Overcooked is the perfect relationship test folded into a video game
Find out just how well you work with others.
Even though vaccine programs are ramping up, it’s not quite time to get back to normality. You might still be going on Zoom dates or watching movies remotely with friends. Instead of doing those, might I suggest playing Overcooked together? You’ll learn so much more about each other in a few rounds of kitchen havoc than by watching The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in separate apartments.
My partner and I are big fans of the Overcooked series. They’re super fun, often-challenging co-op games that make Top Chef seem like a breeze.
Overcooked 2 and Overcooked: All You Can Eat (a remastered bundle of both games) have online co-op modes. Developer Ghost Town has added a cross-platform feature to the latter, which is wonderful. If your date has an PS5 (all the more reason to make things work out with them) and you have a Nintendo Switch, you can still play together. All You Can Eat has been available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S for a few months, and it came out this week on PS4, Xbox One, Switch and Steam.
For a long time, I’ve been telling anyone who’ll listen that Overcooked is a perfect relationship test. Granted, my partner and I have been together for over a decade, so I don’t really need a video game to tell me I’m often messy and not as communicative as I should be. But we get through the games.
We finish the levels, often with ease, and move onto the next challenge. When we encounter a difficult stage, we keep trying until we figure out the right system and plug away until we win. I may or may not get an earful for my clumsy habits and errant dashes, but we get there. We’re a team.
I wouldn’t recommend playing these games solo. Having to scoot back and forth between characters who are often separated in different parts of a kitchen is frustrating. You need someone you trust, even if it’s your four-year-old cousin.
The next time you ask someone out or plan a date night with your partner, ask them to play Overcooked with you. You’ll learn pretty darn quickly whether you’re meant to be.