Runaway Chicken

Runaway Chicken Game Review

Switch Studios is a UK-based Games Global partner known for turning iconic slots like Immortal Romance and Mega Moolah into roulette games. However, with the release of Runaway Chicken, this crafty provider is venturing into the arcade-style genre, offering a simple yet engaging road crossing game.

You start by choosing your preferred bet level from €0.10 to €100 per round, and the chicken stands ready at the bottom of the screen, waiting for the go signal from you hitting the play button to start the crossing. Unlike regular slot games, Runaway Chicken has no spinning reels. Instead, the outcome of each round is determined by whether or not the chicken successfully crosses the road without being run over by a car.

Runaway Chicken - Game Screen

If the chicken makes it across the 4-lane highway without becoming roadkill, you can choose to cash out your winnings or cross another road for even higher winnings. Each road you cross successfully increases your payout, but if the chicken is run over, you lose everything and have to start all over again at level 1. There are 9 levels in total, meaning 9 roads to cross.

There are no special features, bonus rounds, free rounds, or bonus games in Runaway Chicken, so the whole focus is on crossing the roads to increase your payout. Cash out while the chicken is still alive to win, or take it all the way to the final level to go for the 300x max win. With a hit rate of 56.1%, your odds are not all that shabby, and the game’s overall RTP clocks in at a decent 96%.

Runaway Chicken Features & How To Play

This is a fairly straightforward and simple game, and there aren’t too many features to cover. You can always test the Runaway Chicken free play demo to see for yourself, but either way, we will do our best to clarify what you are up against below.

After choosing your bet level, you hit the play button to start the round. The chicken will then either successfully cross the road or become roadkill, simple as that. If the chicken makes it to the other side of the road, you win. It’s quite a capable chicken, too, as it can jump over cars that would otherwise run it over. The outcome is, of course, totally random.

Once the chicken is safely on the other side of the road, you can choose to either collect your winnings or continue to cross another road. If you decide to continue, you risk losing your winnings, but this is the only way to win even more. There are 9 roads to cross in total, and the payout increases for each completed stage. Here is the overview:

• Completing Stage 1 awards 1.4x your stake.
• Completing Stage 2 awards 2.2x your stake.
• Completing Stage 3 awards 4.3x your stake.
• Completing Stage 4 awards 8.6x your stake.
• Completing Stage 5 awards 17.3x your stake.
• Completing Stage 6 awards 34.6x your stake.
• Completing Stage 7 awards 69.5x your stake.
• Completing Stage 8 awards 138.5x your stake.
• Completing Stage 9 awards 300x your stake.

Keep in mind that your winnings do not accumulate per stage you complete. Instead, you win only the amount you have achieved at the current stage if you choose to cash out. And yes, you can choose to cash out whenever the chicken has completed a stage by crossing the road without being run over by a car.

Runaway Chicken - Game Screen

Theme & Graphics

Runaway Chicken is an instant win arcade-style game, reminiscent of the classic Frogger, but with no control of the chicken’s movement. The chicken is perched precariously at the bottom of the screen, ready to cross the 4-lane highway at your command. It’s capable of jumping cars, stopping between lanes, and maneuvering its way to the other side as best it can on its own. The simple, guitar-plucking soundtrack keeps the mood lighthearted, with puns like “better cluck next time” and “look both ways” reinforcing the humorous and high-stakes tension.

Runaway Chicken Free Play

Some games are so unique that you just have to try and see for yourself, which is why we recommend that you head to the top of this review page to test the Runaway Chicken demo. We have explained clearly how the game works and what to expect, but in the end, you have to see for yourself whether this game suits your playing style. You can check our verdict of the game below first, if you want, then scroll up to get risk-free first-hand experience with our Runaway Chicken free play version.

Pros and Cons of Runaway Chicken

Our Verdict

Arcade-style games bring a certain sense of nostalgia to the online gambling scene, and they are also great for viral videos on different streamer and social media platforms. I used to play a lot of Frogger back in the day, and Runaway Chicken definitely brought back some golden memories. Granted, it’s not a skill-based game like Frogger, but it’s still good fun to see the outcome of each road crossing.

The simple visuals and the bird’s eye perspective reminded me of the very first Grand Theft Auto installment, not least due to the cars zooming by honking their horns. Just like that influential game, Switch Studios has included a great deal of humorous elements in Runaway Chicken. I am usually not a huge fan of poultry noises. However, in this game, it actually works, and you feel the relief once that chicken is safe and sound on the other side of the road.

Whenever you don’t make it, the voiceover takes the edge off with comical reliefs like “game over, man” and “road kill,” keeping the atmosphere lighthearted and fun all the way. The guitar-plucking soundtrack fits the bill as well, and it’s enjoyable despite being repetitive. The lack of features, or even a bonus round of some kind, may deter some players, but that is to be expected from these types of games.

The 300x max win is a bit of a drawback, though, and I don’t see the point in limiting this game to only 9 stages. Why not allow daredevil players to cross as many roads as they want, or at least up to a more respectable sum like, say, 5,000x or 10,000x the stake. That being said, I often got to stage 4 or 5 before becoming roadkill during my test session, so there is no need to cash out early all the time. Runaway Chicken is enjoyable taken for what it is, and not a game to take too seriously.