Blackbird
Review

Blackbird (2020) is a strategy game where you are a blackbird collecting food for your young. You need to scour the forest to find enough insects to keep them alive and them fly the nest (or die trying).

Play involves learning to fly with just the arrow keys. Left and Right turn you in that direction while Up and Down increase or decrease your speed. In this way you soar far from your nest to snatch bugs directly from trees, or pick worms from the ground.

You soon realise you need to keep track of where your home tree and nest is, if you are to make it back with food. You also need to learn how to land back in the nest by reducing your speed (holding the Down arrow key) and being at an appropriate angle.

As you progress you soon learn that this short challenge is not only about preserving your fledging family but making tough decisions about which will prosper. Even if you regularly fly out, catch three bugs and return to feed the chicks, they are not guaranteed to survive.

The result is a short but intense experience about care for your dependants and the harshness of nature.

Our examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Blackbird 21 months ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 14 months ago.