Moorhuhn Kart 4 is okay fun. It may be more fun in multiplayer, if there were enough people with the game. But as a single player title due to lack of online participants, it’s lacking in depth and features questionable controls and track layouts.
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, the used comparisons have to be explained. Mario Kart is and has been the biggest player in kart racing games since its inception. So each game in the sector has to be compared to it. To make a fair comparison, a personal all-time favourite kart racer of mine is therefore also subject to comparison: LEGO Racers from 1999. While LEGO Racers has credits of 24 individuals who worked it, Moorhuhn Kart 4 has 18 individuals listed, which includes someone simply called “Rufus”, which I anticipate is an office pet. So 24 versus 17 developers, but also 26 years of technological advancement in the background.
My background with Moorhuhn
To start off, let me explain my history with Moorhuhn or Crazy Chicken as it has been localised the past.
When I was young, I’d say under 10 years, I enjoyed playing both the first Moorhuhn Kart game at my uncle’s and playing a selection of the different original Moorhuhn shooters. I have fond memories of playing those games on my first PC and with family members.
In recent times, even though the Moorhuhn game series went on, I haven’t been up-to-date.
The most important: the controls
Personally, I believe the controls of kart racing games are what makes or breaks them. Some of my favourite kart racing games include the Mario Kart series (obviously) and crucially LEGO Racers. While I have spent more time in LEGO Racers 2, which in my opinion controls less like a kart racer, the first title still gripped me. I often played it with friends on either my or a friends Nintendo 64. And to this day, I sometimes go back and play it. In my opinion, it stood the test of time. As did many Mario Kart games. Which is most likely down to the controls just being on point.
Now, while both LEGO Racers and all titles in the Mario Kart series have their issues, the handling is not among those, generally speaking. Nothing is perfect, but I want to name these games as the standards for kart racing game controls. The difference between the two titles is while Mario Kart has the higher quality of handling and controls, LEGO Racers is just fun to revisit. It can be frustrating in combination with some level designs, but generally it feels pleasant. Now, why am I talking about that?
Back to Moorhuhn Kart 4
Controls need to stack up to a certain standard, especially for any new games coming out. Moorhuhn Kart 4 feels fine. There are a few things you would have to get used to when comparing it to modern Mario Kart titles. Namely, the drifting has a few differences.
But first, about the basic controls. The controls seem similar to modern Mario Kart titles. (I played on an Xbox controller on PC)
A for throttle. B for brakes. Left stick for steering and directing items. Shoulder buttons for drifting and using items. That’s the basics. And unfortunately this is already where we get a bit of a problem. Luckily not with throttle and brakes. But with the steering.
The steering
The steering is responsive. Just how responsive is up for debate, though. On my controller, steering would sometimes do more and sometimes less. Sometimes it felt more snappy than other times. It just felt random at times and that felt weird.
Now, as the “gold standard” of kart racers has been dictating for a long time, drifting is very important. So:
The drifting
Drifting in Moorhuhn Kart 4 mainly helps turning more sharply. Yes, there is also a small boost after completing a drift, but that feels not very powerful. More crucially, however, while in Mario Kart a drift starts very early into a corner, in Moorhuhn Kart 4 the same initiation would cause crashing into the inside walls 100% of the time. Additionally, while in Mario Kart you generally drift in every corner, that won’t do in Moorhuhn Kart 4.
Most of the time, you just need to turn in and sometimes, drifting might even be harmful. This all leads back to the first sentence. Drifting mainly helps tuning more sharply. You don’t need that every time, just in sharp corners.
So drifting is a key difference to Mario Kart titles. What is not different is that you can race against AI.
The AI of Moorhuhn Kart 4
Here is where we get into the troublesome parts of Moorhuhn Kart 4. The AI is pretty bad. It’s pretty easy to beat and, frankly, stupid. The amount of times I saw AI driving straight into walls at diverging paths was funny at first, but sad soon after. Now, it wasn’t great when this already happened at the first racetrack of the game, when AI drove into the wall of the shortcut of the circuit. Oh, but that is another topic.
