Bad Piggies

Bad Piggies
The game's protagonist, a green pig with no limbs, sits in the centre of the game's app icon, in front of a bright-orange background with a sun-flare pattern. The Rovio Entertainment logo is on a flag in the top right.
App icon
DeveloperRovio Entertainment
PublisherFocus Multimedia (PC)
ProducersPetri Järvilehto
Mikael Hed
Jaakko Haapasalo
DesignersMarkus Tuppurainen
Peter Urbanics
ProgrammersMarco Rapino
Miika Virpioja
Mauricio Hollando
Jussi Markkanen
ComposerIlmari Hakkola
SeriesAngry Birds
EngineUnity 3D[1]
Platforms
ReleaseSeptember 27, 2012
Windows Phone:
April 2014
GenresPuzzle, sandbox
ModeSingle-player

Bad Piggies is a 2012 puzzle video game developed by Rovio Entertainment. It is a spinoff in the Angry Birds series and revolves around the green pigs rather than the birds. It has the player build custom vehicles using various objects to guide a pig to the finish line, with levels having multiple solutions and optional additional goals being achievable by applying alternate strategies. A sandbox mode, which allows the player to freely build any vehicle, is also featured.

Bad Piggies was initially released on September 27, 2012, being ported to numerous mobile devices and personal computers. It received generally positive reception from critics, being frequently criticised for its difficulty, and has been downloaded 100 million times. A sequel was soft launched in 2023.

Gameplay

A screenshot depicting the player character riding in a custom road vehicle

Bad Piggies is a physics-based puzzle game revolving around the green pigs from previous Angry Birds games.[2][3] The pigs aim to steal the Angry Birds' eggs, but their plans are shredded in a desk fan and become scattered. Thus, the pieces must be recovered by finding them in areas divided into levels.[2] In each level, the player is provided with a set of attachable objects such as crates, wheels, bellows, balloons, umbrellas, soft drink bottles, and coil springs, with more being unlocked as the game progresses.[4][5] The objects provided must be arranged on a square grid to construct a custom vehicle that can guide a pig to the finish line and recover pieces of the plan.[2][5] There is no set solution for each level, so the player must come up with one themself.[6] Alternatively, the player can press a "Hire a Mechanic" button to have a mechanic pig build a vehicle for them.[4]

Each object comes with different behaviours that can be triggered by the player; for instance, desk fans can be toggled, boxes of TNT can be detonated, and balloons can be popped to decrease height.[7][8] Vehicles can break apart while active, and the pig will be ejected if it does; levels must be manually restarted if the player gets stuck.[5][8] Levels have three goals that can be achieved to earn stars; the first is achieved by clearing the level, while the latter two vary from reaching the finish line within a time limit, collecting crates, or excluding a select object from the vehicle.[7][9]

Bad Piggies additionally includes a sandbox mode, which contains large open environments where players can freely build any custom vehicle.[8] An extra sandbox level can be unlocked by collecting skulls hidden throughout other levels.[4] More content was introduced to Bad Piggies after its launch via updates; in February 2015, a sandbox level featuring icy surfaces titled "Little Pig Adventure" was added alongside the gearbox, which allows vehicles to travel backwards.[10]

The iOS version is compatible with Apple Inc.'s Game Center service, which is used for achievements and to compare progress with friends.[4][7] Bad Piggies is compatible with the Everyplay mobile app, which allows players to record and watch replays of their previous gameplay.[1]

Release

Bad Piggies was released for Android, iOS, and OS X on September 27, 2012.[11] Ports for Windows 8, Windows Phone, and personal computers followed after; the Windows and computer versions were published by Focus Multimedia in October for £10.20,[3][12][13] while Rovio Entertainment released the Windows Phone version in April 2014.[14] In February 2015, Bad Piggies reached 100 million downloads.[10]

A counterfeit app titled Bad Pigs was released on May 25, 2013, and received over 10,000 downloads. On June 12, it was delisted from Google Play for containing malware.[15]

Critical reception

According to the review aggregation website Metacritic, the iOS version of Bad Piggies was received as "generally favorable" based on 24 critic reviews.[16] Eli Hodapp, writing for TouchArcade, gave it a 5-star rating and praised its accessibility and claiming that it "tak[es] the franchise in a direction that feels both totally fresh and entirely appropriate".[2] Justin Davis from IGN considered the design "impeccable" and praised its creative freedom and pricing. He called it "a much deeper, more rewarding and more creative experience than anything Rovio has produced previously" and "the best title Rovio has released yet".[6]

Jason Parker from CNET stated that Bad Piggies is "much more challenging than the Angry Birds variations you're used to". Although he commented that its unfamiliar difficulty may alienate players, he called its gameplay "a unique and interesting new game type that will appeal to both casual and serious puzzle gaming fans".[5] Stuart Dredge from The Guardian, similarly to Parker, wrote that "experienced gamers will love Bad Piggies" while casual players may struggle.[4]

