I don’t really understand why, but every time I walk through the park, I take a look at the geese. Last Spring, there were newborns in the park and up till now, I’ve always checked if they are still alright. Of course, they’ve grown up to be majestic geese and everything seems to be going well, but deep down inside, I want to befriend them. I want them to recognize me and come to say hi while doing one of their funny walks. Sadly, wild geese aren’t that friendly, to put it lightly. Geese seem to have the urge to become assholes once they grow up.
Be the goose
That’s exactly the premise of Untitled Goose Game, playable at EGX 2018 and I couldn’t resist taking it for a spin. Right after the first reveal to the world a couple of months ago, Untitled Goose Game grabbed my attention. It’s coming to Nintendo Switch and enables you to become a goose. As if this alone isn’t like a dream coming true, you’re free to do as you please to make it even better! It’s a funny game and I wasn’t surprised to see that this was the most popular Nindie game on the booth. Its simple concept spoke to a lot of people and I totally understand why.
What the game does best is its humor. The demo offered a small look at the final product, we could only play a short map where a farmer is working on his land. The goal of the goose is to … well, be an asshole! The goose has a handy list of objectives but you’re always free to solve the problems as you please. Most problems were solved by stealing stuff from the farmer and dropping them in the nearby pond afterwards, like a true goose!
Smart puzzling
Underneath its funny and rude surface, Untitled Goose Game (can we please keep this name) is a rather interesting puzzle game. As said before, the goose had to clear objectives but in the meantime, had to stay away from the farmer. Once the farmer spots you, he’ll chase you off his land. Funny enough, there are some elements on his land that can help you out. The tall vegetation for example is the perfect hiding spot for a small goose. This reminded me of Assassin’s Creed for some reason and it was at that point that I realized, this is more than just a funny game. The mechanics are there and the game actually offers some solid gameplay too! The demo offered a small taste of what is yet to come but something tells me the final product might feature some really innovating puzzles.
Early conclusion:
Untitled Goose Game is the funniest thing I’ve played during EGX 2018 and I can’t wait to see how the final product will play. From what it looks like now, the combination of the open sandbox, creative puzzles and rudeness of the goose might be the thing we’ve never known we wanted until now. Be sure to put this one on your radars, I think it will be worth it!
