Chicky Duo is better for kids than the casual adult gamer (review)

Kurechii studio is best known for King’s League – a game that has been painstakingly reiterated over three years – but the company has finally started expanding its portfolio. It recently released Chicky Duo, an adorable point-and-click adventure centered around two chicks named Butter and Cream. The game follows Butter and Cream as they try to save their mother from becoming yet another box of fried chicken bits.

As with all point-and-click adventure games, players progress by finding the right objects to interact with, in order to get past obstacles. Objects that can be interacted with in Chicky Duo are highlighted with an exclamation mark. The game is very linear, so there aren’t many interactable objects. Fortunately, that’s made up for by some really cute visuals.

While you start the game off with Butter, you’re soon able to control Cream as well, and can switch between both chicks at will. There will be obstacles that require use of Butter, and there will be those that need Cream before they resolve. Sometimes, both Butter and Cream have to be placed close enough so that they can work together.

Since Chicky Duo’s gameplay is so linear, Kurechii studio has thankfully tried to inject some variety to into the gameplay. Some in-game events you need to solve include puzzles, which range from simply decorating an egg to picking a lock. Some of these puzzles get pretty complicated – especially the one that required me to unpick a tangled knot – but Kurechii has anticipated this as well. All puzzles in the game can be skipped, if you’re just out for the storybook experience.

Narrative-wise, Chicky Duo moves at a nice pace. It doesn’t boast the most complex of stories, and has zero text since the chickens can’t speak, but all the events and obstacles you overcome help immerse the player in the game. My only complaint is that it’s woefully short. There are a total of just five chapters, though the ending does lend possibility to more chapters being released. Edit: Kurechii has clarified that it’s not adding new content just yet, but it is working on iPhone and Android versions of the game.

Kurechii studio’s writeup for Chicky Duo on the App Store recommends it as a game for families. At US$2.99, it’s not something the casual adult gamer will pick up, but definitely something the modern family will appreciate. After all, an interactive adventure beats a bedtime story read aloud any day.

7.5/10.

You can download Chicky Duo for the iPad here.

See: The King’s League: Odyssey review: bite-sized battles