Ultimate Sheep Raccoon Preview

Clever Endeavour Games managed to do something somewhat rare with their breakout hit party game, Ultimate Chicken Horse: they managed to create a unique experience that was easy to pick up and also long-lasting. With the endless replayability and simple mechanics, one may think there’s not much to add or room for a sequel to progress into. This is where the developer smiles knowingly and whispers… “bikes”.

Titled Ultimate Sheep Raccoon, the follow-up seems very much the same: it’s a party game where everyone chooses one animal character to play as and competes to finish a platforming challenge filled with obstacles and dangers placed by the players themselves. However, one very minor addition changes how the levels are planned and how the experience feels: you must now ride a bicycle while managing all of the above!

Controlling your new wheeled steed is very similar to titles such as Happy Wheels or Hill Climb Racing, wherein a loose version of gravity is in play. Each bump and upward slope can (and will) raise the bike’s wheels, and if the rider hits any surface, they will be knocked off. Differentiating from the first game, falling down is not an automatic loss in Ultimate Sheep Raccoon. Instead, you will reappear atop your vehicle at the spot where your bike winds up.

The obstacles and tools are a bit more extreme this, giving off a veritable skatepark feel this time around: instead of hay bales and hockeysticks, the players will litter the stage with ramps, rails for grinding, and special surfaces meant to speed you up or slow you down. As a new mechanic, frog statues and hookshotable lamp posts, among others, add the potential for vertical travel, making for both strategic thinking and a splash of hilarious wipeouts.

The winning condition of Ultimate Sheep Raccoon remains mostly unchanged: finishing the level will net you points, as will collecting coins and being the fastest, with the first to reach the set goal crowned the titular ultimate artiodactyl procyonid. Since bikes are the mode of transportation, the game has also added a stunt button, with which players can gather a few extra points by pulling off sick tricks!

Based on the content we were allowed access to, Ultimate Sheep Raccoon is a lot of fun. Riding your bike to either victory or an endless abyss is a fresh and fun take on the existing system and does enough to differentiate from the original to feel like a sequel instead of an expansion. If you enjoyed Ultimate Chicken Horse, this is an easy title to recommend and should be on the watchlist of anyone looking for an addition to game nights!