{"id":39624,"date":"2017-12-25T14:00:01","date_gmt":"2017-12-25T14:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/18.134.249.59\/?p=39624"},"modified":"2025-07-26T11:13:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-26T10:13:09","slug":"12-games-of-christmas-cook-serve-delicious-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bigbossbattle.com\/12-games-of-christmas-cook-serve-delicious-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Twelve Games of Christmas: Cook Serve Delicious 2"},"content":{"rendered":"
Hello and welcome to \u2018The Twelve Games of Christmas\u2019, a highlight reel of some of my (Dann Sullivan, Editor-in-Chief) favourite games of 2017. As regular readers will know, we\u2019re extremely eclectic in our tastes here at B3; hopefully these little suggestions, essentially recommendations, will match that. Enjoy!<\/strong><\/h5>\n
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What\u2019s the difference between German pretzels and Classic pretzels? It\u2019s all about the preparation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Truth be told, I don\u2019t know the difference between the two, but preparation is the key word in Cook Serve Delicious 2<\/em>, vastly more so than in its prequel. Of all of the changes to the game \u2014 and there have been many \u2014 preparation counters are most definitely the largest change to how it plays.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\" Before we get to the big change, however, I\u2019d like to spend a little time talking about the first title,\u00a0Cook Serve Delicious.<\/em>\u00a0For those unfamiliar with the original cooking game from 2012, it\u2019s fast and frantic, putting you in charge of a small, office-tower restaurant. Each (almost full-day) shift sees you deploying a menu of your choosing before having to serve them up to hungry, impatient customers while maintaining and cleaning the restaurant. <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s all played out from a first person viewpoint, with customers sidling along to the counter before their order slides in on the left-hand side of the screen. With a key, button, or mouse press, the order comes up on screen. The order itself is written at the bottom in text, alongside a large image of the dish in preparation and a pane filled with ingredients \u2014 each of these can be activated with a mouse-click, indicated controller input or a corresponding key press. In this, it\u2019s very much a series of quick-time events, each requiring precision and speed, lest you mess up the customer\u2019s dish.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Success results in hype for the restaurant increasing, leading to more customers. In time, this results in more money, which in turn allows you to upgrade your menu and equipment.<\/span><\/p>\n

As well as the above, there were also objectives which resulted in levelling up, unlocking one-off challenges and opening up more things to buy. But, more important than all of this, there was a massive sense of attention to detail from the developer \u2014 Cook Serve Delicious\u2019<\/em> internal emails, menu descriptions and daily challenges showed a developer who cared a lot about the little world they\u2019d created.<\/span><\/p>\n

Anyway, back to the big change. Cook Serve Delicious 2<\/em> has undergone some major changes but, as I said in the opening, it\u2019s most definitely the preparation counters which have altered the game\u2019s pace and structure.<\/span><\/p>\n

The new counters \u2014 which, much like serving counters, can increase in number as you level up \u2014 allow you to prepare full dishes,or just their main components in advance of orders. Rather than having to, say, set hot dogs to heat, you can instead prepare a batch of them in advance, removing the wait from serving time and simply having to select from rolls and sauces. Full meals can also be prepared in advance; things like Duck Egg Soup, Macaroni Cheese and Pretzels can be made by the batch and kept handy, ready to be served up when a customer orders. Finally, you can also prepare sides, which are dishes you don\u2019t earn any money for directly, nor receive any orders for, but customers take them for free and give a higher rating for the dish.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Obviously this opens up a massive number of options for the player, especially considering there are no menu restrictions when you are playing the game as your own restaurant (more on that in a moment). This means that, if you wish, you can simply run a massive, five star restaurant by just serving up pretzels. If you\u2019re quick enough, you can get them out the door with zero failings.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, that sounds a lot like gaming the system \u2014 to run a restaurant with just one dish in a game about juggling a menu seems very cheap. Well, dear reader, I put myself to the test, and while it changes the game into a game of habits \u2014 of drag-clicking and hanging on for exactly 1.5 seconds \u2014 it remains <\/span>at least<\/span><\/i> as stressful as declaring a diverse daily menu. Compared to <\/span>normal<\/span><\/i> trade, there is almost no error possible from the human player, however the density of orders, thanks to the game’s hype system, more than makes up for the work-around.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cook Serve Delicious 2<\/em> does change up a few other things, and although they may not be as large a change as the preparation counters, they\u2019re certainly worthy of mention:<\/span><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

The biggest change outside of the day shift is undeniably the addition of other restaurants to work at. As you level up, you unlock more challenging work at each of the pre-themed restaurants, each of them cleverly concocted to be a steady challenge through pre-set levels of hype and customer interest. It’s a great way to accidentally test out other food types \u2014 I say ‘accidentally’ because you can practice with most food from the purchasing menu \u2014 and earn a few bucks without risking your own restaurant’s reputation.<\/p>\n

Various other food types have been added, but in addition to the previously mentioned division of main menu dishes and sides there are now also specific menu slots for drinks, most of which come in the form of replenishment activities, unlike most dish preparations. All in all you can end up with a mass of options on your menu, but this system ensures that you can’t over-complicate it\u00a0too<\/em> much for yourself.<\/p>\n

In addition to all of this there are now different play modes, including a zen mode and split-screen co-op, a restaurant designer and a mass of new emails and filler.<\/p>\n

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The main issues with Cook Serve Delicious 2<\/em> were around launch and were quickly fixed, however the navigation menu does feel like it needs a little work. I have taken to playing the majority of the game via the mouse, while I played the first strictly on keyboard \u2014 this is due to the preparation counters being on TAB+(Number) input, which I (just me, this is personal) kept fowling up. I’ve not returned to check for keybinding options, but if they can be rebound to be shift+(Numeral) or bound to the numpad then please accept that concern as obsolete. That said, playing on mouse is as fun as the original was on keyboard, and I don’t doubt that if I’d stuck with the keyboard I’d have eventually got used to the prep counters.<\/p>\n

Cook Serve Delicious 2<\/em> is a real gem, somehow channelling the best bits of mini-games and quick-time events with a funny, charming, cooking setting. If you can handle the speed of the game then it’s well worth a try. Even then, there’s the zen mode and the fact that the game’s pace rises and falls based on your actions \u2014 struggle for a bit, set a nice menu and enjoy the game.<\/p>\n