Ghost Town Games, the studio behind the stressful cooking series Overcooked, has revealed details about its next co-op adventure, Stage Fright—a game it says aims to repair relationships rather than break them.
The developers spoke with PC Gamer about the tonal shift a decade after Overcooked’s 2016 launch. The series earned a reputation for straining friendships—in China it is reportedly known as “The Divorce Kitchen”—even though its games remain popular among players seeking chaotic multiplayer challenges.
“Overcooked broke you apart and Stage Fright is there to put you back together.”
Oliver De-Vine, co-director of Ghost Town Games
Published by Hello Games, the developer behind No Man’s Sky, Stage Fright marks an interesting pivot for the studio. Co-director Oliver De-Vine said the team is trying to be “a constructive and positive force in the world,” prioritizing communication over mechanical skill.
“We’re trying to foster community in our games,” De-Vine said. “[They’re] about communication between people, and less about being very good with the fidelity of a controller.”
Games designer Phil Duncan recalled observing this dynamic while demoing Overcooked at conventions: teenage boys would play “in complete silence” and fail, while two younger players chatting throughout managed to succeed.
“It’s exciting to us, the idea that the people who are good at our games are the ones who are good at communicating,” Duncan said.
To recreate the warmth of playing side by side over the internet, Ghost Town Games has built Stage Fright with split-screen online support. De-Vine explained that seeing what your partner is doing and discussing it becomes essential to progress.
“The ideal situation is that you’re sat next to someone and you’re nudging them and you point at the same thing,” Duncan said. “So it’s as close as we can get to that online.”
In Stage Fright, two players guide a pair of kids through a Luigi’s Mansion-style adventure involving puzzles, threats, and a mystery to solve. While more complex than Overcooked’s kitchens, the game retains its predecessor’s accessibility by avoiding traditional inventory management.
“Everything is communicated between the players verbally,” De-Vine said. “It’s got adventure game elements, but without an inventory… Everything is physical items you’re carrying around in a similar way to Overcooked, sort of quite large, obvious, chunky items.”
The studio compared Stage Fright’s structure to an escape room, where clues may not immediately connect to their solution. De-Vine offered another comparison: “Imagine family-friendly Silent Hill,” he said, before laughing and acknowledging the oddity of the pitch.
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