Not all stories have a happy and colorful beginning, others start in the worst way, often in the saddest way possible. Not always the protagonist he is the hero with sound principles, the one acclaimed by the people, who manages to save the damsel in danger thanks to his skills and his willpower. Often the role of the protagonist is played by a dark, gloomy, sad character who takes refuge in himself, partly to feel safer, partly because the world around him has hopelessly disappointed him. And if it is true that all that glitters is not always gold, it is at the same time true, fortunately, that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, and it is precisely to this light that the protagonist of Chicken Police: Paint it RED!. The title of this graphic adventure might make you smile, but the noir tale of the exploits of Sonny Featherland, a former alcoholic cop, is far from happy. Set in a very different world from ours, where there are anthropomorphic animals, with animal heads and human bodies, the title developed by The Wild Gentlemen and published by HandyGames, draws heavily from the most classic investigative stories, but does so without falling into the banal, managing to tell a dense and compelling plot. The authors of the title, despite being part of an independent study, are still a guarantee: among the most relevant names we find people who have worked on the development of titles of the caliber of The Witcher 3, Call of Duty: WWII, Warhammer: Mark of Chaos, the series Crysis, Haegemonia and Ryse: Son of Rome. It is therefore a project that, since its announcement, had all the credentials to be a really good product and we are happy not to have been disappointed at all!
Two sides of the same coin
As anticipated at the beginning, the protagonist of Chicken Police: Paint it RED! is Sonny Featherland, a former cop who once, along with his trusted friend and colleague Marty McChicken, boasted the title of best detective of the entire city of Clawville. The classic "case gone wrong" has however destroyed the reputation and soul of the two agents who have now separated and lead very different lives. The failure has in fact led Sonny to withdraw into himself: he spends his days in his hotel room, always drinking one sip too many and waiting to smoke that last cigarette he has placed in his desk drawer, along with his badge and his gun . On the other hand we find Marty, who continues to hide behind the title of "super detective", but who hides more and more insecurities and doubts within himself. On New Year's Eve, however, an enigmatic young lady knocks on the door of Sonny's room, asking him for help in solving a difficult mystery and rekindling hope in the detective, who decides to team up with his former partner to shed light on the intricate web of puzzles.
We stop here, we do not want to tell you more about the splendid plot which, in around 10 hours necessary to complete it, will keep you glued to the screen, thanks to a pressing and never boring narrative. An incredible succession of twists moreover they are just one of the many nuances of a noir story that will be appreciated in every single detail. Sonny and Marty are two sides of the same coin, who face difficulties in a different but specular way, and who are the protagonists of a profound adventure, seasoned however with some bittersweet notes of humor, which help to create a perfect rhythm.
The last cigarette...
In many cases it happens that point and click adventures have a gameplay undertone that fails to be fully appreciated by the player and that only serves as a contour to the plot of the title. Fortunately, this is not the case with Chicken Police: Paint it RED!, In fact, in the graphic adventure developed by The Wild Gentlemen, gameplay and plot blend perfectly. In addition to the more classic phases in which the player has to "point and click" elements on a static background, to collect clues or simply interact with them, in Chicken Police we also find different possibilities regarding the dialogue with the other characters.
One of the main points of the gameplay of the title is precisely the dialogue, more specifically the interrogation. Once enough clues have been collected, the player can query the character on duty, to get the information he needs. These are certainly very interesting gameplay phases, which represent the heart of the title, and manage to convince, net of some small things. Although the basic idea is very interesting and the gameplay is well structured, in most cases this mechanic seemed too guided. Nothing that compromises the playability of the title is clear, but we would have liked a challenge level higher from this point of view.
We talked about the interaction with the objects present within the various scenes, and it is therefore necessary to emphasize that, although there is a real Inventory, it is completely unused: there is in fact the possibility of using the collected objects. The title also presents a system for moving between the various levels: using the appropriate icon, the player has the possibility to open the map city, from which you can select your destination. Are present over 25 Of these backdrops, some directly related to the main storyline, others to secondary assignments and which can only be visited at certain times. For example, if you advance too far with the plot, some areas will be unlocked, while others will be permanently locked.
The long goodbye
From the point of view technical, Chicken Police: Paint it RED! he bases his settings and characters on static, very realistic images, almost as if to look like real photographs. Despite this, the game features some beautiful glimpses and really well done animations. The level design it is also of excellent workmanship and we have not encountered any kind of bugs or glitches. The game style, noir, totally in black and white, is a real treat for fans of the genre, who will hardly not appreciate this stylistic choice.
even the sound compartment it is no exception, with an excellent and fits perfectly colonna sonora that accompanies the game very well, and well-made sound effects. Even the dubbing, totally in language English, presents a very high acting level, which manages to perfectly emphasize every expression of the characters of the game. As just mentioned, unfortunately, the game was neither dubbed nor subtitled in Spanish, and for this reason some players may not fully enjoy the beauty of Chicken Police: Paint it RED!
