What qualifies as a rogue-lite over a rogue-like, I’m not entirely sure. What I do know is that upcoming Chickenauts, published by Untold Tales, boasts that finger-lickin’ good game loop that makes you want to play more. Out today on Early Access, I played exclusively on the Steam Deck, as I often do, and it ran better than your mother. Sorry, I couldn’t quite think of anything witty, so went with a lame mum joke. Moving on…
You play an unsuspecting hero – a chicken farmer – because… that’s what we’re going with, who wakes up to find all his fowl being abducted by aliens. The aliens have finally given up on Roswell cows and are instead paying attention to the poultry. Ironically, the would-be abductors are alien chickens. What nefarious procedures do they have in mind? In my time playing this Early Access title, I didn’t encounter any anal probing, so continue to read on.
Not content with his chickens being stolen, our hero steps on board the UFO, and instead of ascending into the stars, descends into a labyrinth of twin-stick-shooter mayhem. Putting aside the cute pixel art visuals, Chickenauts almost immediately reminded me of The Crackpet Show – another rogue-like, or rogue-lite, shooter I very much enjoyed. The biggest difference, besides the choice of characters, is the pacing. This is much more fluid.
Through each mini arena, Farmer Ben (that’s what I’m calling him, as I can’t remember his actual name – if it’s even stated), will kill off a handful of chicken waves before choosing a path. These paths aren’t overcomplicated and are represented by a symbol that isn’t intuitive until a few runs. So, you can willingly head into an area with elites, or take a pitstop and head to the shops for some health and buffs. Interestingly, the starting weapon isn’t all that bad, and I seldom used the available potions (health, exploding enemies, extra coins…), so stopping off the shop felt fruitless, until…
In Chickenauts, you only get three health points to start with, coincidentally, represented by chicken – though I reckon it’s vegan. You can, of course, increase this through progression, but to begin with, it’s quite easy to get clipped with the bullet hell elements. Health-restoring chicken will occasionally drop, as will potions to renew it, but expect to visit the shop for a bite to eat. Stopping at the shop frequently also makes sense for two more reasons: you can’t take your coins with you after death, so it makes sense to spend them, plus there’s one of those gacha dispensers that may reward you with goodies such as eggs.
Egg drops are your currency for permanent boosts that are available on the farm. From health increase to faster attack patterns, it’s worth stockpiling these for a chance of survival. Another ‘interestingly’: while upgrading character perks is important, the real highlight of Chickenauts is your poultry companions. These are rescued randomly during a run and will follow you everywhere, attacking enemies that enter your space. A mad scientist hangs about the levels and will offer one of three upgrades that improve their fighting ability, or perhaps support level, depending on who you use.
The starting one was John Chick, a Mary Poppins iteration that sends chicks circulating you to deflect projectiles and promote health boost drops, and a recent one: Gojo Chicku – one for Jujustu Kaisen fans. I found the Keanu wannabe perfectly serviceable, and my go-to, and this worked well with my upgraded weapon: a fork. In addition to those other weapons, you can free folk during a run that will allow you to change your weapons, companion, perks, plus mutations that essentially operate as modifiers for greater rewards, at the risk of a more challenging experience.
You’ll notice that I haven’t really talked much about Chicknauts gameplay and focused instead on the features. Rogue-likes are two-a-penny these days, so need something to stand out. Sure, the chicken stuff is mildly amusing, and the graphics are cute, but once you’re past that, then what? The actual mechanics work well, and Farmer Dan (new name) moves around the screen effectively and with a little dash roll, too. As mentioned, it’s a lot like The Crackpet Show but moves a little swifter without so much downtime, and that’s a good thing – really, it is. Don’t overlook this one, it’s cluckin’ good.
