TL;DR: The level design and score balancing are far better in this DLC than in the base game.

Compared to its predecessor, I was pretty disappointed with Overcooked! 2. I found that it was too easy to achieve 3 stars in most levels (even after clearly suboptimal first tries). The original game scaled its star requirements to the number of players, but that mechanic seemed to be completely absent in the second. Then, the developers decided to poll the community for scores to add a new game +, and of course those score requirements were ridiculous and frankly impossible with any less than 4 players. Completely turned me off to the game.

Surf 'n' Turf brings back those finely tuned star requirements. 3 stars feels like a challenge again. The strategy and focus; the mad rush for efficiency. Really enjoying my time with this one.

TL;DR: The level design and score balancing are far better in this DLC than in the base game. Compared to its predecessor, I was pretty disappointed with Overcooked! 2. I found that it was too easy to achieve 3 stars in most levels (even after clearly suboptimal first tries). The original game scaled its star requirements to the number of players, but that mechanic seemed to be completely absent in the second. Then, the developers decided to poll the community for scores to add a new game +, and of course those score requirements were ridiculous and frankly impossible with any less than 4 players. Completely turned me off to the game. Surf 'n' Turf brings back those finely tuned star requirements. 3 stars feels like a challenge again. The strategy and focus; the mad rush for efficiency. Really enjoying my time with this one.