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The Deck Pals gang gets plucky with a special springtime top 10...
A nice little 'Easter egg' in most games is the humble chicken - beloved by farmers and plasticine pie factories the world over. But how do they hold up when their beaks are on the line?
First, lets crack open the history. A quick shout-out to the good people at De Montfort University Leicester for posing the initial question 'Why was the chicken put in the video game?'; an academic weigh-in on par with whether the chicken or egg came first. Or why the former then went on to cross the road. Well, DMU's leading computer ethicist (we love this title!) Dr Catherine Flick wrote a chicken dinner of a paper on the fate of the bird in gaming with University of Leicester zooarchaeologist Dr Tyr Fothergill (GREAT name). Studying a whopper 55 video games, the topic actually spirals out into fellow blogs and subreddits on the human-chicken relationship.
While Flick's paper looked at the more grizzly side of virtual chickens being punched, yeeted and roasted, we wanted to consider the iconic credentials of these friendly little guys. So, without further ado, here are our very scientific ratings of 10 feathered cameos:
Minecraft:
Darren: A classic chicken with a charming cluck. Minecraft is, at first glance, a simple game with simple mechanics and plenty of time to relax and take in your surroundings to enjoy the world around you. The Minecraft chicken is a big part of that, whether it's providing you with feathers, food, or simple company, it's a keeper in my books! 7/10 Clucks.
Chloe: Perhaps on par with shooting air spells at the Runescape chickens in their cages, the Minecraft chicken is a sturdy staple. However, I am unsure just how 'chicken' this particular pixel pal actually is. The face gives more 'duck' than 'chuck'. Looks cute sitting, though. 4/10 Clucks.
Jenny: These chickens look as if they are staring straight into your soul, but it’s all part of their charm! My favourite thing to do in Minecraft is create chicken armies and release them to nearby villages, or gather an inventory full of eggs to spawn a collection of chickens into the Nether. They will always have a special place in my chicken-shaped heart. 10/10 Clucks
Stardew Valley:
Darren: Though it's not my favourite looking chicken, the Stardew Valley clucker represents one of my favourite parts of the game: ranching. Sure, crops are easier once you've got a good sprinkler system in place, but there's just so much more life to having a farm filled with feathery friends! Yes, I'm likely to ditch them for ducks at the earliest chance, but they'll always be the OG coop companions for me. 8/10 Clucks.
Chloe: Now we're talking! This chicken is plump and fluffy. Those tail feathers are a work of art. The only downer is that they're Shane's favourite – and I am not a canonical fan of Shane. But that's not the chickens fault, is it? I should be less prejudice. The final feather in this chicken's cap is the singular beauty and satisfaction of the eggs laid. Pleasing to behold. 10/10 Clucks.
Jenny: The Stardew Valley chicken could easily be a contender for mascot of the game (if we were to put junimos and stardrops aside). Their simple pixel designs are masterfully done - with the friendly appearance of the starter brown and white chickens; to the grumpy emo-looking void chickens; and finally, the fancy and fantastical blue chickens. My SDV farms will always contain a minimum one of each! 10/10 Clucks.
Animal Crossing:
Darren: This one is interesting, because we're not talking about animals here…we're talking about people! Well, animal people to be more specific but you get my drift. You can't go off appearances and plucky clucking alone! With a person comes a personality and I have to admit that the chickens in Animal Crossing have never been my favourites… Sorry Goose. 3/10 Clucks.
Chloe: Ava, Betty and Rhoda are all babes in my book, but, I could quite happily play AC without the chicken squad. They sort of remind me of the chicken characters in Beastars which just brings up uncomfortable thoughts about the egg economy in that universe. 4/10 Clucks.
Jenny: As much as I have always loved chickens within all games, the chickens in the Animal Crossing series have never quite been my favourite. The early-Animal Crossing chickens have far more character and personality, than the ones in the later games. Nevertheless, I will always keep a chicken or two in my line-up of villagers and I still have fond memories of each of them. 10/10 Clucks.
Divinity Original Sin 2
Darren: For the most part, chickens in Divinity, much like many of the other animals, are fairly uneventful as you make your way through the game. However, it's when you unlock the Pet Pals trait that things can get interesting! Suddenly, every chick, hen and cockerel has a story to tell and you can't say that for many of the other games on this list. 4/10 Clucks.
Chloe: Ah, the power of polymorph. There is NOTHING more satisfying than poofing somebody into a chicken, come fight me on that. From Hearthstone to Divinity, my play style gremlin lives for this wild card. As to the chickens themselves? Small, squat and helpless is a satisfying sight on the battlefield. 5/10 Clucks.
Jenny: At first glance, the DOS2 chickens are just another asset to add to the world-building. But as Darren mentioned, the Pet Pal talent allows you to speak to all of the animals that appear in the game. Naturally, this was the first perk I chose. If you speak to the chickens at the small farmstead just outside of Driftwood, you will embark upon a quest to retrieve some missing eggs. Sounds simple enough, right? But with Voidwoken and a magical rooster involved, this leads to a series of tragic events. Very sad :( 10/10 Clucks.
Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons:
Darren: Now this one takes me back! For this game, I'll be thinking of Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life on the GameCube, my very first pilgrimage into the farming life genre, and one filled with so many fond memories. Like with Stardew, the little guys were my gateway into caring for virtual farmyard animals and it's something that I'll never forget! Unlike Stardew though, these guys were my very first lovable chickens and that gives them the edge. 9/10 Clucks.
Chloe: These guys and their chicks make my heart want to implode. I think it's something to do with how tiny they are. Just dotted about, bobbing around. For as long as I can remember, I've yearned for one in plush form. There is a caveat to this though – I prefer them in 8-bit to more recent iterations. 8/10 Clucks.
