didn’t approach a cutting board the right way, you would end up throwing the food on the floor or beside the cutting board even though it looked like you were perfectly lined up. A feature that would have been awesome added to the game would have been the ability to play this game co-op online with your friends. As it stands right now, it is a couch co-op title only, in a very similar style to Cuphead. With this being said though, those were my only two complaints and the lack of online co-op wasn’t a huge deal as my wife is my co-op gaming partner.
Summary
Whether you are a single-player gamer, or if you want to play a fun game in co-op with a friend, family member or spouse, Overcooked should be at the top of your list.
I hope you enjoyed the first Indie Spotlight feature, I hope to be doing more of these as there are many indie developers that deserve more attention that are making genuinely good games. Have an Indie game you think I should check out or feature? Let me know in the comments or tweet me @undead3xvi with your suggestions and thoughts!
