While this may not be a zany Top Gun tie-in game, Untitled Goose Game solidified itself as a must play experience from House House even before its release, met with a warm reception and surprising degree of hype. In Untitled Goose Game, it’s “time to buzz the tower,” ruffle some villagers’ feathers, and take a leaf (and a hat, glasses, and vase) from Metal Gear Solid and unleash your inner silly goose…
As you might have gathered from the title, Untitled Goose Game is somewhat of a simulation game, in which you experience life as a goose. Set in a stereotypical middle class village, as a goose you have access to the ability to honk, flap your wings, and use your beak to annoy and steal from the local residents, with a very minimal story that places far greater focus on gameplay and outrageous humour.
The village itself is split into multiple distinct areas, linked together in a sandbox style. When you enter a new area, your to-do list will update, acting as a checklist of challenges to accomplish as you waddle your way through the village. These challenges range from tormenting an innocent boy by untying his laces, stealing his glasses, and chasing him into a phone booth, creating a scenario in which one of the many human NPCs breaks a priceless vase, or simply stealing a gardeners keys, and locking him out!
The “to-do list” appears on a lined notepad that summarises your tasks in simple one line sentences, some more cryptic than others, but never overtly hard to decipher – perhaps presenting one of the game’s greatest, most alarming mysteries: how does the goose carry that notepad around, and how did it learn to read and write? Though the sound of a pencil crossing out completed tasks is as satisfying as the accompanying jingle Zelda fans are used to upon opening an important chest, the image conjured of a goose scribbling into a notepad is innately disturbing.
There’s a strange charm to this game, rivalled only by its admittedly sadistic humour that never fails to make you laugh out loud. Who knew plaguing the innocuous townspeople by making their day as miserable as possible would be so amusing? This is in large part thanks to the animations and reactions of the villagers; whether it’s an old man trying to enjoy a quiet sunny day in his garden being forced to hobble after a pestering goose and his missing slipper, or the shock of a delivery man as a goose bursts out of his parcel. Untitled Goose Game could be conceived as a Troll Simulator, while also confirming our suspicions that geese are, in fact, evil.
While the challenges aren’t especially difficult, just simple enough for even a goose to manage, you’ll still find the majority of your playtime spent trying to figure out how to create necessary scenarios to manipulate the townsfolk into changing hats or stand in precarious positions to become the fool of the titular white waterfowl. In addition, this goose can’t be cooked, meaning there are no limits at retrying harder challenges with items respawning if you “lose” them.
However if there’s one criticism to be made, it’s that Untitled Goose Game is fairly short, completable in around 4 hours playtime. While extra challenges are unlocked upon reaching the end, at just under £20 this may seem a little steep to some. Admittedly, though, even the initial reveal trailer gave the impression that it was never going to be particularly long, anyway.
Thankfully, complimenting the addictive gameplay, controlling your feathered avatar feels just how you would expect, with simple, easy to understand controls and a gameplay loop that requires you to utilise the environment to your advantage, with multiple ways to complete objectives. While there is a stealth element at play, going unnoticed isn’t as necessary as you might think, meaning you can swan around town without a care in the world, though making use of hiding spaces and hidden entrances and exits is a must if you want to successfully steal a poor hardworking gardeners well earned picnic.
Curiously enough, Untitled Goose Game features a satisfying physics engine that makes controlling the titular goose more engaging. While the way you pick up objects can be affected by size and weight in comparison to the gooses’ slight stature, sprinting also locks you out of being able to turn with ease, adding a further layer of strategy to your movements even when you’re not transporting stolen loot. Incidentally, this also ups the tension when trying to make a last ditch effort to dash from surprisingly persistent orderlies, though at times stealing ball shaped objects can be slightly frustrating as a result.
With a minimalistic presentation, Untitled Goose Game oozes with a simplistic charm that managed to captivate everybody’s attention when it was first announced. The textureless 3D models and bold colour choices play into the quirky nature of the game design and helps highlight its visually rooted humour. Animations and character designs may seem simple, yet they are successful in conveying UGG’s unique sense of humour in what appears to be a family friendly way, somewhat echoing that of popular children’s UK TV shows, most likely thanks to the way it captures the look of a typical small Yorkshire village. What’s more, this is a game that can be enjoyed by anyone, whether you’re playing or simply watching.
A little like Ape Out, context-sensitive music has been craftily utilised in Untitled Goose Game. You’ll notice the music quieten while sneaking around flowerbeds and hidden tunnels, escalating into piano swells as you sprint to escape someone’s line of sight, adding a sense of drama and comical intensity to situations. Much like the art style, the piano scores are also relatively minimalistic; not quite the same style as Breath of the Wild, but used to achieve a similar ambient effect if for a somewhat more illustrative purpose.
All in all, Untitled Goose Game is a honk of a good time, even if it does feel a little short. If you’ve ever felt threatened by geese and wondered why they insist on overtaking riverside walk paths, effectively blocking your way home, hopefully now – with the opportunity to get into the mindset of a goose for a few hours – you’ll have a better understanding. Causing misery to the usually merry townsfolk of an otherwise quaint village is immensely satisfying, which is reason enough to take a gander at House House’s latest indie offering.
