Untitled Goose Game is a puzzle game in which you play as a goose. This is a unique idea and the developers managed to pull this off very well. It has simple 2D graphics that manages to be extremely charming and looks great. The most important aspect is the character model for the titular goose and they have nailed this as well. Playing as the goose, you can walk, dash, honk and flap your wings. Thanks to the attention to detail on the animations, you do feel as if you are a goose.
The basic premise is that you are playing as a mischievous goose. You travel through various areas in a small English town, stealing items and playing pranks on the townspeople. The game begins with you in your den and quickly teaches you the controls, which are simple enough. Apart from the actions already mentioned earlier, you can also bend down and grab stuff with your beak.
Despite the limited amount of actions, the developers were creative enough to make this work for the whole game. There are a variety of things to do and in each area, you’re left alone to wreck havoc. Teach area is a mini-sandbox in itself and you’re given a list of things to do in order to unlock the next area. While there are these objectives, you’ll probably spend a significant bit of your time when you first get to a new area just playing around and seeing what new things you can do.
Playing pranks on the inhabitants of the village is heaps of fun. You can steal items and hide them from the villagers so that they’ll be confused and try to go look for them. You can surprise villagers by honking at them when they least expect it so they spit out their tea or fall on themselves. The best part is that this feels all so innocent since you’re just a goose. The gameplay has a certain charm to it that’s hard to describe.
The various objectives in each area aren’t too hard to do. This is where the puzzle aspect comes into play since through trial and error, you realize the limits to what you can do and what you need to do. Later on in the game, you end up relying on recognizing the AI patterns in order to manipulate them. This is also where the game can become a bit annoying since the AI is really rigid at times, yet still displays brilliance at others. You might have wanted to distract them with dragging an item away but for some reason, they always prioritize on the one thing you don’t want them to do.
The AI will eventually return things back to the way things are so that there is never anything that’s missable. Broke a glass cup? Don’t worry, it’ll get replaced. Locked someone away? They’ll manage to find their way out. This is great, especially if you had wanted to try it again to see their reactions one more time.
Each area may be small but it’s filled with things to do and items to interact with. There might be one or two things in the list that you might not have figured out but you only need to do most of them to unlock the next area. What’s great about the progression objectives is that it gives you ideas and hints on what you can do and the potential of the goose. You might have never thought some things were possible, such as trapping someone inside a phone box, but the game tells you that it is possible and gently nudges you to figure out the how.
The biggest negative is probably how the game does not take long to complete. Your first playthrough will probably be only around two to four hours depending on how quickly you figure things out. However, those hours are heaps of fun and it’ll fly by so the game never outstays its welcome. The final objective can be annoying since it focuses heavily on stealth. There were bits of stealth throughout the game but it wasn’t as bad as this final section. That being said, the ending is worth it since it’ll bring out a surprising laugh from the player and is fairly clever. It’s impressive to see how it manages to tell such a good story with so little presentation.
After you finish the story and the credits roll, you’re free to do whatever you want. The whole map is unlocked, along with some shortcuts. There are additional things to do that you need to figure out on your own since the list is hidden but several of them can be very annoying due to the physics. There is also a local co-op mode in which two players can play to achieve the objectives.
It’s quite amazing when you think about how the game can be so fun and yet still be non-violent. NPCs will put in effort to chase the goose away whether it’s shooing with their hands or using a broom. Even better is when they end up putting up signs to say that no geese are allowed. Outsmarting NPCs as a goose is immensely satisfying and it’s this silliness which just makes everything work. The music is also surprisingly fitting. It’s not heavy but with just enough there to fill in the silence.
Overall, Untitled Goose Game is a fantastic game and a surprise hit that’s well deserved of its positive reviews. It is clever, inventive and charming. It manages to take a ridiculous concept and make it work so well, creating a fun game that’s mischievous and innocent at the same time, which is rare in games nowadays. It’s a bit pricey given its short runtime but it is well worth it, especially when it is on sale.
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With the physical edition, the game comes with a few bonuses. First off is the awesome map of the village that the game takes place. It's a lot of fun to see how all the areas connect once you've played through the game.
The second is not as exciting since it's just a sticker.
Third is a booklet that contains quite a number of details about the items found in the game.
