Whether you’re a console player or a PC gamer who has… ever ventured onto Steam ever, you’ll know the allure of indie games. With Humble Bundle and other similar deals, many players find themselves accruing more indie hits than they’d ever really have a chance to play. In such a crowded market, only the very best from these plucky little studios can get the attention they deserve. Nintendo Switch sensation Untitled Goose Game was definitely one of them.
It’s an absurdly charming/just plain absurd little sandbox title that has gathered quite the following, but it has its faults as every game does. Let’s take a look at some of the very best and very worst things about House House’s quirky hit.
10 We Loved: The Goose
Well, naturally. When it comes to the virtues of Untitled Goose Game, what’s the brilliant, mischievous, honk-happy glue that holds everything else together? The goose itself, of course.
This feathered fiend doesn’t speak a word or really experience an ounce of character development throughout the entire game, but its personality shines through nonetheless. Here’s a bird who has had enough of humanity’s guff and is committed to messing with us any hilarious way it can. You’ve got to admire its chutzpah.
9 We Hated: The Humor Can Be Quite Divisive
So many players of Untitled Goose Game immediately fell in love with the title’s silly humor. Right from the very first trailer, the slapstick slant the whole thing was going to take was clear to see. Video games are supposed to be about having fun, after all, and this malevolent goose was a sort of feathery testament to that.
At the same time, though, there’s no denying that the humor of the game takes a distinctly low-brow approach. If you’re one of those who loves embarrassing pratfalls and all things You’ve Been Framed!, you’ll be right at home here. If you’re not, the joke will fall flatter than an old man whose chair the goose has stolen from right underneath him. Yes, that does happen.
8 We Loved: The Setting
The gaming industry has been stuck in a bit of a rut of late. When it comes to grand settings for huge, open-world titles, we’ve taken the post-apocalyptic wasteland route once too often. Huge, fantastic lands like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s Hyrule or Skyrim’s… Skyrim, We’ve seen more than enough of those too.
Untitled Goose Game has no interesting in disappearing down that expansive rabbit hole. Instead, House House have set their game in a quaint countryside village in England. It’s refreshing and idyllic, and we couldn’t get enough of it.
7 We Hated: The Short Running Time
The trouble is, though, we really couldn’t get enough of it, because it was too short. Of course, indie games tend to be more bite-sized experiences, as small teams and budget constraints really don’t lend themselves to the creation of vast worlds, but you can find yourself at the end of Untitled Goose Game’s brief ‘story’ in just a couple of hours.
The formula is very promising and chock full of silly fun, but it all ends rather abruptly. We can’t wait to see what House House can pull off next.
6 We Loved: The Visual Style
Another great strength of indie games is that they can afford to be a lot more experimental. AAA titles often stick to the classic adage of ‘look as darn gritty and realistic as possible,’ which is fine, but it does get a little tiresome. There’s much less at stake over in indie development, which is why things are often a lot more creative.
Untitled Goose Game’s aesthetic is truly one of a kind. The idyllic setting is one thing, but it’s also perfectly complemented by the game’s charming cartoon visuals. The villagers and the goose itself are bursting with expressive animations and character.
5 We Hated: The Controls
Well, this next entry might be a little more divisive. Untitled Goose Game’s ‘tank controls’ have been discussed before, and while they’re hardly classic Resident Evil in terms of tankiness, they’re definitely more than a little cumbersome.
There’s a certain comedic ‘weight’ to the goose’s movements, and while that was probably intentional, it can make maneuvering around and interacting with objects a little awkward. Our birdly buddy is not a graceful sprinter, that’s for darn sure.
4 We Loved: The Sheer Fun Of It All
As we’ve already pointed out, gaming is supposed to be fun. Not super serious, rage-inducing fury time, but fun. Many of today’s major titles cater more towards competitive players and K/Ds, but not everyone’s in the mood for an intense FPS session all the time.
If you’re looking to kick back with something silly, Untitled Goose Game should be right up your street. The developers clearly had a lot of fun devising certain scenarios and adding particular features, all of which is reflected in the player’s experience. There aren’t a lot of games being made any more than give off that sort of vibe.
3 We Hated: The Novelty May Wear Off After A Little While
So, yes. We’ve already stated that the game’s short length will be a major negative for some players. If you just play your games for the sake of reaching the end credits and then rarely pick them back up again, you might be left feeling a little short-changed here. There’s more to the issue than just that, though.
As just about the whole planet knows (even if you haven’t played, you’ve surely seen the memes), Untitled Goose Game is an experience that revolves around the novelty value of terrorizing townsfolk as a mischievous goose. You could say it’s a little one-dimensional in that way, meaning that once you’ve had a laugh or two it could cease to hold your interest.
2 We Loved: Finding Creative Approaches To Problems
Those who have fallen in love with this quirky title tend to gush about it a lot. One of the major plus points in that regard is the fact that players can take all kinds of different approaches to completing objectives. If your goal is to lock a gardener in his own garden, for instance, how do you lure him in? How do you obtain those keys in the first place?
The goose’s super-dextrous beak can interact with just about anything, and that handy Honk Button has uses in all kinds of different situations. It’s up to the player to explore their environment, see which tools are available and how they can be utilized to your avian advantage. Whichever route you take, the results will generally be hilarious.
1 We Hated: The Repetitive Objectives
As open-ended as the gameplay is, we’ve got to be honest with ourselves: the objectives start to blur into one after a while. That’s just natural, considering the premise. You can’t stray very far beyond variants of ‘steal this’ and ‘mess with such-and-such’ in Untitled Goose Game, after all. That’s the point of the whole thing.
It’s a wild, ridiculous, laugh out loud ride, but it’s one you may feel you’ve exhausted without the need for a second playthrough. Every player’s mileage will differ, though, so it’s all a matter of just how committed to goosey malevolence you find yourself becoming.
NEXT: 10 Best Indie Games Of The Last Decade
