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Turn-Undead 2 Bomb Chicken Super Leap Day

Bomb Chicken is a puzzle platformer game that was released for Nintendo Switch on July 12, 2018 in the Americas and Europe[1], and in Japan on November 1, 2018.

Game description[]

Lay bombs to Destroy, Shield, Climb, Dig, Roll, Bounce and Burn in this explosive exploration platformer. After a freak accident a seemingly ordinary chicken becomes a bomb laying free range hero! Discover the darkest kept secret of the fast food giant known as BFC and their best selling, addictive blue hot sauce and answer the ultimate question which came first the chicken or the bomb?

Controls[]

Nintendo Switch[]

  • Analog stick - Move chicken
  • All other buttons - Lay bomb

The game can be played with one joy-con. HD rumble is supported.

Steam[]

Keyboard[]

  • Left Right Left/right arrow keys - Move in the respective direction
  • Space Space bar - Lay bomb
  • ESC key Escape - Pause game

Gamepad[]

  • Joystick left/right or D-Pad left/right - Move in the respective direction
  • X/B/A/Y/LB/LT/RB/RT - Lay bomb
  • Start button - Pause game

Mobile[]

  • Hold and swipe left/right - Move in the respective direction
  • Tap - Lay bomb
  • Tap in the upper right corner - Pause game

Gameplay[]

The player plays as a chicken that can lay bombs and lay multiple bombs on top of each other, the chicken moving upwards when doing this. These bombs will explode after a period of time. The player can kick them by touching them, which will cause them to move straight in the direction they were kicked. These bombs can kill enemies and also the player if within the blast radius.

If the player touches a hazard or enemy - with the exception of jumping on enemies that die from such an action - the chicken dies instantly and is respawned into the same room, causing the player to lose one heart. If the chicken dies and all hearts are depleted, the player gets a game over and must start again at the beginning of the level. Hearts are not depleted if the chicken dies in the same room the player starts in.

Worlds[]

Bomb Chicken has three worlds with a total of twenty-nine levels. The first is set in a BFC factory, the second in a jungle, the third in a lava-filled temple.

In between completing levels, the player enters a checkpoint room with a giant chicken statue and some smaller chickens. Here, the player can acquire additional hearts by laying a bomb in front of the statue once they have the required amount of gems.

Enemies[]

Enemies are named in the "Staff" and "Bestiary" sections of the BFC handbook. They are either native creatures living inside the temple or workers for the BFC corporation.

  • Common snails - Make leaps towards the player when approached. They cannot be jumped on, but can be killed if a bomb detonates their bellies. Pushing a bomb into the shell of the snail will cause it to be pushed back.
  • Lesser common shield snails - Like the common snail, they also leap toward the player when approached. They also cannot be jumped on, however, they cannot be killed with bombs in any manner. A detonating bomb can stop them from pursuing the player for a brief moment.
  • Popcorn plants - Periodically shoot a series of ten seeds upwards that land on either side of them.
  • BFC workers - Walk horizontally or are stationary. Can be killed by bombs or landing on their head. They wear certain types of headgear or carry different accessories depending on their job position, but almost all workers share the same moving pattern.
    • Security guards - Initially stationary, but will dash towards the player upon them appearing in front or behind them. Can be killed by a bomb explosion.
  • Turnip troopers - Walk back and forth, often in groups. They can be killed by either jumping on their heads or a bomb detonation. When killed, green shoots will appear on the ground and they will respawn after a brief period of time.
  • Pig bats - Fly horizontally and can be killed by bombs.
  • Skull torches - Fly in a zig-zag pattern. Kills the player on contact. Can be temporarily stunned by bombs.
  • Masked ghouls - Constantly pursue the player once approached and are able to pass through all obstacles and hazards. They can be temporarily stunned if a bomb detonates on them.
  • Egglets - Fly towards the player when approached. They can be killed either by jumping on their heads or detonating a bomb next to them. Egglets will also detonate bombs automatically upon contact.

Bosses[]

  • Big Betty - A staff member of the BFC who is a machine. She constantly moves horizontally to the right in pursuit of the player.
  • Gigantic beast - Encountered sleeping, but wakes when encountered by the player. Roars when awoken, then begins spinning and moves toward the player. Can be stunned, whereupon he can be damaged by bombs.
  • Chicken god - Encountered sleeping, but wakes when encountered by the player. Can shoot blue bombs and fire a blue laser which both kill the player on contact. Has blue gem spots which stun when destroyed. When stunned, it can be damaged and killed by bombs.

Hazards[]

  • Saws - Activated by certain buttons. Moves horizontally and kills player on contact.
  • Spike squares
  • Turrets - Automatically moves on a track. Locks on to the player and fires bullets.
  • Lava balls - Fired up from lava.
  • Spikes - Kills the player on contact.
  • Arrow shooting rocks - Shoots arrows. Arrows are redirected downwards if they hit a bomb.
  • Blue hot sauce - Coats platforms and propels up a line of spikes that travels along it.
  • Crushers - Moves vertically and will kill the player if it crushes them.

