By: Daniel Kendle

Hey, gang! I’m Ms. Smeegle, and I’m filling in for Mr. Whatshisname for this review. I hope you enjoy!

‘Bird Game 3’ is among 2025’s most popular games, hitting Steam shelves to a collective peak of 1.2 million players. The game is a match-based multiplayer experience where you take control of a bird as you fight for your team, steal eggs, and battle foes. It’s reminiscent of games like ‘Overwatch,’ ‘Marvel Rivals,’ and ‘Apex Legends,’ being a 5V5 first-person experience against other online players. The difference, of course, is that ‘Bird Game 3’ is the world’s first FPP: First-Person Pecker.

Obviously, the game hasn’t been out for super long, so it’s hard to definitively say which birds are best and which are worst. As of January 2026 – the time at which I’m writing this – we’re currently in the midst of Season 4, Regulation E. In this regulation, the following birds have been banned from ranked play:

• Phoenix (banned to Ubers)
• Wood Duck
• Emu

This narrows down the full list of usable birds to a solid 22: not the largest-ever roster for a Regulation, but a good one still. It’s also nice to have some birds from Season 1 and 2 finally become legal again, like Rooster and Titmouse.

After combing through various different websites, it seems the most popular bird online is Bald Eagle, with about 38% of registered teams having one. Makes sense; for being among the last S-tier birds not already banned in Ranked. It’s stat spread is great, with a ⅗ in HP, ⅘ in Offense and Defense, and ⅗ in Swiftness. Sure, it doesn’t spec into any of its highest stats completely, but opting instead for a more neutral playstyle is beneficial for a Carnivore-built bird. Its Bird Power, ‘Patriotism,’ is also pretty based, temporarily-maxing out its Special Move meter whenever an egg is stolen from their nest.

Besides Eagle, other notable birds include Opium Bird and Hummingbird, which’re hardly surprises. The latter in particular has been a mainstay pick for team comps since even Regulation B in Season 1, due to its stupidly-small hitboxes and Special Attack cooldowns. ‘Nectarite’ sucks, but the Bird Ability can be easily-circumvented through user “NBok43’s” recently-discovered Pollenport glitch. I imagine it’ll be patched soon, but for now its continued letting Hummingbird remain a meta threat.

Some nerfs to birds have also affected the player base, for better or worse. Birds with ‘Bug Boost’ for a Bird Power have had a severe drop in usage: its effect previously let Insectivore builds gain a temporary 1.5% Defensive boost upon eating 10 insects, but now, in addition to the requirement being 20 insects, the boost is only 1.2%. Oxpecker, Swift and Woodpecker users have become a rare sight only because of this. Another nerf is to Penguin, with its unique ‘Flipper Fodder’ Power now only letting it release 5 “Penguissiles” at a time as opposed to 7.

Overall, the changes made to ‘Bird Game 3’ in its newest Regulation have been net-positive for most. The Ranked meta has never been healthier, with more and more birds actually seeing competitive viability. With this most recent patch, I can only hope that the game continues to soar from he-

“Doctor, look! There! Her pulse is rising, I think she’s regaining consciousness!”

“We can’t lose her again this time. Hector: fetch front desk support. We’re gonna want to alert her family.“

Wh…wha? What’s going on?

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Mayo Cli…w-why am I-!

“Ma’am, you were in a car crash with your wife and son 46 hours ago. They perished in the wreck, while you stayed in fatal condition. We need you to relax, please – Marjorie, hand me the anesthesia.”

They died? But I-I didn’t even see anyone else driving! I couldn’t have…have…

“No one could’ve. It was a freak accident: a couple of drunk teenagers T-boned your vehicle on Interstate 430. Your relatives wanted hospital personnel to tell you all this when you woke up.“

…

“I’m…I’m sorry for your loss.”

…Janus…

“…thank you. Ma’am, I need you to close your eyes again and count to 20. Everything is going to be okay.”