As more and more streamers and video creators started playing Overcooked, the game began reaching a wider audience.
More players were getting into it, and the game became a hot topic on forums and community boards.
"Breakup" and "friendship over" became the game's signature phrases.
Especially as the game's popularity soared, forums, message boards, and Q&A platforms were flooded with made-up stories.
Stories like, "My girlfriend and I were so in love, but after playing Overcooked, we broke up and stopped talking."
Of course, a few of those stories were real. But in most of the cases where couples broke up because of Overcooked, the game was really just the spark that lit the fuse.
Their relationship was already like a pile of gunpowder—just waiting for one tiny spark to explode.
Still, that didn't stop the Overcooked memes from spreading.
After Valentine's Day, the game's popularity started climbing at a crazy rate.
Every major community was filled with people joking around about it.
And in livestreams, every time streamers or video creators got into heated arguments over in-game stuff, the chat would instantly flood with comments like "Break up!" or "Go solo!"
After all, people love drama. That's just human nature.
.........
But while the players were busy making memes and experiencing what "breakup kitchen" really means…
One trending topic on the official account shot to the top of the PC games category.
"How do you feel about the so-called 'Warrior of Love' game designer Lucas choosing to release Overcooked on Valentine's Day—along with a sweet and heartwarming trailer?"
The comments under that post were full of reactions from players.
"Don't even mention the 'Warrior of Love' to me! I really thought Lucas made a cute and loving game. My girlfriend and I broke up because of Overcooked! Lucas, give me my girlfriend back!"
"Bro, what happened? Did you break your hand or something?"
"Yeah, man! Don't give up on treatment just yet. Medicine's pretty advanced nowadays—you might still be able to get your girlfriend reattached!"
"It's alright, man. You had two girlfriends anyway. Losing one isn't a big deal."
"Hey, now you guys are just being mean. The poster's clearly suffering."
"Ahem, friendly tip: click on the poster's profile. You might find a surprise."
"Wait what—the last post says you broke up with your boyfriend. So are you a guy or a girl?"
"Bro, your thinking is too small! Can't a guy have a boyfriend too? Add me as a friend—I've got something real nice to show you!"
"Don't go off-topic! Anyway, I'm convinced Lucas did this on purpose! He already showed his true colors with Outlast!"
"Not just Outlast! Think about all the other games Lucas made—really think about them."
"Exactly! Lucas isn't a 'Warrior of Love' at all. Just look at the games he's made so far—they're like knives straight to the heart!"
"Right! To the Moon might've looked heartwarming, but in the end, Johnny only got fake memories. It was a tragedy! Even Undertale had a genocide ending. And Mirror? Kill the bull-headed man, pure love God of War never backs down!"
"Exactly! The Game Division really needs to do something. Lucas's games are dangerous. Outlast just tried to scare us to death, but Overcooked? That one wants to make us fight in real life!"
Just under this trending topic, there were already more than twenty thousand comments in just one day.
Of course, there were some different opinions too.
Many players said Overcooked wasn't that bad. When they played with friends or partners, they had fun working together, sabotaging each other, and laughing along the way.
But those comments were clearly in the minority.
The main response was still: no one believes Lucas is some kind of "warrior of love" anymore.
............
Nebula Games.
Now that the New Year break was over, employees from each department were gradually returning to work.
At this moment, Rachel and Anna were sitting in the company lounge, grinning as they looked at Lucas.
"Boss Lucas, your scheme has been exposed!" Anna showed the trending topic to Lucas.
"She's right!" Rachel agreed.
When they were developing Overcooked, even while filming its trailer, the two of them genuinely thought it was a sweet and heartwarming game that brought people closer.
When a few signs popped up during development, they just thought it was coincidence.
But once the game launched, phrases like "Break-Up Kitchen" and "Friendship-Ender Kitchen," plus that trending topic, made everything clear.
Beneath Overcooked's warm and friendly surface was pure chaos and malice!
"Ah, the world's getting worse and people are losing their morals! You two are developers—how can you think like that?" Lucas looked at them, acting all serious.
"Why are so many players breaking up? Because their relationships already had problems!"
"Why do they break up? Because they can't communicate during the game. They can't agree on anything. When the timer's running out and someone messes up, they blame each other and make things worse. When one person is too slow or out of sync, the other gets annoyed and loses patience."
"So the true purpose of Overcooked is to teach couples and friends how to truly get along. It's a way to preserve real friendship and love through: communication, understanding, and patience."
"If those three things are missing, then of course their relationships will fall apart."
As Lucas finished speaking, Anna and Rachel went quiet.
After a while, Anna looked at Lucas with a weird expression: "Are you… are you actually some kind of love expert?"
"Why do you always have these long, convincing speeches ready to go?" Rachel looked just as speechless.
This scene… felt oddly familiar.
Back when Outlast launched, hadn't he said something similar?
Was this some kind of running gag?
If it weren't for what happened with Outlast, they might've believed him.
"If you think it makes sense, then that just proves it's true. I'm a producer who truly cares about the players!" Lucas said with a big smile.
The two of them didn't even flinch.
Somehow, it really felt like Lucas was just full of nonsense.
Wait… no. More like, he's trying to fool the players.
When they saw Lucas pull out his phone, polish up his speech a bit, and post it on the official account, they glanced at each other.
Both of them could read the look in each other's eyes: we need to be careful—Boss Lucas's bullshitting skills are no joke.
(End of the Chapter)
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