After completing a level in story mode, you’re bumped right back into the world map, which takes a few seconds to load, and have to enter the level again and wait through the level’s load screens yet again.

One issue for those trying to best their scores would be the obtrusion of load screens when trying to play the same level repeatedly. One star isn’t terribly difficult, even when playing solo, but getting three stars can be a challenge. Coins are earned when you serve each meal which translate to up to three stars at the end. New in this iteration is the addition of the throwing mechanic which can add to your speed.

Some stages have obstacles such as conveyor belts and moving counters that prevent you from getting from one place to another, adding to the frenzy. All actions are done with just a few buttons so there isn’t any sort of learning curve with the controls – you’ll pick them up quickly. You also can’t forget about cleaning dirty dishes and putting out fires in an emergency. Making each meal consists of chopping, frying and boiling ingredients and the real challenge is in coordinating the chefs to get all these tasks done as efficiently as possible. In single player or versus with two players, players switch back and forth between two chefs. In co-op play, each player controls one chef. Your goal is to either make as many of these meals as possible in story and arcade mode, or make more than the other team in versus mode. The core Overcooked gameplay remains the same as it has always been – two or four chefs are situated into a kitchen faced with a slew of orders. Overcooked 2 finally adds the online features which makes this a vastly enticing pick than the original – but if you’ve already played Overcooked, you won’t be seeing many new features in this iteration. Oddly enough, the original lacked any online functionality, so players without someone by their side missed out on this fantastic multiplayer experience. While it does have a single player mode, it is most suited for couch co-op as the gameplay was designed around two or more players working together. Released on the Switch last year and two years ago on other consoles, Overcooked is a delightful local multiplayer game in which players frantically work together to cook up different meals.

Overcooked 2 levels