Jenny: Harvest Moon chickens are cute and simple - a perfect pixel pal. Much like the SDV chicken, they are a staple to the farming sim game. You can’t have a Harvest Moon game without chickens. I’m in agreement with Chloe that the 8-bit chickens are superior to their 3D rendered companions. But even so - a chicken is a chicken. 10/10 Clucks
Pokémon:
Darren: I've been playing Pokémon for almost as long as I've been alive! Though I definitely have a lot of gripes with some of the games, I have to admit I've played every single one, and enjoyed most! So when it comes to chickens, what do we have? Well, Torchic is what you have, Torchic and it's evolutions. Do I think they're a bad Pokémon? Not particularly. Do I choose Treecko over Torchic every time? Absolutely. 4/10 Clucks.
Chloe: Pokémon has chickens? Who wrote this list? I dispute this. 1/10 Clucks?
Jenny: I obviously chose Torchic as my starter - who could reject that cute little face. Adorable. Not quite as cute as it goes through it’s subsequent evolutions, but they are just as valid. Forget stats and type-matchups - Pokémon teams are about bringing together the cutest little guys! And my team line-up will always have space for Torchic. 10/10 Clucks.
Fable:
Darren: A classic rpg that seems to focus on chickens a lot more than you might think necessary! The chickens in Fable are mere punching bags… well kicking bags might be more apt actually. They serve little purpose other than this and are also part to blame for the infamous Chicken Chaser moniker. Not a fan. 3/10 Clucks.
Chloe: There's something a smidge sinister about these chickens. They look a little dead behind the eyes. Poor little punching bags. 1/10 Clucks.
Jenny: Who decided to make the game-mechanic of kicking chickens?! …I just want a word… It could’ve been petting chickens or cuddling chickens instead! These poor creatures do not deserve this. Not quite as tragic as DOS2 but still sad :( At least there are chickens in this game. 10/10 Clucks.
The Legend of Zelda:
Darren: From Ocarina of Time to Breath of the Wild, there's usually a chicken to be found when playing a Zelda title. And though I'm a fan of almost every entry in this franchise, it's the cartoon themed chickens of Wind Waker that are my personal favourite! What's that you say? The Cucco in Wind Waker are actually pigs? Hmm... Maybe we should make a top 10 pigs list? 10/10 Clucks.
Chloe: Similar to how I feel about the chickens in Harvest Moon, I prefer the 8-bit chickens from earlier games. Also similar to Harvest Moon, I feel these chickens are very closely related. 6/10 Clucks.
Jenny: The Legend of Zelda series wouldn’t be the same without the Cucco. They are classic and charming - not to mention the Cucco chicks! I love them all and have nothing more to say that hasn’t already been said. 10/10 Clucks.
Skyrim:
Darren: What can be said about the Skyrim chicken? Not much to look at, not much to interact with either, but if there's one thing they have going for them, it's that they're one hell of a good target for shooting at with a bow! Add in Skyrim's bow kill cam and you've got yourself a satisfying spectacle, even if it wasn't actually the chicken you were aiming for. 6/10 Clucks.
Chloe: Realism = sinister-ism? I'm sensing a pattern here. However, they do add to the charming rustic feel of the towns and hamlets. For that, 4/10 Clucks.
Jenny: This is definitely a chicken. Nice. 10/10 Clucks.
Ultimate Chicken Horse:
Darren: Though it's not the first thought I have when thinking of gaming chickens, it's hard to argue that chickens are in full feature here, well, one at least! The game itself is a hilarious combination of platforming and screwing over your friends and the cast of characters (chicken very much included) are full of charm and hilarious animations. 6/10 Clucks.
Chloe: Shaggy guy with a crossbow. I enjoy how Jenny always plays as the chicken so am kind of rating her by extension? I'm thinking too much here. Standalone, within the rambunctious, infuriating and zany gameplay, the chicken is a conniving little rugrat who gives the sense of a rugrat in a chicken suit. 2/10 Clucks.
Jenny: This is a fun party game that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The chicken design is not a typical farming-sim animal, but it’s more humanoid appearance fits the themes and mechanics for the game. If I can’t play as a chicken in this game, I won’t play at all. Unfortunately, I’m extremely bad at this game and have seen this chicken die many times :( poor thing. RIP. 10/10 Clucks.
Final Ranking
10. Fable
9. Pokémon
8. Animal Crossing
7. Ultimate Chicken Horse
6. Divinity Original Sin 2
5. Skyrim
4. Minecraft
3. The Legend of Zelda
2. Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons
1. Stardew Valley
BONUS CONTENT UNLOCKED
Jenny’s Honourable Mentions...
FFXIV Green Chicken:
This chicken is one of my favourite minions in the game - obtained from one of the slapstick-comedy Hildibrand questlines. Not only is it a chicken, but it’s a green chicken. Well worth the effort.
WoW Chicken:
One of my first and favourite memories of playing WoW back in 2008 or so, was running all the way to Westfall in order to obtain my very own Westfall chicken. My brother told me the secret to unlocking this companion - cluck incessantly at a chicken and then give it some of the special chicken feed bought from a nearby vendor. Not to mention the long questline of escort quests to unlock a Mechanical Chicken - that kept 12-year-old me occupied for hours upon hours.
Well, there you have it! Our hat toss into the gaming chicken ring. Of course, the debate still rages, with so many gaming chickens, so little time. If you feel as strongly as we do about chickens, share below in the comments. Let the record state that Jenny keeps pet chickens, this blog post is dedicated to them. With thanks to @Chickensingames on Twitter for doing the lord's work.
Like what you read? Deck Pals is a book club for games run by 3 friends with 3 distinctive play styles. You can follow us on Instagram @deckpals, Twitter @deckpals and we have a Steam group @deckpals. If you're up for a casual gaming podcast, check us out.