Chickens Don't Fly

[h2]Sadistic, but satisfying as cluck[/h2] [b]Chickens Don't Fly[/b] is a delightfully deep yet brutally unforgiving climbing platformer that has the player trying to break out of a maximum security prison complex as an anthropomorphic chicken equipped only with a trusty pair of plunger-powered grappling hooks. As a solodev title, the gameplay and presentation are extremely polished, and there are enough elements of mystery and subversion sprinkled throughout the single large level to engage the player in the story alongside the other aspects. Incidentally, the grappling hook mechanics are the best I've encountered in any video game, in equal parts due to the high degree of freedom over direction & launch power, the realistic momentum behavior, the secondary midair grapple, and the ability to hang in place indefinitely. It's probably the closest you will get to feeling like Spider-Man in a 2D game (even compared to official SM games). Of course, a high degree of player control is a trait of the best "foddians" out there, and [b]CDF[/b] is no different from the greats in its demand of extreme precision in return. The map design reminds me most strongly of [i]Jump King[/i] in that the journey is almost completely vertical, but with some little side paths and NPC fetch quests. The overall challenge lives up to [i]Jump King[/i] too, with the later zones of [b]CDF[/b] arguably being as hard as the toughest ones in [i]JK[/i], or perhaps even more due to this game's controls relying on mouse movement versus just one button. I ended up stuck trying to pass through one specific zone for hours before finally locking in the required techniques. There are quite a few devastating moments where you realize that yes, the game really expects you to land on [i]that platform[/i], and these often happen in succession in the later portions of the map. I still have more to accomplish in the game, but from what I've experienced so far, I can recommend it with flying colors. Just know that it's going to demand your very best effort (unless you are content getting only the bad ending). By the way, if you enjoy this type of game, I also suggest checking out the r/foddians subreddit for discussion and the 'Getting Over It-likes' curator for similar recommendations ;)