Untitled Goose Game Review

"Honk Honk"

Campaign

January 25, 2020 at 6:38pm
By Jason Stettner

This is one of the more strange experiences I’ve had in gaming, and with that one of the more unique ones. In this game you play as a rather hostile goose that goes around being a pest to anyone that happens to get in the way. It’s a game of freedom, while still being generally linear. You’re given free rein in these hub areas with just a shopping list of goals to complete.

You can tackle these how you’d like, and that creates a sense of free exploration. You’re being suggested to do things such as steal keys from a gardener, or knock a poor kid into a puddle. Stuff like that, and there are a number of these segments from which you will harass folks. It’s quite dark if you think of it, and I felt bad at times for the characters as this is one destructive creature.

That being said, it can be entertaining and I know this one will bring a weird level of joy to many. It’s got a good amount of content to it, and that time really comes down to how creative you are when it comes to finishing up the areas. There’s quite a bit to do, and you’ll have to honk your way to victory. I initially thought this might be more simplistic when it comes to goals, but there are some complicated elements to this title.

Gameplay

The visuals here are actually rather lovely, while leaning on the minimalistic side of things. There’s lots of depth in terms of the object quantity, and how well they represent their real life counter-parts. I was impressed by this aspect, I thought they nailed the visuals.

There’s also an element of physics based action here, and while it was somewhat buggy that’s expected when it comes to that type of experience. There are some neat mechanics for your goose pal including bending of the neck to pick things up or generally how you could interact with the environment. There are options for flapping those wings, going fast and of course honking.

I did find some aspects of interacting a tad annoying, and other times it could be frustrating with how certain AI would react to some events. Still, it worked well and did provide a bit of a challenge which wasn’t expected.

The Conclusion

Untitled Goose Game was a surprisingly interesting time delivering a unique world, and putting you into the shoes of a shockingly aggressive bird. Coming from Canada I’ve had some nice experiences with geese, but this is one interesting take on them. Maybe they are hostile critters, that being said it’s best to look past that and just wreck mayhem upon the poor citizens in your path.

I thought they created a neat world here, with great aesthetics and gorgeous visuals that helped elevate the title further than the base mechanics which were also neat. At times I got frustrated with some aspects, but taking a step back I do appreciate what they’ve created here as it can be entertaining. It may not necessarily be my favorite sort of title, but I know many will enjoy the atmosphere and style of this physics based experience.

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Untitled Goose Game Review on Xbox One X
Review Code Provided by Panic Inc

Rating Overall: 8.0