Interactive objects[]

  • Bombs - Can be produced in an unlimited amount by the player. They glow and explode after a few seconds. Can kill the player. Can be pushed horizontally pushed by the player and bounced in many directions by screens.
  • Switches - Activate game components.
  • Conveyor belts - Moves entities on it to the left.
  • One-way chutes - Drops the player downwards and cannot be passed from below.
  • Pipes - Takes the player to another room when entered.
  • Red doors - Takes the player to another room.
  • Barrels - Moves forward when pushed and can destroy blocks.
  • Screens - Placed diagonally at corners. Can bounce bombs in many directions.
  • Cards - Can be collected and used to pass yellow-light gates.

Pick-ups[]

  • Gems - Can be collected and spent at shrines.
  • Treasure chests - Opened with a bomb explosion. Contains gems.
  • Cards - Can be collected and used to pass yellow-light gates.

Obstacles[]

  • Destructible blocks - Can be destroyed by bombs. Some blocks have gems on them, which yield gems when destroyed.
  • Wooden barriers - Can be destroyed by bombs.
  • Gates - Blocks the players path. Red-light gates are lifted by activating a switch while yellow-light gates require the player to have a card.

Achievements[]

Achievement Description
Graduate Finish the tutorial.
Poi Spin a hanging lamp full circle.
It's a Me Bounce 2nd boss 5 times.
Finisher Finish the game.
Unstoppable Beat the boss in under 2 minutes.
Stacked Have 20 bombs activate at once.
Explorer Visit all secret rooms.
Gem hunter Collect every gem.
Graceful Finish the 1st world without dying.
One Life Left Finish the game without upgrading hearts.

Announcements[]

  • March 16th, 2017 - Nitrome first announces the game via Twitter with a trailer. A copy of the trailer is also uploaded to their YouTube channel.
  • March 18th, 2017 - Bomb Chicken is 74% of the way to being in the top 100 games on Steam Greenlight.
  • March 19th, 2017 - The game is announced to be 90% of the way to the top 100 games on Steam Greenlight. It later enters the top 100 list and at spot 98.
  • March 20th, 2017 - Bomb Chicken reaches spot 56 on the Steam Greenlight rankings.
  • March 21st, 2017 - The game climbs to spot 44.
  • March 22nd, 2017 - Bomb Chicken reaches spot number 34.
  • March 23rd, 2017 - The game ranks 25th on Steam Greenlight.
  • March 24th, 2017 - Bomb Chicken reaches spot 20 on Steam Greenlight.
  • March 25th, 2017 - Bomb Chicken climbs to spot 17 on Steam Greenlight.
  • March 28th, 2017 - Bomb Chicken is greenlit on Steam Greenlight.
  • March 20th, 2018 - Bomb Chicken is announced for Nintendo Switch.
  • December 20th, 2018 - Nitrome announces on Twitter plans to port Bomb Chicken to Xbox One and PS4.
  • March 16, 2019 - Bomb Chicken is announced a physical release date of March 29th for PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

Development[]

Bomb Chicken was originally conceived for mobile, but later shifted to being a PC title as Nitrome felt that the game's gameplay was more suited for that platform and it was also a platform they had been interested in pursuing[8]. Bomb Chicken was announced on March 16th, 2017, and was posted to Steam Greenlight on this day[9]. On March 19th, the game entered the top 100 Steam Greenlight games[10], and from then until March 25th ranked higher and higher in the top 100[10]. The game was greenlit on March 28th[10]. On May 16th, Nitrome mentioned that the game was very likely going to be released in 2017[11], but later in November said that the game would not be meeting this date[12].

The game was released on Nintendo Switch in the Americas and Europe on July 12, 2018[1], and in Japan on November 1, 2018[13]. A Steam released followed on April 16th, 2019[2], and on PlayStation 4 on April 30, 2019[3]. The game was released on the App Store and Google Play on April 1st, 2020[citation needed]. A Free-to-Play version of the game was later released in China the same year and published by APPTUTTI[14].

Before the game had been greenlit, Nitrome had said that Steam trading cards, the game's soundtrack in some form, and leaderboards would likely be added[15], although they never were. Nitrome mentioned that a version of the game for Macintosh computers was likely, but one for the Linux operating system would require consideration[16]. Neither of these were ever released. While an Xbox One release was planned, it was eventually cancelled[17].

While Nitrome was open to doing DLC if the game brought in enough revenue to justify it, by December 2020 it had not hit this target and seemed unlikely it ever would[18]. Unrelated to this, Nitrome also mentioned that the game sold poorly on Steam[19].

Physical release[]

Nitrome Bomb Chicken physical copies

Nitrome shows off both physical copies and pins at the office.