Mark Brown for Pocket Gamer gave Bad Piggies a Silver Award in his review. He believed it does not "have the simple, kinetic thrill of Angry Birds" but found the physics-based gameplay to be "quite attractive". He stated the game is "creative, addictive, and absolutely packed with content", but additionally criticised it for "feel[ing] a little too safe and predictable".[7] Chris Plante from Polygon criticised the main campaign, calling it "a fine distraction" that "isn't open enough" and "doesn't promote creativity". He heavily preferred the sandbox levels, writing that they are "where Bad Piggies makes good on its potential".[8]

Three people covered the game for VentureBeat. James Pikover, a critic, gave a score of 85 out of 100; he wrote that its "depth of puzzles and creative building aspect will keep players hungrily coming back for more" but criticised the game's difficulty for not being designed for casual players.[9] Jesse Divnich, an analyst, gave a score of 75, calling it "a sign that Rovio is still gun-shy on experimentation", considering it a "sane business decision" overall. Devin Monnens, an academic, gave a score of 90 and praised its themes of inventing and engineering.[17]

Sequel

A sequel to Bad Piggies was conceptualised between 2018 and 2019. In the latter year, concept art for a sequel titled Bad Piggies 2 was uploaded by one of Rovio's artists. It depicted an outer space setting and a playing card system also seen in Angry Birds 2 (2015), but the concept was quickly abandoned altogether. In 2021, Bad Piggies 2 was announced via three advertisements on TikTok.[18] In 2023, the game was soft launched in select European countries for Android and iOS devices.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b Diener, Matthew (May 9, 2013). "Everyplay: Bad Piggies notches up 2,000 replays in 8 hours flat". PocketGamer.biz. Archived from the original on January 18, 2026. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e Hodapp, Eli (September 27, 2012). "Bad Piggies Review – Hide Your Eggs, the Pigs are Coming in This Fantastic Physics Puzzler". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on August 7, 2018. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Moscaritolo, Angela (September 4, 2012). "Angry Birds Creator Launching New Game, Bad Piggies". PC Magazine. Archived from the original on November 22, 2025. Retrieved January 4, 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d e Dredge, Stuart (September 26, 2012). "Bad Piggies – review". The Guardian. Archived from the original on November 12, 2025. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d e Parker, Jason (September 28, 2012). "Bad Piggies (iOS) review". CNET. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2026.
  6. ^ a b c Davis, Justin (October 2, 2012). "Bad Piggies review". IGN. Archived from the original on November 13, 2025. Retrieved January 4, 2026.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Brown, Mark (September 26, 2012). "Bad Piggies Review". Pocket Gamer. Archived from the original on November 15, 2012. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
  8. ^ a b c d Plante, Chris (September 26, 2012). "Bad Piggies (Mobile) review – Grand theft piglet". Polygon. Archived from the original on May 5, 2025. Retrieved January 4, 2026.
  9. ^ a b c Pikover, James (October 1, 2012). "Bad Piggies is a painfully challenging departure from Angry Birds (review)". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on November 23, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  10. ^ a b Brown, Mark (February 26, 2015). "Bad Piggies shifts 100 million copies, gets new sandbox and gearbox to celebrate". Pocket Gamer. Archived from the original on February 18, 2026. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
  11. ^ Purchese, Robert (September 4, 2012). "A release date for Bad Piggies: the new game by Angry Birds bunch". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on November 19, 2025. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  12. ^ Gera, Emily (September 21, 2012). "Angry Birds spin-off Bad Piggies headed to retail for PC release next month". Polygon. Archived from the original on May 2, 2025. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
  13. ^ Matulef, Jeffrey (September 21, 2012). "Angry Birds spin-off Bad Piggies coming to PC for £10.20". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on November 19, 2025. Retrieved January 4, 2026.
  14. ^ Priestman, Chris (April 15, 2014). "Silver Award-winning Bad Piggies takes flight and crashes onto Windows Phone at last". Pocket Gamer. Archived from the original on April 15, 2026. Retrieved April 15, 2026.
  15. ^ Eddy, Max (June 13, 2013). "Bad Piggies Android Malware Pulled From Google Play". PC Magazine. Archived from the original on December 5, 2025. Retrieved January 4, 2026.
  16. ^ a b "Bad Piggies". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Archived from the original on April 14, 2026. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  17. ^ Pikover, James; Divinich, Jesse; Monnens, Devin (October 9, 2012). "Threeview: Bad Piggies reviewed by a critic, an analyst, and an academic". GamesBeat. Archived from the original on April 12, 2026. Retrieved January 4, 2026.
  18. ^ Novichenko, Alina (November 10, 2022). "Bad Piggies 2 release date and the rest you need to know". Pocket Gamer. Archived from the original on June 19, 2025. Retrieved January 4, 2026.
  19. ^ Morris, Iwan (May 9, 2023). "Bad Piggies 2 comes to selected countries in iOS-exclusive soft launch". Pocket Gamer. Archived from the original on November 8, 2025. Retrieved January 4, 2026.
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