Chicken Police – Paint It RED!| Xbox One Review

November 14, 2020 Alyssa White

I’m an absolute sucker for a gripping detective story. What happens when anthropomorphic animals and a visual style reminiscent of classic film noir are added to the mix? I’m hooked, line and sinker, and need to play that game immediately. The Wild Gentlemen have crafted just that experience with Chicken Police, and it’s one of the most original gaming experiences of the year.

Pretty Dames Are Trouble

You play as Santino “Sonny” Featherland, a rooster who is a detective for the Clawville Police Department. He is one-half of the legendary “Chicken Police”, but he’s also an alcoholic who has ruined his reputation, and is one hundred and twenty one days away from retirement. After receiving an inquiry for help from the mysterious and beautiful Natasha Catzenko, he and his former partner Martin “Marty” MacChicken tackle her harassment case. It soon becomes a much more twisted story after written threats escalate to something far more horrific, though…

Buckle Up for a Wild Ride

Chicken Police took me about six hours to complete, but the length feels perfect. It’s long enough to pack in plenty of story elements and clues, but doesn’t overstay its welcome or drag things out. This is a visual novel with point-and-click elements mixed in and a few minigames sprinkled throughout, and that combination ensured that no one mechanic became tiresome. The gorgeous black-and-white visuals with rare splashes of vibrant color and photorealistic graphics also elevated this title above other entries in the genre. I was constantly in awe of how beautiful the game looked. The voice acting is also superb, and each character feels distinct and like a real person…I mean animal.

A Couple of Missed Clues

There are a couple of issues that somewhat hold Chicken Police back from true greatness though. The words in the subtitles are often missing letters, and don’t match what the characters are saying. This isn’t a big issue if you turn off the subtitles, but seeing as this is a visual novel, they feel essential to the experience. I also noticed some commands took a few seconds to register, and my game completely froze at one point, forcing me to quit and reload my game. This caused me to replay a fairly sizable segment due to the infrequent checkpoints.

Case Closed

Chicken Police is a fresh, original experience that deserves your attention. The gripping story, stunning visuals, varied gameplay, and excellent voice acting ensure that you’re glued to your screen for the entire adventure. A few hiccups do hinder the game though. Typos in the subtitles, some controls not immediately registering, and the possibility of the game freezing are minor annoyances. Still, these shouldn’t hold you back from delving into this intriguing world.

This review is based on an Xbox One review copy of Chicken Police – Paint It RED! provided by Evolve PR for coverage purposes. It is also available on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC.