It’s difficult to review a game that has become such a phenomenon from its silly nature and the way the internet latches on to certain things. Since it was first announced, House House’s Untitled Goose Game stole the hearts of everyone that saw it. I’m not sure anyone truly expected it to turn out the way that it did, as everyone has their own ideas based on trailers (i.e. No Man’s Sky). Admittedly, I was swept up in the goose excitement, honking my way through my review request email, honestly being taken aback when I received a code despite how absurd the request was. So let’s get into one of the year’s biggest indie darlings, with and without some hyperbole.

To break down what the gameplay is, this is a puzzle game with occasional stealth. You’ll explore the world and be given a list of tasks which you’ll quickly mark off as you waddle about and honk the humans silly. In many games, you’ll find yourself doing an action as you move simply to break up the monotony of running – this is usually the jump or roll button. In this, you’ll honk. I didn’t expect to honk so much. Honking is one of the greatest options to ever be given in a game. There’s something so fulfilling about pressing the button and seeing your goose honk, whether it be alone or at someone with ill intent. Watching the reactions of others to the goose and seeing how the goose eyes them is the definition of joy and why games were created.

Untitled Goose Game is something that you can play in an afternoon, so it’s difficult to say it overstays its welcome at any point. I’m sure many would argue that the experience is too short, although for what it is, it’s difficult not to love it for the fact we got it at all. There’s something to be said for a game that makes you chuckle at the devious acts you’re performing, almost like in Hitman, but without any of the killing. There’s not a single word of dialogue in this, so it’s not a matter of well written dialogue from the likes of Double Fine, but rather the situations you choose to create. What I noticed while my daughter watched is that you’re basically just a toddler that’s in the guise of a goose. All the mischief you create is something a young child would do – the difference is the child would likely be reprimanded, whereas a goose is immune to such trivialities.

The world is broken up into four different levels, each accessible after the majority of the to-do list items are checked off. After most tasks are completed for a specific area, a final task will show up that allows you to proceed to the next section of the game once it has been fulfilled. These are seemingly the most traumatic for the villagers, and if you were to ever feel bad in the game for something you did, it’d likely be these tasks. However, these are also some of the most rewarding, and definitely some of the funnier ones. I will say though, going into a shop and turning on the camera to have a goose’s head honking on all the televisions is something that I will never forget. When I say final task, that’s not completely accurate depending on how thorough you were prior to completion of the game – there may be some hidden agenda items to complete as well.

While the beginning of the game shows you that there’s more than one way to complete any given task, later portions are more singular in terms of solutions, at least seemingly. This is hardly a bad thing, as the developers have curated an experience they want you to see, but in a sandbox game there’s usually more than one option for any given task. I’d love to see this type of thing fleshed out in the future, should they continue on with this type of experience.

I’d be remiss to not discuss the aesthetic of the game, which is unique unto itself. The game uses solid colors with almost unnoticeable shadows, although they are there and provide the necessary dimensions for the environments. It’s not the normal low poly look, but the textures and models all look very simple and clean. It’s a stunning world to play in, and the soundtrack only adds to that. There are piano keys that adapt to the action of the game, being fairly minimal while waltzing about compared to the frenetic energy of being chased with an item in your mouth while honking to escape.

Suffice to say, I think House House will have a slightly larger budget for their next game. At the very least, people will be waiting with bated breath to see what they are creating. Untitled Goose Game has created something entirely new within existing genres, and I’m excited to see what fowl creation may come next because of it.

9 out of 10

Pros

• Beautiful Art Direction
• Hilarious Gameplay Sequences
• Multiple Solutions…

Cons

• …Until There’s Not
• Short

Untitled Goose Game was developed by House House and published by Panic Inc. It is available on NS and PC with other systems honking on the horizon. The game was provided to us for review on NS. If you’d like to see more of Untitled Goose Game, check out the official site.

 

Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.

Check out OpenCritic for a better idea of how our review stacks against others.