This Works for Me
The Video Game That Made Me Better at Marriage
Working together to win a game reveals a lot about a relationship
“Do something!” I said, desperately.
“It’s done,” my husband replied.
This is our marriage in Overcooked 2: Carnival of Chaos. We found the video game at the end of a quest for a shared indoor activity. As a pair of neurotic overachievers, we spend many of our nonworking hours trying not to fret about our jobs.
My husband tends to worry about whether everyone is secretly disappointed with him, and I about whether I’ve relinquished too much control or put myself into circumstances that I can’t succeed in. Of course, our fights have the same dynamic: I feel like he’s not doing enough (or, at least, not appreciating what I do enough), and he feels attacked.
Overcooked, it seemed, was the perfect game for us. Cooperative rather than competitive, task oriented rather than intellectual, and, most importantly, free for download on PlayStation 4 the day we got it, Overcooked positions you and your partner as conical misfit animal-chefs. You have to bring your culinary skills into a series of terribly designed kitchens and cook extremely specific meals before their order tickets expire.