Bomb Chicken had a limited physical release for PS4 and Switch via Limited Run Games in 2019. This was first announced on Limited Run Games' Twitter on March 15th[20], although Nitrome had previously expressed interest in working with Limited Run Games in 2018.[21] Pre-orders went live on March 29th and closed on April 12th. Each physical copy came with a Bomb Chicken Limited Run trading card and a full-colour ten page booklet labelled as the "BFC handbook", which included details on how to play the game, a bestiary, a story on Bomb Chicken's conception and content that was cut from the final product. The PS4 disc was also decorated to look like a bomb.

Limited Run Games also offered an enamel pin set, which was sold separately from the physical releases. Each set consisted of a chicken and bomb pin. Only 400 of the pins were made available.[22]

Trivia[]

  • BFC (Blue Fried Chicken) is a parody of KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken).
  • The achievement Poi, is a play on pi. Pi is actually the ratio of a circle's perimeter to the diameter. Moreover, the achievement requires the player to spin a hanging lamp in a full circle.
    • Another achievement It's A Me, is a nod to the Mario franchise. Moreover, the achievement requires the player to jump on the game's second boss.
  • This is the first game to be exported to consoles, then Steam and even as a premium game on mobile.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Nitrome on Dropbox: Bomb+Chicken+Fact+Sheet.pdf, retrieved 10 Apr 18.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Nitrome on Twitter: [1]: #BombChicken is out n Steam. Get it now for a limited discount of 10% OFF, 16 Apr 2019, retrieved 01 May 19.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Nitrome on Twitter: [2]: BombChicken is available digitally on PS4 store NOW!., 30 Apr 19, retrieved 01 May 19.
  4. 4.0 4.1 http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=884620027
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 https://twitter.com/Helm_ll/status/842432771175919625
  6. Jonathan Annal (@Jon_Annal) | Twitter on the Wayback Machine (archived 10 Apr 18 )
  7. Dave Cowen on Twitter: [3], 19 Jun 18, retrieved 19 Jun 18.
  8. Game Developer's Blog - Nitrome: Bomb Chicken - Steam! → Comment by Nitrome: With regards to mobile it is true that the game was started as a mobile experiment so the controls and tech are fine to work on that platform. Early in development we felt the structure of the game and scope lent itself more as a PC title and as that was an area we have been interested in a while decided to make that our key focus., 21 Jun 17, retrieved 27 Mar 18.
  9. Nitrome on Twitter: [4], 16 Mar 17, retrieved 10 Apr 17.
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Twitter: Bomb Chicken tweets from Nitrome from March 18th to 28th, retrieved 29 Aug 17.
  11. Nitrome on Twitter: [5]: ?: do you think it'll be ready this year?

    Nitrome: Yes it is very far along so something would have to go very wrong to not launch this year, 16 May 17, retrieved 13 Dec 17.
  12. Mat Annal on Twitter: [6]: NOBODY: Do you still plan to release Bomb Chicken in 2017?

    Mat Annal: No but it is still in active development. We don’t want to put a timeframe on it but it’s at an advanced state., 19 Nov 17, retrieved 13 Dec 17.
  13. My Nintendo Store: Bomb Chicken, ?, retrieved 14 Aug 21.
  14. Pocket Gamer: Bomb Chicken is now available for Android in mainland China through publisher APPTUTTI, 15 Oct 20, retrieved 30 Jul 21.
  15. 15.0 15.1 http://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/discussion/884620027/133259956007385378/#c133259956011812841
  16. https://twitter.com/Nitrome/status/846739090192175105
  17. https://twitter.com/Nitrome/status/1421268837094264835
  18. Nitrome on Twitter: [7], 26 Dec 20, retrieved 13 Nov 21.
  19. Jon Annal on Twitter: [8]: - We havent [sic] seen anywhere near any sort of return on steam before. [for any of Nitrome's games released on Steam as of January 2022] , 13 Jan 22, retrieved 15 Jan 22.
  20. Limited Run Games tweet, March 15, 2019, retrieved April 1, 2020.
  21. Nitrome tweet, June 20, 2018, retrieved April 1, 2020.
  22. Limited Run Games: Bomb Chicken Enamel Pin Set, retrieved April 1, 2020.
  23. Nitrome on Twitter: [9]: Its coming to #NintendoSwitch first this summer (date tbc)., 26 Apr 18, retrieved 26 Apr 18.
  24. Nitrome on YouTube: Bomb Chicken Teaser, 16 Mar 17, retrieved 25 Mar 18.
  25. Nitrome on YouTube: Bomb Chicken Nintendo Switch Trailer, 20 Mar 18, retrieved 25 Mar 18.
  26. Ninty Videos on YouTube: Bomb Chicken (Switch) Trailer - Nindies Showcase March 2018, 20 Mar 18, retrieved 25 Mar 18.
  27. Nintendo World Report TV on YouTube: 5 Minutes of Bomb Chicken at GDC 2018 (Nintendo Switch Direct Feed), 22 Mar 18, retrieved 25 Mar 18.
  28. GameXplain on YouTube: Switch Nindie Games Galore! - Hands-On DISCUSSION (Travis, Chickens, Messengers, & More! GDC 2018), 25 Mar 18, retrieved 25 Mar 18.


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