One topic I’ve explored quite a number of times when reviewing indie games that have marked similarities to classic titles, is the difference between an homage to what they did right and simply ripping them off. Granted, depending on how long ago the original game was made, modern audiences may not even know enough to make the comparison, but for folks like me who’ve been around it isn’t hard to see inspirations from classic arcade games in many of these modern retro titles. In the case of Mister Chickums, thankfully, I’d say it has clearly landed on the side of honoring multiple elements of the classic Bubble Bobble series, while introducing some great ideas and techniques of its own.

The basic idea here is pretty simple, in each stage your goal will be to grab all of the eggs available and get them in the nest. You can only grab one at a time, carrying them will weigh you down and make you incapable of jumping as high, and you have the option of throwing them either as a weapon, or if you’re really good, getting them to ricochet into the nest. Consistent with numerous classic titles, if you’re able to retrieve them in a specific order, noted by a given egg being highlighted, you’ll then receive a big bonus, so you’re incentivized to consider doing that if you’re chasing a high score.

While it plays quite differently than Bubble Bobble, as you can tell from the description, there are absolutely nods to it all over. If you’re running out of time a cute little grim reaper will appear and chase you down. Grabbing certain sweet confections will make a huge one fall down, which you can grab to get a load of points. If you’d like some help you can enlist the aid of a friend to tackle it co-op style as well. Then there’s just the very cheery nature of everything, from the art to the energetic music, it should all just feel like a bit of a hug to Bubble Bobble fans. Don’t be fooled though, just like that beloved arcade classic, this game has many tricks up its sleeves as you get into later worlds and stages, but it’s also quite a lot of fun as well.