Wilson Family: Cooking And Collaboration with Overcooked on Xbox One
How hard can it be to make Onion Soup? This question arose during a pre-Christmas evening of gaming with my cousin and a couple of friends, which included drinks, Fruit Pastels and quite a lot of swearing. In video-game form, very hard, it turns out.
Overcooked is a co-operative game where different kitchen tasks are taken on in a hectic restaurant with eager customers and a ticking clock.
After seeing how well we all dealt with the various tasks Overcooked threw at us that evening (mainly by shouting at each other), I thought that the following day it would be good to introduce the kids to the joy of making Onion Soup. I have never seen a (virtual) kitchen fire spread so quickly.
My initial thought, that this game would show my little bundles of bliss how to communicate and work together, soon turned into an exercise in creating anarchy. At this point, mummy and daddy thought it would be a good idea to show them the ropes. The important, lifelong lesson of “take the pot off the stove” was taught. Within five minutes, sanity came back to the living room/kitchen.
During the following hour, Child One and Child Two battled through creating culinary masterpieces during an earthquake, on moving Lorries and that damn pirate ship!
Two children that love to fight wherever possible, were suddenly working together; “I’ll wash the plates”, “I’m going to get the tomatoes”, “GET THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER!”
It was great to watch.
The odd bit of guidance was needed as the recipes got more complicated, and little nuggets like, “Don't jump off the moving Lorry” were greatly received, leading to the eventual unlocking of the new chefs! (The Cat being the favourite). Now, in no way has Overcooked turned my two cherubs into, well... cherubs, but for at least an hour, they work together like a well oiled machine.
When Christmas Day finally came round I was called into the kitchen by my Wife and Mother, to aid with the dinner. I stopped at the entrance and looked at my cousin sat at the dinner table, “We may need the fire extinguisher”.
