Why did the chicken cross the road? Maybe it was to avoid 99-cent transactions and free-to-play mobile games that aren't free at all.
Australian developer Hipster Whale has created a game filled with whimsy and nostalgia that avoids the aforementioned mobile gaming pitfalls. Inspired by the ’80s arcade classic Frogger, Crossy Road is a beautiful, fun game that treats consumers with respect while still being one of the best mobile games available.
Crossy Road was released in November on iOS and earlier this month for Android devices via Google Play. The goal is simple: achieve the highest score possible.
Using one of over 50 unlockable characters, players will maneuver across busy roads, avoid speeding trains, and jump treacherous streams. Each step forward is worth one point. Moving is as simple as tapping to go forward or swiping with a finger to move left, right, or backward.
Unlike its frog-focused inspiration, Crossy Road does not provide time to ponder the next move. The screen will continue to progress, forcing the player onward. Fail to move fast enough and your character is taken away by a hawk. Harsh? Maybe. The absurdity of seeing a horse, a baseball player, or the Grim Reaper carried away by a bird is a large part of the game’s charm.
Silliness abounds in Crossy Road. Characters like Speedy Snail and Poopy Pigeon will leave trails in their wake. Some characters have specific changes to the level when played. The Celebrity will have paparazzi in her stages, taking pictures as she hops by. The Festive Chicken’s level glows white in a blanket of Christmas snow.
The award for best character goes to Doge, a dog based on the internet meme of the same name. The changes while playing as Doge are too good to spoil and so funny that players may find themselves distracted from the task of avoiding the obstacles.
The audio design is stellar, with cars zipping past and their noise fading as they drive off-screen. Each character also has specific noises that trigger when moved. Characters will splat with satisfying, cartoon-like sound when run over by oncoming traffic.
The small touches in sound and art design, show Crossy Road’s focus on presentation. The graphics use voxels, a cube-based pixel style most recognized in the 2012 platformer Fez. Each character, car, and piece of terrain is comprised of cubes. Jump into the water and the character will leave a splash of cubed water in its wake.
The style gives a symmetrical, clean look to each design and is beautiful in motion. Voxels provide the benefit of a colorful look that will age better than games attempting a realistic style.
The game’s voxel art is less reliant on processing power than most titles. Crossy Road runs smooth on almost any smart device. If stuttering occurs, graphical settings such as shadows can be turned off to improve performance.
Settings to improve performance are one of many ways Hipster Whale has made the game accessible to players of every kind. The most important feature is that Crossy Road is free to download and play, avoiding mechanics like regenerating lives, such as in Candy Crush Saga.
Only one kind of microtransaction is in Crossy Road: the ability to buy characters. Almost every character costs 99 cents. Players can also unlock new characters through coins that are collected as free gifts and in-game. Turn in 100 coins and a random character is added to the collection. A few special characters are unlocked after completing hidden objectives.
Hipster Whale’s approach to free-to-play is refreshing given the current state of mobile gaming. Many titles say they are free, only to sneak transactions in after the fact. Worse yet are free-to-play titles that bombard device notification bars with alerts about sales.
The advertisements in Crossy Road are optional, 10-second videos that give a small amount of coins if watched. While there are notifications from the game for when the next free gift is available, the alerts can be disabled.
A lack of interruptions is great since players will want to play many rounds in a row. The simple act of trying to top a previous high score is addicting. Players can also link their Facebook, Apple GameCenter, and Google+ accounts to challenge friends. When a high score is shared on social media, the game includes a snapshot that shows the hapless, squished creature.
Crossy Road is a perfect storm of engaging gameplay, oddball humor, and a unique presentation style. Future mobile games should take note of what Crossy Road has done, as it will be hard to compete with such a complete — and free — package.
Why did the chicken cross the road? Probably because it saw that hawk coming.
Contact Will Harrison at wharrison@theblade.com or on Twitter @DoubleUHarrison.
First Published January 22, 2015, 5:00 a.m.
