With “What the Fork?!”, the Switch has a new couch co-op game that requires good teamwork. This reminded MeinMMO author Max Handwerk directly of the co-op hit “Overcooked” – and thus also to the one or other evening with 280 pulse.
This is What the Fork: What the Fork has been available on Steam since mid-October, and it landed on the Nintendo Switch on November 5, 2020 – and thus also in my living room. You can play the game alone, but it is clearly designed for couch co-op with up to 4 players. The Switch version does not offer an online component.
Often, the name “Overcooked” is mentioned in connection with the game, and that is no coincidence. What the Fork has basically the same principle as the couch co-op hit. In close quarters, you have to:
- Transport items from A to B.
- Pay close attention to what your teammates are doing.
- And try to keep track of everything.
What the co-op party game for the Switch looks like is well shown in the trailer:
In “What the Fork”, however, you are not bustling through imaginatively designed kitchens with stressed restaurateurs, but racing back and forth with forklifts between warehouse and loading ramp. Instead of serving finely roasted fillets, you deliver loading crates here.
Otherwise, the similarities are significant – which is why I had a bit of anxiety about the gameplay.
This is the thing with Overcooked: Not once has Overcooked caused a few wild co-op evenings at my home. Because: When the processes work out, and you can cook everything well together, the game makes you incredibly happy. Then you work together, follow a plan, and congratulate each other at the end on a successful game.
But beware, if the nerves yield to the chaos in Overcooked. Then suddenly the burger burns on the grill, you send the game partner salad instead of tomatoes, and lastly, you keep falling into abysses. You get upset about yourself, about the teammates, about the devil who invented the frying pan, and above all about the damn game … and in the worst case, it becomes so heated that in the end even the controller gets cooked in your own hands.
Accordingly, I looked with a skeptical eye, shaped by personal experience, at the forklift task that lay ahead of me and my girlfriend. Would “What the Fork” summon the same demons?
Yes, What the Fork is forklift Overcooked – but more relaxed
This is how What the Fork plays: With Joy-Cons securely strapped to our wrists, we started the game. It begins in an office room with the chief forklift telling us the story that you must stack as well as you can to defeat flying delivery drones … fine.
Outside the office, you go up onto a map, and there from level to level. This is also known from Overcooked. By the way, there is no big tutorial, but there are helpful control overviews displayed during loading times:
However, it ultimately boils down to:
- Driving
- A small speed boost
- Raising and lowering the forklift forks
- Picking up and dropping off packages
This looks very clear and is quite easy to grasp. You only need a few buttons: The game runs wonderfully on the small Joy-Cons and is thus also suitable for inexperienced players or children who may not play often or are not used to controllers.
Only the raising and lowering of the forks – you have to get that right first. Because if you are not at the right height, you can’t pick up the package. This can lead to problems when you want to grab a package from the conveyor belt but it makes an honorary round until you position the fork correctly. At first, this looks like a small stress factor, but it relaxes with some practice.
Overall, the game is noticeably more relaxed than Overcooked. Because while you have to combine many different ingredients in the kitchen and must simultaneously ensure nothing burns, can’t get lost, must make the right order, and keep an eye on the conveyor belts … I’m getting invested again.
In short: Overcooked is sometimes very complex. In What the Fork, you generally only have to bring the right packages to the correct delivery vehicles while keeping in mind the specifics of the levels.
The levels are nicely designed and quite equipped with tricky elements. Here, too, there are conveyor belts, springs, or icy floors and pits. The tasks are partly demanding and require good coordination. But it doesn’t get too overwhelming like Overcooked.
Sometimes you load a package into a cannon and shoot it over to your teammate, or you throw the package off a roof. But at least during our evening with the game, we did not encounter situations where everything suddenly went haywire.
Here, by the way, you will find some free alternatives for the Switch.
What else does What the Fork offer? Overall, What the Fork is very colorful and nicely designed, even though the Switch version is not necessarily among the best graphics you’ve ever seen. However, this does not detract from the fun of the game. Occasionally, there are strange bugs where the forklift suddenly flies across the level – but those are also tolerable.
On the mini-map, the levels can be freely selected and repeated at any time if you want a better result. There is also the possibility to unlock many different forklifts.
If you know Overcooked, the principle becomes clear very quickly – but when it comes to complexity, the forklifts lag a bit behind the cooks. You can hold that against the game, as the comparison just arises.
Nevertheless, the forklift operation is a lot of fun and provides for really entertaining co-op evenings – and so far, at least, without melted controllers.
Are you still looking for more games to try out together at home? Then you can find some co-op tips for the couch!
