Cipher_8

Full disclosure; I have not beat the game fully I am reviewing it from the perspective of having played as far as I have gotten and doing a bunch of online, for fun, already. I have played with a friend mostly so that helps I feel as the game is all about co-op. If you played entirely solo or didn't have friends who were interested in this game you might like it less. Also I did not play the first Overcooked so this was entirely my first time with this game. ----------------------- I chose to get Overcooked 2 on the Switch because to me it seems like a Nintendo Switch title. I have other platforms and thought about getting it on PC instead but I chose the Switch. The option to play a simplistic type of game like this on the go wherever you are is nice. Pick up and play put it down when you need to is what I love about the Switch as a platform and this game fits that perfectly as you can play a level or two if you don't have long or you can play for hours on mobile then dock it up and play on the tv where it seemingly is no different to the other console/PC versions. But I wanna talk about that Switch exclusive mode some more. Being able to play this mobile is what shines best about the Switch version. The game is all about local or online co-op, even with just one other player having a partner makes the game that much better. You can play it solo switching back and forth between controller both players and that can be fun trying to beat a level by yourself but ideally you'll want a friend to get this game with you -- if not 3 or 4. The Switch version lets you use a single pair of joy-cons and have two players playing. You don't need a second controller like the other platforms. That is a nice benefit to their version and I'de take advantage of that but I've found myself preferring to use an actual controller anyways while playing if i can. I have a Nintendo Pro controller and an extra wired controller that anybody uses when playing two players online or single player story in co-op. The bad: While playing un-docked, in handheld mode, it is very playable still it just isn't up to par as playing it on a tv. Luckily you can play online with two players on the same screen and it doesn't split the screen or anything. The issue is when playing with two on handheld, or even by yourself, you do mess up more easily and movements and actions are imprecise. You can tell the difference when playing of the Switch screen with joycons then when playing docked off the tv with controllers. It just works better all around. The next negative about the Switch version is Nintendo's poor online service. As of now it's definitely not on par with the other three competitors. Sure you can connect and play multiplayer online but this game is about coordinating teamwork and not having the option by default to have voice chat is pretty bad right now for Nintendo. The lack of voice chat is really off-putting in this type of game where you want communication with your teammates at all times. It's fine if you're playing with local friends or if you know the people your playing with online you can easily just jump on Discord but when playing with randoms not having that communication really dampers the gameplay. I've read the Switch version isn't as snappy as the other consoles but I haven't played Overcooked 2 on any other platform yet so I can't say for myself. As far as I can tell the game is everything you come to expect from playing the first one or watching videos online of streamers playing it. You're going to have a blast. If you are unsure but think you'll enjoy it from what you've seen of it I'de say give it a shot. If you got friends interested in it with you then go ahead and pick it up for sure because it's going to be more enjoyable then. I can't suggest getting the Switch version over PC/PS4/Xbox but if that's all you have available to you then it'll work but you might have to do some workarounds for voice chat online.

First of all I highly recommend this game if you like Puzzle Quest or for fans of Magic the Gathering. For myself its a perfect mash up of two of the games I enjoy but yet it isn't without its own flaws. Flaws that almost ruin the game for me. I've been patiently waiting on this game since it was announced but now that I've played it I can't help but be a bit disappointed with it. For me because Puzzle Quest was one of the only mobile games I enjoyed I was really anticipating this one. I applaud the developers for coming up with new interesting mechanics and ways to change puzzle quest enough to be fresh but yet stay true to the basics of both Puzzle Quest and Magic the Gathering. I think the way support gems stay on the board is a genius way of implementing non-creature permanents such as Enchantments/Equipment without making them too overpowering or hard to destroy. The publishers on the other hand with this crap freemium model/game structure messed up a great game. This irks me to no end. The game itself is solid from top to bottom it is well designed and it's unique gameplay is well concieved and thoroughly enjoyable. The match three game play standards of Puzzle Quest titles mixed with different strategies of differing colors of Magic the Gathering is done to perfection. Each Planeswalkers and their associated colors has a distinctive feel and playstyle. Themes of each color do stay true to the MTG tcg and the flavor established there which it's good to see they got that right. One of the things I have always liked most about playing Magic the Gathering tcg is the art and lore that Wizards of the Coast put into their products (D&D also) and I think that artwork and 'flavor text' that brings the lore into it on loading screens before/after each match is part of the reason why I really like this game. I can't wait to see how deep the games meta goes with multicolored Planeswalkers to be released later but so far they've covered the basics. Red rushes hasty small creatures and Chandra directly damages their life points with burn spells. White can do a lot of life link healing yourself as Gideon and his creatures with Vigilance are in it for the long fight. Blue and Jace can bounce the enemies creatures back to their hand effectively unsummoning them and doing a lot of board manipulation countering their threats. Black can bring back killed off creatures or make them discard their threats straight from hand. Death touch is present and Zombies are not only effective but a fun theme. Green can ramp mana and cast larger creatures faster for the Nissa beat down, she can also draw cards to hand via her first ability. Which by the way it's important to spend coins leveling your Planeswalkers because each of their abilities changes and improves as you level your Planeswalkers up. First thing I suggest doing after tutorial is purchasing all the Planeswalkers for 10 gold each. This not only will ensure you always have someone to play with but each offers a differing playstyle and strategies. Deck building is easy to understand once you get the hang of it. There are multiple ways to play each color or each Planeswalker. And there is multiple ways to set up your decks for each colored Planeswalker. Cheaper creatures, more support, or powerful but expensive creatures. The Planeswalkers health regen mechanic forces you to wait or speed up recovery with IAP which they clearly deliberately chose by design to make more money off ****. I absolutely hate games that make me wait because a required energy is depleted and regens slowly over time. Yes, I'm aware many mobile games do this and its the reason I hate most mobile games. Puzzle quest was never about this! Also I know I can just continue as another Planewalker but I want to play the color of my choosing and one I prefer how it plays and that I have cards unlocked for. Deck building is more than half the fun in the trading card game version of MTG and that's because you get to choose your colors and playstyle, not be forced to play a color or playstyle you don't enjoy because your first choice is on cooldown. This really would be a great mobile game if not for this Freemium IAP game progression structure. I would gladly pay $20+ for this game to purchase it outright but no they want you to pay that weekly/monthly with their structure of the game. In app purchases can work as a way to speed along and skip leveling up but don't favor that by design, that's a greedy money grab. You can still make plenty of money off IAP's selling boosters. Which brings me to my next complaint. The other major gripe I have is duplicate cards from boosters and how they are utterly pointless. This might be the games biggest design flaw of all! Duplicates do nothing but disappear. What entices me to spend real money when they'll all be duplicates and disappear forever? Continue reading part 2 for the complete review.