Bomb Chicken is a fun puzzle platformer on Nintendo Switch where, as the name suggests, there are bombs and chickens involved. Learn more about it in our Bomb Chicken review!

 

In Bomb Chicken you control a chicken with a… peculiar ability. Chickens lay eggs, right? Well, the one you get to control is not an ordinary chicken since it can actually lay bombs. That’s right, bombs. This is how the game gets its name, and since your robust chicken can’t jump, you’ll be using said circular items to create large pillars of bombs to gain some extra height to reach platforms, switches and more. The story sets our bomb laying chicken on a path of revenge as it tries to take down BFC, a parody of a well-known fried chicken franchise you might have heard about. Things are set into motion after an accident with the company’s blue hot sauce.

The level design is not too complicated and a tad linear, which is not a deal-breaker since the bite-sized nature of stages and how you learn new tricks as you go is all part of the equation. For each stage you’ll be going from point A (where you start) to point B (the exit chute), and between that you will be collecting blue gems, defeating enemies, hitting switches, avoiding dangerous lava pits, and more. This is not a standard platformer since you can’t jump, and this and the whole “laying bombs” thing is what sets this one apart, giving us a very enjoyable, colorful and short 2D release.

Due to the challenge involved in getting this robust chicken out of the many sticky situations it will find itself within, the amount of bombs it can lay is unlimited… as long as you manage to move away from the whole chain blast! Some well-timed bomb laying will get you across from one side of the screen to the other, and you can also defeat an enemy or two with the bombs you use as height increasing platforms.

 

One hit is all it takes to kill this chicken, which is why you’ll definitely need some extra lives. You don’t start with a stack of them, and this is when the blue gems you collect enter the scene. Between each stage you will reach a giant chicken statue asking for a set number of gems, and if you have enough gems to pay its price you should lay a bomb in front of it to be rewarded with an extra heart, which represents an extra life. Every time you die you will start at the spot where you entered the room you died in, so the more lives you have the less backtracking you will need to do. Run out of hearts, and its game over and you’ll need to restart the stage.

You’ll need to use your bombs to kick them over a switch, to take down a wall, or leave them over pressure plate to keep a door open as you rush to get to the other side before the bomb explodes. There are also doors that require key cards to unlock, so you’ll need to look for them and solve a puzzle or two on your way there. There is a nice variety of puzzles in this one so I’m sure you’ll have fun.

Stages feature secret paths here and there that can lead you to rooms with extra gems, as well as a treasure chest with even more gems inside. You might notice a cracked block on a wall, or a spot that is a different shade from the rest. Or maybe some of your bombs end up flying past a wall that really isn’t there. The price for extra lives increases considerably with every one you buy, so the more gems the better you’ll do in the game!

Chicken Bomb is a classic example of how look can be deceiving. At first glance you might think this is a casual and easy game with no challenge, but it’s actually a very addictive release with a great art style and more than enough content to justify its asking price of only $14.99. You’ll have a good time as you complete the game’s 29 stages, defeating hundreds of enemies and a couple of bosses along the way, solving a puzzle here and a puzzle there, and a few hours later you’ll have completed a great game on the Nintendo Switch.

Disclaimer
This Bomb Chicken review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Nitrome.