In addition to Baba Is You, Katana ZERO, and Outer Wilds, I’ve been playing Untitled Goose Game in preparation for this month’s podcast and I have to say that it’s unlike anything I’ve ever played before. After all, there are few games out there that allow you to be this mischievous and even fewer that let you be a goose.
As bizarre as the look and premise of this game are, it would be easy to disregard the whole thing as a joke, but with only a couple of minor issues and some clever puzzle design, Untitled Goose Game will have chuckling through its short “story” mode.
So what is Untitled Goose Game like and how do you play it?
Pros
- Simple and accessible gameplay
- Thought-provoking puzzles
- Humorous ornithological mischief
Cons
- Objectives can sometimes be too vague
- Irritating goose controls
As you may have seen, the simple gameplay mainly involves taking items and moving them across the map. While this probably sounds simple enough and quite limited, solutions aren’t always obvious and many of the objectives tend to have quite creative solution.
For example, to steal the boy’s glasses (which is on your goose to-do list), you need to get creative. For example, you could place something in the boy’s path, such as a toy, forcing him to bend down to pick it up. This is one of several thought-provoking puzzles in the game that encourages the player to experiment and find interesting solutions.
However, I found that objectives could be too vague and could sometimes make it difficult to even begin to understand what was required of me. While in some instances, the cryptic nature of your objectives can be intriguing, some of them are too vague and open to interpretation to be useful.
Additionally, controlling the goose can be tricky and the best-laid plans would come undone because the goose wouldn’t respond or behave as I expected or the item being slightly offset from its click marker.
As these problems are minor, they won’t damper the light-hearted nature of this game with its appealing art style, interesting puzzles, and joyful sense of humour, which is really what makes the same so outrageously enjoyable and silly.
The mischievous humour is probably the most appealing aspect of it as other than being a minor annoyance to the people in the village, you’re not really doing them any harm…
The Verdict
There’s never been a game as cheerful as Untitled Goose Game and even though there are a couple of irritating aspects, they won’t ruin it. It’s a whole heap of harmless fun and worth playing even if it’s just for spamming the honk button. It doesn’t take itself seriously at all so pick up a copy, have a go, and sit there with a stupid grin on your face as you harass the helpless villagers..
Untitled Goose Game was developed by House House and published by Panic. It’s available on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PC.
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