Ultimate Chicken Horse review - "A subpar port of a great game"

• Create custom levels
• Compete against other players
• Poor controls

Ultimate Chicken Horse is a party platformer in which you and your opponent design a treacherous platformer level that you must attempt to cross. While Ultimate Chicken Horse has been available on PC and other platforms for some time, it's finally made its mobile debut. You'll select a cutesy animal as your avatar and carefully place platforms and obstacles, all while proving to your friends that you're a platforming pro.

Ultimate Chicken Horse Features Over 20 Levels to Unlock

You can download the multiplayer platformer adventure for free and gain access to early levels. However, to unlock the remaining levels, you'll need to purchase the app for $9.99. At the time of writing, NoodleCake is running a special allowing you to snag it for just $7.99.

While there are only 21 levels to unlock, Ultimate Chicken Horse includes tons of blocks and traps, allowing you to design distinct custom levels. You can place traps such as the Hockey Shooter, Barbed Wire, or Punching Flower with the express purpose of thwarting your opponent's attempts to complete a level.

A well-placed glob of honey slows your foes down, while a Black Hole Trap can quickly remove them from the round. The aim is to do whatever it takes to keep your opponents from completing the level so you can earn points. Of course, the other players will be trying to trip you up with traps of their own.

Set Traps to Trip up the Competition in Ultimate Chicken Horse

Beyond traps, you can also place platforms and moving objects. Moving objects really spice up your levels. For instance, the fire hydrant periodically shoots water, which can give you a boost, while the Paper Plane Shooter creates paper aeroplanes that work as temporary platforms.

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While primarily a multiplayer experience, Ultimate Chicken Horse does include a solo-play mode in which you can fully design your own levels and explore or alter them at your own pace. Solo mode may not be as exciting as party mode, but it does act as an easy point of entry for new players. Unlike multiplayer levels, which are on a timer, in solo mode, you can take all the time you need adjusting to the on-screen controls. 

Ultimate Chicken Horse Has Clunky Controls

The virtual controls for Ultimate Chicken Horse feel more than a tad clunky. You’ll use the on-screen joystick to move your avatar, the A button to jump, and the D to choose and place objects. To run, you need to hold the C button, which feels awkward, especially when you're also using the joystick to navigate between platforms as efficiently as possible. You’ll likely have an easier time managing the controls if you opt to connect an external controller.

There are multiple online modes for you to partake in, including Party and Creative. In party mode, you and the other players will build a level together using random objects that appear in the party box at the beginning of each round. Creative mode is similar, except you can access the full library of objects to make even more zany levels. You can even tweak rules and customise game modes to suit your playstyle. Further, if you want to play with friends, there is an option to play locally. 

While Ultimate Chicken Horse has a great concept, it doesn't transition well to mobile. Playing this party platformer on a phone makes crafting levels more challenging due to the small screen size, and the virtual controls result in a clunky experience. It’s still fun to create custom levels and unlock new avatars and levels. However, you may prefer to play this one on PC or console.