It’s a cruel world for that poor little Bomb Chicken, our new hero in this new indie game for Nintendo Switch. The chicken ate some mysterious blue sauce from BFC and transformed into a different kind of creature. With the ability to drop bombs as it pleases, the chicken gained new powers that are both a blessing and a curse.
Bomb your way to freedom
Before we start things, no, Bomb Chicken has nothing to do with Bomberman, this is a different type of game. In Bomb Chicken, you’ll guide your poor genetically altered chicken to freedom, crossing three different worlds containing a total of twenty-nine levels. The levels are created in the spirit of oldskool platformers, meaning you’ll move from left to right while defeating enemies and escaping some deadly traps. It doesn’t sound thrilling or innovating at first but the team implemented the bomb mechanics in ways we haven’t seen before.
As Bomb Chicken, you can lay a limitless amount of bombs as you please to use them to your advantage. Since the chicken can’t jump, stacking up bombs to reach a higher platform is your only way up. This does come with some extra challenges. All bombs will eventually explode and if you time your ‘jumps’ wrongly, you’ll simply blast your poor chicken to the eternal dinner table. Aside from stacking, the chicken can also kick the bombs in certain directions to take down enemies, activate a switch or destroy some obstacles. The same risk applies here, if you time your kicks wrongly, the chicken will die. The bomb mechanic is therefore a very interesting one since it’s both a blessing and a curse.
Prepare for some challenges
Since this mechanic is the cornerstone of the game, you’ll need to prepare for a new way of playing. Bomb Chicken is unlike any platformer I’ve played and it’s great to see this resulting in some challenging gameplay. Although it never gets as rough as games like Super Meat Boy, this Bomb Chicken does offer some rather challenging levels. Getting to know the level and timing your bombs correctly will eventually lead you to victory, although you’ll see the ‘Game Over’ screen multiple times before you reach that victory.
To top it off, you’ll also fight tons of enemies. Ranging from BFC-crew to intriguing natives and even boss battles, the game will often force you to the edge of your seat. Especially at the start of the game, you’ll die a lot. Things get a little easier when you sacrifice those precious blue emeralds to the gods of chicken to get an extra heart. You’re never forced to do so, so if you want an extremely challenging game, you can try clearing it without buying extra hearts.
Adorable visuals
Before we get to the conclusion of the review, let’s talk about the adorable visuals first. Bomb Chicken is created to resemble the games of the past but it all looks so incredibly colorful and cute. The animation of the chicken combined with its goofy sounds had me laughing multiple times. While playing on the Nintendo Switch, I enjoyed the spectacle on my television in the comfort of my living room or in handheld mode while traveling. Both options work extremely well and it’s safe to say that this game is one of the best-looking indie games in the genre.
Conclusion:
Bomb Chicken is an incredible platformer offering a new way of playing thanks to the genius bomb mechanic. It’s not the easiest game out there but if you keep pushing yourself, you’ll get the rewards you were looking for. If you’re searching for a fun platformer that combines gorgeous visuals with solid gameplay, this is a must-have on Nintendo Switch.
