After a few simple tutorial levels, the game officially moved into story mode.
Zack and Hannah played while chatting and laughing together.
The early levels were super easy—orders popped up in the top left, they cooked the dishes on time, then placed them at the window. Simple as that.
The first two stages were really basic—just slicing some sashimi, or at most, cooking some rice.
But once they reached stage 1-4, things clearly changed.
This level was set in the middle of a busy street.
Yeah… don't ask why they're cooking in the middle of the road.
That's just the setting.
A real chef should be able to cook anywhere in the world.
If you're fully focused on the food, that's what makes a great chef.
This level was different from the ones before.
Most of the space was blocked by kitchen counters, and the walkable area was shaped like two rectangle placed side by side.
The twist was, the vertical paths were now one-way conveyor belts that sped you along.
And the customer orders weren't just easy stuff like slicing sashimi or cooking rice anymore.
Now it was slicing, steaming, boiling, and stir-frying—nothing was left out.
If all they wanted was to pass the level, it wouldn't be that hard—just fill up the four plates in the center and serve them.
But clearly, they weren't just aiming to clear it. They wanted a high score—three stars.
And as the stage went on, the orders came in faster and faster.
They couldn't even finish one dish before another showed up.
"Quick, start cooking the rice!"
"Wait! Wait! Why are you in such a rush? I haven't even chopped the cucumber yet!"
"Where's the seaweed?! And why haven't you cut the fish yet?!"
"Stop rushing me! The conveyor belt pushed me too far again!"
"Hurry up and cook the rice! We're running out of time!"
Compared to the sweet and chill vibe from earlier, the rising number of orders quickly pushed things into chaos.
At first, they were handling everything smoothly, but now they were clearly starting to lose control.
And to make things worse—
They each had their own plan—one wanted to cook rice first, the other wanted to prep ingredients first.
And just like that, everything fell out of sync.
Suddenly they were both scrambling.
"Hey! Why did you make so much seaweed?!"
"We need seaweed for sushi, don't we?!"
"You just put the seaweed straight on the plate, it doesn't need to be rushed—cook the rice first!"
"It's cooking, it's cooking! Stop yelling at me. Look at yourself—what are you even doing, just wandering around? Chop the veggies!"
"I'm waiting for you to finish the rice. What's the point of chopping stuff if there's no rice to go with it?"
"Wait, why is there fire now?! Fire extinguisher! Fire extinguisher!"
"It's right next to the stove! Where the hell are you running off to?!"
"Hurry up and put it out! You see the extinguisher, pick it up and use it!"
"The conveyor belt! The conveyor belt's pulling me along—I'll be there in a second, calm down!"
"Plates! Wash the plates already! We're out of clean ones!"
"Now we gotta wash plates too? These customers are too picky. Can't they just deal with it and use a dirty one?"
"What do you think this is, some street-side kitchen in India?! You gonna serve food on dirty dishes and be okay with that? Cut the crap and wash the dishes!!"
"You're washing them way too slow, though."
As the number of orders kept rising and the customers got more impatient, the whole situation just spiraled out of control.
And when it all falls apart, it really falls apart.
One by one, the orders in the top-left corner of the screen started beeping and disappearing.
The rice cooking on the stoves turned into flaming infernos.
And in this game, if you don't put out the fire quickly with the extinguisher, it actually spreads.
Eventually, the whole kitchen went up in flames, and time ran out.
Their final score? Just a two-star rating.
"We were so close to three stars!" Hannah looked disappointed.
"Close? We were off by half the score! That's not 'a little'—that's a lot!" Zack grumbled beside her.
"What else could we do? At the end, your fire extinguisher didn't even put the fire out." Hannah pouted at the screen.
"Hey! How is that my fault? You're the one who didn't notice the rice was about to catch fire," Zack said, clearly not happy about taking the blame.
Hannah wasn't going to let that slide either—she clearly had her own argument ready.
"How is the rice catching fire my fault?! You were taking forever to chop vegetables—I had to come help you!" she huffed.
"How's that on me? You kept blocking the conveyor belt! And you even flung a dish off the side!"
Zack's voice was getting louder.
"I was rushing, okay? And when the kitchen caught fire the first time, weren't you the one who didn't notice? Why are you blaming me?"
"When it first caught fire, you didn't even know where the sink was! Took you forever to wash a single dish! I had to help you!"
"You yelling at me now?" Hannah puffed out her cheeks.
"I'm not yelling—I'm just stating facts!" Zack shot back, clearly getting worked up too.
"So what, you're saying I wash dishes too slowly?" Hannah's eyes widened.
"Exactly! You're too slow with the dishes!" Zack nodded.
"What's that supposed to mean? You think I'm too slow at washing dishes?" Hannah clenched her fists.
"Yep! You're way too slow!" Zack said proudly.
"Fine! Since you're so annoyed about it, I won't wash any more dishes at home. They're all yours!"
Hearing her raise her voice, and remembering the whole argument, Zack started getting annoyed too.
What the hell? Why is she yelling? It's not like he was the only one dragging the score down!
Without thinking, Zack shot up from his seat, face red, and yelled back, "Fine, I'll do it! From now on, all the dishes at home are mine! I'll show you what real efficiency and real speed look like!"
The second he finished yelling, he froze.
Wait… something didn't feel right.
What did he just say?
In the heat of the argument and stubborn pride, he might've just made a huge promise without realizing it.
"Well, since you insisted, Zack," Hannah said seriously, patting him on the shoulder, "I'll leave all the dishes at home to you. Show me what true speed and efficiency really are."
"No! What I meant was…" Zack's eyes went wide.
"Don't say anything! If you get it, you get it. If you don't, then explaining won't help. It's already decided! You were the one who begged for this, remember?" Hannah pulled Zack's hand onto the mouse and keyboard, completely ignoring the dishwashing situation.
Games are ruining my life!
Looking at the cartoon characters on the screen in Overcooked, Zack felt completely "defeated."
What kind of game is this?
Where's the warmth? Where's the friendship?
How did things get so intense so fast?
If it hadn't been for that sudden argument just now, and his pride getting in the way, there's no way he would've agreed to such a ridiculous deal!
And the worst part? He was the one who insisted on signing it!
Compared to Zack and Hannah, though, things were even more heated for other players.
Reading this part made me want to play a co-op game with my girlfriend… but then I remembered—I don't have one. Crying~
(End of The Chapter)
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