Shuriken Chicken Review

In an App Store full of endless runners, what makes Shuriken Chicken stand out from the crowd? Two things, mostly. How often do we see ninja chickens that can jump high while flinging shurikens across the arena? Not often, I'd wager. More importantly, the visual style of Shuriken Chicken is pretty special. The graphics were hand crafted from felt, photographed then animated for iOS. It makes for an unique look that's much more eye catching than conventional means.

Besides such glimmers of imagination, Shuriken Chicken can seem a little run of the mill, although still worth taking a look. The ninja chicken runs along the screen with players ensuring it dodges spikes, boxes, traps, witches and spaceships. It's a bizarre mix but it works.

Controls are simple to learn. Swiping up causes the chicken to jump while swiping downwards makes him slide under obstacles. Shuriken Chicken can also go on the offensive with his ability to throw ninja stars to destroy the witches and spaceships in his way. This form of attack improves steadily with the retrieval of power ups such as lasers and scatter attacks.

It's simple and predictable stuff admittedly, as things rarely change too hugely in the world of Shuriken Chicken. Obstacles do get more varied such as the need to time jumps in order to bounce from trampolines and hitting relevant spots with shurikens to clear traps. The backdrop to Shuriken Chicken never changes, however, which can get a little dull after a while.

Shuriken Chicken is a fun little game but there is that sense that it could offer more. The selection of Game Center achievements goes a long way to encouraging repeated plays but there's still that wish for different levels or a form of scoring for shooting enemies. Hopefully in a future update, perhaps. The foundations for something special are clearly there.