Rather than having set difficulty levels, things adapts to your playstyle. Also, the difficulty is solely determined by the skill level of the people playing and is easily adaptable. The rules are simple - win - and the levels become more outlandish as the rounds go on. Ultimate Chicken Horse is great because the rounds are quick, easy to play, and fun to watch. Unlike other games with set party sizes, Chicken Horse is fit for 2-4 local and online players, so you can play with friends or randoms even if you can't visit each other for a while. The game gives bonus points to underdogs to stop one person running away with the lead too easily, so there's always a chance for a comeback. The only buttons are to move and jump, so people of any gaming ability can give it a go. Do you try and fix the main route or do you build a separate one underneath and hope no one notices? Do you build traps to rack up kill points or just try and box everyone in at the start point? There are many different strategies to use, and what's great about the game is how low the barrier to entry is. It quickly goes from cute platformer to an unhinged death race as players place more and more outlandish obstacles in each other's path. If one obstacle is stopping you dead in your tracks, grab the nuke and blast it out of the level. If you get an early lead then it's in your best interest to prevent anyone else from succeeding, even yourself, so make the course as hard as possible. The start of each round is a race in and of itself, everyone rushes to grab whatever item may help them most. Next round there will be a trap or two, some ice, a crossbow that fires bolts infinitely, even a black hole. Things get pretty weird when multiple people are all trying to screw each other over.Īt the start of each round, a box is shaken up and opened to reveal a host of goodies - platforms, girders, conveyor belts, things meant to make getting to the end easier. So, you have to make a route that only you can navigate. If everyone finishes, however, no one gets any points as the game reasons the course must have been too easy. You receive points for finishing, for being first, and for killing others with your traps.

The twist is, instead of just racing across a pre-determined level, you and your friends get access to items you can use to build an obstacle course between the starting line and the endpoint.

There's a start and endpoint alongside some level hazards, like a large drop, some farm equipment, or broken glass. Levels start simple but grow more complex - two rooftops with a gap between them, a farm with a barn and silo, a winding waterfall, a dancefloor with a strobe light. It all seems cute at first, you pick an animal avatar and just have to race over simple levels to be crowned the ultimate chicken, or horse, or raccoon - I always pick the raccoon, dibbs.

Ultimate chicken horse multiplayer