Game: Chickenoidz Super Party
Genre: Action, Arcade, Fighting, Party
System: Nintendo Switch (Also on Steam (Windows))
Developer|Publisher: RaveGameDev | Red Black Spade
Age Rating: EU 7 | US Everyone 10+
Price: US $9.99 | UK £8.99 | EU € 9,99
Release Date: August 8th, 2023
Review code provided with many thanks to Red Black Spade.
Chicken Royale
Chickenoidz Super Party is a multiplayer game that can be played with one to four players locally. In days gone by, my parents used to keep chickens, so I have always had a bit of a soft spot for these animals in real life. Usually, in video games, they are portrayed as silly and more of a joke, a theme this game leans into. It’s got a lot of chicken and bursts of fun to offer to make for a decent game night with friends, but in its current state of release, it feels too bare-bones to recommend currently.
Things got off to a bit of a cautious start when I was greeted with a main menu with two options covered in tape with the words ‘coming soon.’ The only mode available on launch is a battle royale mode, where the goal is to eliminate all the other chickens in the arena. On choosing this mode, you can then pick from a selection of chicken characters like a wizard or samurai, which is basically the same character model with a different hat. All chickens are on the same level with no unique perks; it’s all just cosmetic.
Up to four humans can join in the game locally, but if you need to fill gaps, the rest are filled with bots. I did find it amusing that the bots were chicken robots. Unfortunately, you can’t alter the bots’ difficulty or even their appearance. Next up, you choose how many rounds you want to play, from ten to twenty. The levels then appear to be picked for not allowing the player to have any control.
Enter the Arena
Then you enter the game. The goal is pretty simple. Eliminate all of the other chickens in the arena by any means necessary. You can bash them off the edge of the level with a dash or pick up many power-ups to grind their health down to zero. These weapons are a mixture of melee, like ice hammers and boxing gloves, and ranged weapons, such as mini guns and bows and arrows. Sometimes a power-up spawns which turns you into a giant mech chicken, but its effects are only short, with victory not guaranteed. In fairness, using these weapons was a lot of fun, even if quite unbalanced. The minigun felt vastly overpowered by other weapons making the game often feel like a dash for this to get the edge over the competition.
Party Game
Areas feel typical for a party game. Small levels with a few hazards to mix things up. Some levels have walls that need destroying to reach other players. Some have fans making movement more challenging. If you linger too long on a level, the level will fall into the lava until one chicken is finally left standing. This reminded me a lot of old-school Bomberman games for some reason. Then I imagined playing that instead.
The winning chicken is awarded points, the next round begins, and you repeat this until a winner is crowned at the end. After a short podium scene showcasing the winner (and losers). You’re kicked back to the menu to decide if you want to repeat the process again or not. Nothing appears to unlock. I decided to wait a few days until after launch to see if a patch would drop unlocking other game modes, but that has not happened as of writing this review.
It all feels a bit bare chicken bones, but it does show potential with its simple gameplay formula. I did like how the game intros the first few levels with simple to-the-point tutorials making the game accessible for players of all skill levels. Before a level starts, it clearly shows a single move like a dash and the corresponding button that needs to be pressed to use it. The only issue I had is this tutorial played every time I played a new game with no option to switch it off.
Playing Chicken
The graphics are okay. Chickens have this big-eyed cartoon appearance with appropriate, amusing chicken sound effects when they perish. Levels felt more medieval in appearance but fine in design. I guess I was expecting something more agriculture or farm related. It doesn’t seem to have a particular theme; it makes the whole art direction feel just okay. To the game’s credit, it ran well on TV and handheld and I encountered no glitches during play.
Chickenoidz Super Party doesn’t offer any semblance of a story, but focusing on chickens, I couldn’t help but fill in the gaps with what was going through my mind as I played this game. It’s a chickentopia ruled by the free rangers with access to good grass and healthcare. Then the barn chickens, looked down on by the free rangers, considered the lowest of the chicken society. They work hard to support the free rangers. They have one chance to upgrade: in the arena where the chickens take on others in a battle royale to see who comes out on top. Of course, you might come up with a totally different interpretation.
Conclusion: Waiting to Hatch
Chickenoidz Super Party is an egg waiting to hatch. What I mean by this is it has the potential to be a decent game to play with your buddies on a game night, but it’s not there currently. I still get very confused about why games continue to be released in unfinished states. Currently, this feels like a decent demo that will entertain for a few rounds but not something I felt attracted to after that. Maybe that will change with updates and more content, but if you are looking for your next game night fix, consider wish listing this and waiting for updates.
Final Verdict: I’m Not Sure