It’s well…a cluster for sure.
When a game lands in your lap called Fluster Cluck, your mind begins to wonder exactly what sort of game this could be. I had no prior knowledge of it or its developer, and went in with as blank of a slate as possible. I knew one thing and one thing only; “it’s a twin stick shooter” they said. Nothing could have truly prepared me for what the game had to offer.
After a very hilarious opening video that details the mechanics, I thought maybe the same humor would apply to the core game play. Sadly, it did not. Fluster Cluck is what I would consider to be a party game. The premise is simple: take a character, move them around the small and large size maps, and pick up anything that can be sucked up in their beam. All while attacking other AI or players and dropping anything into a container to turn them into chickens. Yes, chickens! If the game didn’t already sound appealing enough, I’m sure it does now.
I am not even sure what is happening here.
MSRP: $8.99
Time to beat: 4 hours
Multiplayer: 1-4
Price I would pay: $0
The game might not sound appealing in the slightest, but I can say that is has a very simple design in both its visuals and game play, while performing as one would expect from a game of this nature. It’s not pushing the power of the PS4 whatsoever. Yet, aside from that, the intro was more enjoyable than the entirety of the game, and that’s a shame. The man yelling at me from the start was quite humorous. but there is nothing else silly about it.
The sound effects and musical score repeat entirely too much for its own good. I had to turn it off at one point. The controls are simple enough, but often times feel extremely floaty, which normally one could get adjusted to. Here though, the game requires players to have almost direct precision when dropping items into their chicken transformer. This can prove frustrating and difficult, especially when there are other players or AI shooting. Fluster Cluck indeed.
Four-player splitscreen is a nice feature.
It’s blatantly obvious this game is meant to be played with three other people, yet I can’t see anyone finding three other friends that would want to actively spend their time on this. The best way to describe it would be to take the worst Mario party style mini game and stretch it into a full blown release. There’s better ways to spend your money, and a bucket of chicken is one of them. This bird is cooked and done.
Fluster Cluck has the makings of a game, I can say that much. It might run smoothly and have a very simple look and design, but this can’t save a game from the mediocrity. Play with the AI or play with your friends, either way you’ll probably end up hating yourself and giving your friends a headache. If I was to walk up to someone and ask “Have you played Fluster Cluck?” I’d probably get the strange eye, which pretty much sums up my thoughts on the game as a whole.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
