Chickenhare and the treasure of Spiking-Beard

My first reaction was mild surprise that this exists at all, and my second was that it holds together better than the licensed-game reputation would suggest. Chickenhare and the Treasure of Spiking-Beard is a 3D platformer rooted in the Chris Grine graphic novels and their pair of animated films, but it tells an original story rather than retelling one you already know. Villain Spiking-Beard, a prickly hedgehog pirate conceived during a bedtime story between the studio CEO and his daughter, is chasing seven crystals that together complete the legendary Golden Feather. You are racing him across five hand-crafted worlds, from a sky city to forests, ruins, and a volcano, each biome visually distinct even if the moment-to-moment mechanics don't shift much between them. The heart of the design is a three-character swap system. Chickenhare glides on his oversized ears, handles precision platforming sections, and can crack a whip-grapple to swing across gaps. Meg, the martial-arts skunk, is the crowd-control specialist, with combo-driven attacks that are satisfying when a swarm of pigs or owl-hedgehog enemies pours out of a side door. Abe, the cautious tortoise, covers on-rails sliding sections and shell-stomps through breakable floors. In theory, all three have a role. In practice, Chickenhare does most of the heavy lifting across maybe 90% of any given level, and Abe in particular feels undercooked, slow, and largely sidelined. The character-switching promise is real but unevenly delivered, and reviewers have noted that the whole thing ends up feeling like the Chickenhare show with two supporting acts who don't get enough stage time. Where the game earns genuine goodwill is in its completionist layer. There is an obvious Crash Bandicoot influence: a landing circle, per-level star ratings, coin collection, death limits, and three hidden treasures per stage. Breezing through for story alone takes roughly four hours. Going back to hit five stars, collect every coin, and finish boss fights without taking damage is a different, more rewarding experience that adds several hours of real challenge without needing the base difficulty to be punishing. The bosses themselves are the roughest part: at least two suffer from 2.5D perspective shifts that make movement feel unresponsive, checkpoints are stingy, and the difficulty spike there is steeper than anything in the main levels. Younger players will likely need help at that point, and even experienced platformer fans have noticed the camera occasionally working against them. One genuinely unusual feature is a real-world treasure hunt embedded inside the game. Clues hidden across the levels link to an official website, leading toward a physical prize. As of this writing, nobody has cracked it. That kind of transmedia ambition is rare in a modest licensed game and gives completionists a reason to look at every corner twice. On PC specifically, reviewers note the visual presentation is significantly cleaner than the Switch version, and the Steam community is already trading notes on achievement hunting and the unsolved hunt. The soundtrack and voice acting land as cheerful and serviceable rather than memorable, which is fine for the tone, but don't expect audio that lingers.

Kai · Scout Team

Indie & narrative

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