Time Management Review - Overcooked 2

Overcooked 2

Overcooked 2 was released in 2018 on most major gaming platforms. Up to 4 players cooperate to prepare meals in a variety of colorful and absurd restaurants. While players chop, cook, mix, and plate food, restaurants shift layout mid-stage, overcooked food catches fire, and obstacles appear in the kitchen. The game seems to be intentionally designed to overwhelm the player.

Each short-ordered meal has a timer, and tips (which translate to points) are correlated with each meal’s remaining time when delivered. Failing to complete a meal in time results in a penalty. Players complete as many meals as they can within the allotted time for each level, and their points are added up for a rating of 1-3 stars on completion.

Time Limitations

An onscreen timer in the corner indicates the remaining time, usually 3-4 minutes per stage. Each dish has its own timer, displayed in a queue at the top of the screen. Serving dishes quickly results in greater tip rewards.

Dishes sometimes require a time-sensitive ingredient, for example you may have to cook fish. A meter fills when it is cooked, but if left unattended, it catches fire. The player has to extinguish the fire, and cook a new fish from scratch, costing valuable time.

If the player falls behind, they are losing money on all dishes in the queue. This can be discouraging, since you are working harder to catch up for diminished rewards.

Skills and Resources

The dish queue gives the player the information they need to prepare dishes. In single player mode, the player controls 2 chefs and can swap between them to complete orders more efficiently. In Co-op mode, one chef can prepare ingredients while the other assembles them and serves them, for example. Chefs can drop ingredients on countertops to pass between each other, and throw raw ingredients over distances.

Alternative Time Factors

N/A

Difficulty and Engagement Level

It is not difficult to progress through Overcooked 2; players can relatively easily get 2 star ratings on stages. However, earning 3 star ratings is particularly challenging and requires high attention allocation. Many players may find this stressful.

The gameplay is highly engaging, and the controls are relatively simple to grasp. There are several active timers during gameplay, the overall stage timer and the timer for each dish. With the addition of fast-paced music and busy environments, this creates a tense atmosphere. Parts of the stage move and obstacles get in the way of the cooks’ movement. Overcooked ingredients can cause fires. If a player falls behind, their rewards start to diminish.

The game offers a practice mode. Players can cook as many dishes as they want without a time restraint.

Rewards

Performing well on a mission rewards you with a bright tune and a high star rating. You can earn up to 3 stars by reaching the required number of points. Points are earned based on tips. The player is shown the point values for each star before the level starts, so they have a goal in mind. Players are notified of tip bonuses when they finish a dish. Players earn new chefs to play as, which are bright and colorful human and animal characters.

Accessibility

Overcooked 2 is bright and cheerful and suitable for children, but may be too stressful for them to enjoy. It does not have special options for visual impairment. Overcooked 2 is available on most major game platforms, but not on mobile. It is $25.

Analysis

I played the first 7 levels of Overcooked 2 for this review, and did not feel compelled to play more. While the bright and colorful aesthetic is enticing and welcoming, the gameplay is overwhelming and stressful, and I felt more relieved than accomplished when a stage was complete. Critical reception of the game was generally positive, so I may be in the minority. I also played solo, while this game is designed for co-op play.

Players have a lot to manage. The UI, which has the stage timer and multiple meal timers active simultaneously. Swapping and preparing ingredients for meals, remembering which buttons to press, where ingredients, cutting boards, plates, and stoves are placed in a given stage, and dealing with shifting objects and obstacles. It’s an information overload. However, the game does not judge too harshly and allows easy progress through the main story. The practice mode is a welcome addition for players trying to get the hang of preparing the myriad dishes.

In regards to teaching time management skills, Overcooked 2 has limited potential. It teaches multitasking within high stress, short reward loops. There are no time management goals set outside the 3-4 minute stages. However, there are design elements here that could translate to other time management games. If the concept of short-term timed goals within a longer time limit were stretched out, this could be an effective way to teach time organization.

Practice Mode is a good idea for a time management game. Players may feel more capable of completing a goal within a set time or managing long term goals if they are able to first practice the necessary skills without a time constraint.

Overcooked 2 is an example of taking time limited design to its extreme. Games designed to teach time management skills could incorporate some of these elements with more relaxed limits, and not bombard the player with so many demands in the short-term. For my next review I will be looking for a game with long-term demands and rewards.