The level design (specifically shortcuts)
For this, remember when I said that the drifting helps with the turn-in.
It is impossible to get into the shortcut of the first circuit without hitting the wall and losing a lot of speed. I couldn’t do it. Bonk. Bonk. Bonk. Over and over again. Even with the most handling-based kart setup. Yes, shortcuts should be challenging to access, but needing to crash in order to make the turn feels off. For a different way to do shortcuts, let’s consider LEGO Racers for a second.
In LEGO Racers, many shortcuts need a setup. For example, you need a cannon ball to shoot a set of barrels for a shortcut in the pirate cove. In the extra-terrestrial stage, you need to go through light sensors in a specific order to open the shortcut. And so forth. This is a creative and interesting way to make shortcuts less accessible and a challenge to enter.
The other way would be to make entering the shortcut just physically challenging. I guess that is what the developers wanted to do here, but they made it feel dysfunctional. Additionally, it often trips up the AI.
But yes, you read that right. Kart setup!
Build your kart!
You can build your kart similar to what Mario Kart introduced in Mario Kart 7 (and seems to be scrapping for the upcoming Mario Kart World). The issue here is the lack of different parts. While I agree that Mario Kart has too many kart parts, it feels like Moorhuhn Kart 4 is on the different end of the spectrum. There could be a bit more selection of different parts to get a bit more customisation.
The music of Moorhuhn Kart 4
Another part that keeps players engaged and coming back is an engaging sound track. LEGO Racers is the prime example here. Just hearing the first 4 notes of the menu music triggers the memories. Also the kart build music is on a similar level.
Moorhuhn Kart …. doesn’t quite fit that criteria. The music playing at all times sounds okay. It’s not offensive. But it’s unfortunately forgettable. All of the circuits perfectly fit what they are trying to do. But none of the music feels memorable. And today, while writing this 2 days after playing it, I cannot remember a single tune. The only thing I can remember is that “Canyon” music was annoyingly well fitting. What I mean by that is that it felt overtly Texan. Imagine any movie playing in modern deserty Texas or similarly dry regions of the south of the US. The track is just that. All stereotypes mashed together. It’s boringly predictable.
All other music tracks feel similarly well-fitting but ultimately uninspired.
The rest of the level design
Apart from the aforementioned shortcuts, the level design overall is engaging and fun. It reminded me of settings found in LEGO Racers, specifically, every stage having it’s own theme that is unique. Apart from that, the flow of the circuits is generally quite good. After getting to grips with the controls, there is still a certain challenge to driving the circuits themselves, let alone with items added in.
Some circuits feel like rollercoasters with the elevation changes. That is great. That is fun. That is lovely!
The roadside decorations are quirky and interesting and thoroughly pleasant to gawk at while driving past. This is, in my opinion, the best part of Moorhuhn Kart 4.
Finally, the items of Moorhuhn Kart 4
There is not much to talk about with the items of Moorhuhn Kart 4. It’s a fun selection of items with positives and drawbacks. There is only one thing that was noticeable enough to get mentioned here, which is that the games’ “blue shell”. It appears too often. That’s it. Everything else is not noticeable enough to require a mention. Yes, there are different items. Yes, they do stuff similar to Mario Kart items. Yes, they work. That’s really it.
The takeaways: is Moorhuhn Kart 4 worth it?
Moorhuhn Kart 4 is a mixed bag. It’s fun for a couple of hours, maybe a few more. But the problems with the single player experience, namely the AI and the sometimes clunky steering, make the game hard to replay. Additionally, an online-multiplayer mode exists but requires other players. And there seem to be very few players actually owning and playing the game at the moment.
So, in conclusion, I would not recommend Moorhuhn Kart 4 in its current state at all. Especially not for the price tag. In order for me to recommend it, it would have to be at least half as expensive.
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Moorhuhn Kart 4 is available for PC via Steam and PlayStation 4/5 via PSStore.
The game was received for free for the purpose of this review.