章節 67: C67: Experience
On the third day of the new year, a group of us from the gaming hobby circle were chatting on our server.
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"Any good game recommendations?"
"Overcooked is by Chen Xu and Neon Games! It just went live today! I've been eyeing it for a while. Buy one, get one free on their external platform. I'm looking for a playmate. Is anyone interested? I'll pay for the game, and you can join me!"
"Isn't that a couple's game?"
"Yeah, I am hoping for a girl to join me! Are you one?"
"Upstairs, you got no mercy for us singe dog, ┻━┻︵ \(°□°)/ ︵ ┻━┻"
"Who says couple games have to be played by couples only? Two guys can play too, right? Don't we have some brotherhood? Brothers"
┬━┬ ノ( ゜-゜ノ)
"Good point."
"How much is it?"
"Only 55, not too expensive. And there's the buy one, get one free deal on Chen Xu's Neon game platform."
"By the way, where's Lao Zhang? Let's get him to join us!"
As we were discussing which games to try, I chimed in, "Well... I'd love to join, but... sorry, I have a partner in crime already." ╮(╯∀╰)╭
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Soon a flood of reactions, GIFs, and emojis followed from everyone in the group.
I stretched my hand upward on the sofa and flexed my waist before sitting in front of my computer. Though they always call me Lao Zhang(Buddhist monk), my real name is Zhang Yi. Honestly, I'm not even that old — only twenty-five.
As the game talk continued, I couldn't help but get curious myself. "This Overcooked game seems pretty interesting... Wait a minute, it is by the same designer as Escape? That's a complete genre shift!"
I glanced at the cute, vibrant store interface of overcooked and was pleasantly surprised. The game's title was cobbled together with various food ingredients, and beneath it was a huge food truck.
Perched on top of the truck were little cartoon characters in chef hats — tiny crocodiles, squirrels, dogs, cats, and even cartoon versions of boys and girls. All of them were holding kitchen knives, rolling pins, or frying pans.
I chuckled as I stared at the poster, "These characters are so adorable!"
While I was checking out the game's cover, my girlfriend, Wang Han, who had just come out of the room, noticed what I was looking at.
"What's that? It looks so cute!" she asked, intrigued.
She's not a hardcore gamer like me, but she does dabble in a few games here and there. The art style of this game is going to be a killer for ladies.
These cartoon characters feel like they're from a fairy tale and give off a fluffy and cute vibe.
"This Kitchen game is a new game by the designer of Escape, and it was released on Valentine's Day for people like us," I said
We had played the game Escape before as well.
Of course, like most ordinary players, we didn't pay much attention to game designers back then.
It was only after noticing Overcooked that I realized this designer, Chen Xu, had developed several games we'd already played.
"This is from the same person who made Escape? My friend was just as surprised as I had been." Wang Han added
"Yeah, and this designer also created To the Moon and Undertale, right?" I smiled while filling in the missing part.
"He made To the Moon and Undertale too? that's a surprise." Wang Han added with a smile.
"Why don't we buy it and give it a shot? It seems like it could be fun!" I suggested.
"Exactly what I was thinking." She laughed, as I searched for the Neon game platform in the browser, I clicked on buy and started downloading it, registered two accounts, added each other as friends, scanned the code to pay, and sent the game to the other account.
Unlike some players, we don't really care much about which platform a game is on, as long as the content isn't cut.
For us, it's all about where the game is cheaper, and that's where we buy it.
We had already bought Escape on the Neon platform.
Now with a buy-one-get-one-free deal, there was no reason not to use it again.
Even though the game can be played on the same screen on one computer, since we both enjoy gaming and have two computers at home, it made sense to download it on both.
Once downloaded and logged in, the game was installed quickly—it wasn't big.
When the game started, the Neon Games company logo appeared, followed by a line of text on a black screen: The following content is based on real events. Only the names, locations, and vegetables have been changed…
Then a cutscene played: Thunder rolled through the night sky as raindrops fell over a castle.
[After some time...]
'Finally, the moment I've been waiting for! We've overcome so many challenges to win the food prize!'
'Look, Kevin! The legendary Necronomicon of delicious dishes!'
With the Onion King muttering to himself, he began studying necromantic cooking techniques.
But his culinary spells went wrong, summoning hordes of zombie loaves that started invading the castle!
To fend them off, we had to cook enough food to satisfy the hungry monsters.
"Of course, with a plot like this, the storyline isn't the point!" I said with a laugh.
"The Onion King showed us what it means to die if you don't!" I agreed, with Wang Han beside me.
We groaned and exchanged smiles.
With a simple plot, we dove into the game's initial tutorial level.
It was easy—just WASD for movement, space, and CTRL to interact and chop vegetables.
These are typical controls in most games, and while neither of us are gaming expert, we've played our fair share and got the hang of it quickly.
The gameplay is simple:cooking, choosing ingredients, chopping, sometimes boiling, plating, and serving the dishes. Some dishes need a combination of different ingredients.
The game's victory conditions are straightforward as well. In campaign mode, the highest possible score is three stars. For a limited time, we earn tips for every dish we serve, and after reaching a target, we get a rating.
The rules are easy to understand.
Of course, if you get three stars on every level, the game unlocks a hidden four-star rating. Although, that's not something casual players can easily achieve.
"I can do this! It's so easy!" Wang Han said as her confidence burst with some energy.
"It feels good!" She added
"Cooking in real life should be this convenient," I added.
"It might be more fun playing with more people. Let's finish this campaign level first, then we'll try the online battle mode to challenge others!"
I took charge of serving and plating, while Wang Han chopped. Together, we breezed through the first tutorial level.
When we saw the three-star rating we earned, both of us were filled with joy and satisfaction.
Before playing, thanks to the intro with the undead bread. The game did have a bit of an underworld vibe.
But once we started, it turned out to be fun!
Especially when we cooked together and then served the dishes.
It brought back memories of playing kitchens as kids at home.
With this warm nostalgia, the whole game became even more enjoyable!
As we looked at the score screen after clearing the level, Wang Han and I couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.
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