We both like video games, my sister and I. We more or less like the same types of video games, though my sister is more of a newbie to console gaming. And since I got a Nintendo Switch recently, I decided to do what any sane sibling would do: test our sisterly mettle with some co-op gaming. We both usually play games alone, but the two of us together in whatever aspect of daily life is usually a riot. So, I stormed into the nearest gaming store and bought a copy of Overcooked 2.

First things first, we needed to figure out how to use a Switch. The thing did not come with a manual and being that we are both buffoons, the procedure took some extensive googling and an embarrassingly copious amount of time. Eventually, we figured it out, booted the game, connected the Switch to the TV since we’re both essentially blind, and, armed with our controllers, selected stage 1-1.

Stage 1-1 is, for all intents and purposes, the tutorial stage. Players are tasked to chop up and serve a tomato or a cabbage. No dressing. No nothing. Just a plain, old tomato or a plain, old cabbage. That’s it. That’s literally it. Suffice it to say that we were A Mess. We were chopping vegetables all over the place with no regard to the order list. We eventually noticed the order list but then we discovered the “Throw” action and were flinging vegetables everywhere. We were picking up tomatoes from the floor and serving them. It was chaos. Gordon Ramsay would have died of an aneurysm in that kitchen.

We got the hang of Stage 1-1 only for the levels to get progressively harder and more complicated. This game was questioning not only our gaming credentials but also our bond as sisters. We both knew that we absolutely cannot let the game beat us like this, and so we buckled down, gathered our Two Brain Cells, and trudged on to the next stages. A typical session would look like this:

((MAKI STAGE))
INT. LIVING ROOM – NIGHT

Two girls, both bespectacled, both slightly squinting, mouths slightly agape in concentration, are sitting on the floor in front of a large TV. Controllers in hand, they wait for the stage to load.

IA
Ano daw? Di ko ge-aaaah, okay, okay.

IANA
Ako na bahala sa kanin.

IA
Ara, ara.

(Midway through the stage.)

IANA
Kanin?! Kanin?! KELANGAN MO NG KANIN?!

IA
TEKA LANG NAGCHA-CHOP PA KO. NALAGLAG [redacted]! Service!
SERVICE! QUALITY CONTROL WHO?!

IANA
Wala nang pinggan! Maghuhugas ako!

IA
[redacted]

CUT TO BLACK.

((HOT AIR BALLOON STAGE))
INT. LIVING ROOM – DUSK

The TV is displaying a hot air balloon, its floor covered in fire. One player is going in circles, trapped in a ring of flames, the other is frantically searching for the fire extinguisher.

IA
[Redacted] Bakit ba tayo nagluluto sa ere in the first place?!
(screeching noises)

IANA
ATE, ASAN YUNG FIRE EXTINGUISHER?!

IA
Naandine!

IANA
Ate, ‘di kita maabot! I’m trapped!

IA
[redacted]

CUT TO BLACK.

((WATER BREAK))
INT. LIVING ROOM – NIGHT

The game is paused. One of the girls is lying on the floor, arms outstretched. The other walks over and hands her a glass of water.

IANA
O, Ate. Kailangan mo i-refill ang iyong Smarts™.

Every stage was just a variation of the above scenarios: a mixture of screaming, panic, and just general dumbassery. However, despite the recurring pandemonium, we managed to finish the game, with the final stage giving us less trouble than we thought it would. We didn’t bother to 3-star all the stages but we can always come back to that on a later time. In conclusion:

• If we had a gaming channel, we would need to censor maybe half of it because of me, and trigger warnings for loud noises would be in place because we are both banshees.
• We might be two heads, but, contrary to previously stated, my sister and I actually share One Brain Cell.
• Overcooked 2 is a really, really fun co-op game to play. The learning curve is not incredibly steep once you learn the basics–the challenge comes more from the stage design itself. Depending on the players, the game can make or break a relationship.
• I would like to think that my sister and I passed the Overcooked 2 Sisterly Bond Challenge with flying colors. We might have been A Mess but we were A Fun Mess, and that’s what matters.