I recently played Omescape Sunnyvale’s Undercooked escape room, and it was a refreshing twist on the usual escape room formula. Instead of following a linear path, Undercooked had me and my team racing to rack up points by making dishes for a tough food critic. This setup made the game feel lively and highly replayable, with the story and gameplay tightly connected. The way the room was built also played a huge role in how the story unfolded.
Undercooked is pure kitchen chaos. The premise is simple: the kitchen staff have all left, and a famous critic is on the way. My team and I had to jump in, solve puzzles, and make as many recipes as we could to keep the restaurant’s reputation intact. Instead of moving through a series of locked rooms and clues, we started in a big kitchen filled with lots of puzzles, all available right from the start beside the pantry with more ingredients. Each solved puzzle would give us three ingredients. For example, after finishing a produce-sorting puzzle, we might get “tomato,” “basil,” and “mozzarella,” as the recipe. After finding the unique code for “tomato,” “basil,” and “mozzarella,” then entering these into the kitchen console completed a Caprese salad and earned us money, moving the story forward. This system kept the sense of urgency alive: every puzzle solved was a dish ready for the critic. It really felt like working in a real restaurant kitchen-we had to multitask, figure out what to do next, and work together under pressure. The main loop-solving puzzles, collecting ingredients, and assembling recipes-mirrored the story’s stakes, putting us right in the shoes of chefs scrambling to impress a critic.
The pressure increases with the special orders that would pop up and need to be handled fast, adding to the feeling of a busy kitchen. If we needed a hint, we could get one, but it cost us money from our completed recipes-a clever way to reflect the real-world cost of mistakes or delays in a restaurant. The story unfolded naturally from our actions: every puzzle we solved was another dish for the critic, and every missed chance felt like it could mean a bad review.
The physical setup of Undercooked was a key part of the experience. The room was laid out like a real restaurant kitchen, with ingredient cabinets, prep stations, a pizza oven, a pantry, and even a little produce garden. This attention to detail made everything we did-chopping, mixing, searching for spices-feel like part of the story.
Because the room was open and spacious, our team could work on several puzzles at once. We could split up or team up as needed, which created a fun, controlled chaos that fit the kitchen theme perfectly. The central console was our hub, where we tracked our progress and saw how close we were to impressing the critic.
A lot of the puzzles had us doing kitchen-like tasks-chopping, mixing, or “cooking” things in a prop oven. Sometimes we had to “chop” fake veggies a certain number of times to finish a recipe. These actions blurred the line between solving puzzles and acting like a chef, making the experience even more immersive.
The room’s layout also controlled the pace and sense of discovery. Not all ingredients were available from the start; we unlocked more as we solved puzzles, just like how a real kitchen gets busier as orders pile up. The space encouraged us to explore, with each part of the kitchen offering new surprises and challenges. Some search puzzles served as an easy introduction before the real action began.
While Undercooked did a great job blending story and gameplay, I noticed that the game’s physical nature-moving around a large set, handling real objects, and sometimes racing against the clock-could be tough for players with mobility issues or limited dexterity. The fast-paced, multitasking style might also be overwhelming for people who are neurodivergent or sensitive to lots of sensory input.
There were some features to help: the hint system was unlimited and only used when we wanted, so we could reduce the pressure and set our own pace. The non-linear design meant we could pick which puzzles to do, so we might be able to skip ones that were physically tough. However, I didn’t notice specific accommodations like alternative ways to interact, easier physical tasks, or quiet spaces for those who need a sensory break.
Players often mention that the room works well for different team sizes and experience levels, but I didn’t see much evidence of targeted accessibility features for people with disabilities. Making sure immersive experiences are open to everyone is still a challenge. As the industry grows, adding things like clear signs, alternative puzzle types, and staff training will be important to make games like Undercooked accessible to all.
Undercooked was a great example of how a game can weave story into its mechanics and use its physical layout to drive the narrative. Every part of the experience-from the puzzle design to the kitchen setup-served the main story of kitchen chaos, making me feel like a real chef under pressure. As escape rooms keep evolving, the next step is making sure these creative experiences are accessible to everyone, no matter their abilities.
