Indie Radar: Bomb Chicken – Frenetic fowl play

“After a freak accident, a seemingly ordinary chicken becomes a bomb laying free range hero. Explore the versatile mechanic of laying bombs in this explosive exploration platformer.” – Website

Title:                                Bomb Chicken
Developer:               Nitrome
Publisher:                Nitrome
Release Date:         July 12, 2018
Platforms:                Switch, PC & Mac to follow

There’s always room for the wacky in the realm of independent games. Most go by the more traditional means, imbuing characters, dialogue and plot with humour. But the really great games weave this comedic nature into all parts of the game, mechanics included.

Such is the case of Bomb Chicken. On its surface, Bomb Chicken seems like a standard action-platformer. Naturally, it stars the titular fowl. He is fed up the with the humans, and the fast gods they revere. Time and time again the BFC has served his brethren as so called “fast food”. But their addictive blue hot sauce shall not protect them, when Bomb Chicken is out for vengeance!

If the trailers are anything to go off, the mechanics are frenetic and fun. The standard controls are here but a few are missing. There is no “jump”, or “attack” or “shield”. What you do have is a limitless amount of bombs you can “lay”. You know, like an egg? Keep laying them on top of each other to reach higher and higher to navigate the levels. Get a big ol’ pile and then push ‘em at an enemy. Hide behind a stack for defensive purposes. All this leads to a crazy system, with many functions being dependent on laying a pile and using it in the right way at the right time. Suffice to say, it seems like this could be used to make for a complex network of mechanics.

Bomb Chicken uses a few mechanics to produce a hilarious little system. By putting so many functions behind a single control, it forces an element of pure chaos into the mix. Totally worth a look. Bomb Chicken has already exploded onto the Nintendo Switch. No details yet, but it will be coming to PC and Mac down the track. Check out the official website for all the deets.

Still burning with indie desire?  Pay some respect to Sinner: Sacrifice for Redemption. It’s a Dark Souls-style fighter with a twist: As you progress, you grow weaker.