630: Untitled Goose Game

[JaySevenZero]

Here's where you can contribute your thoughts and opinions for Untitled Goose Game for potential inclusion in the forthcoming podcast.

A friendly reminder that where the feedback for the podcast is concerned, we love it - but keeping it brief is appreciated. We do want to include a breadth of opinions where appropriate, but no-one wants a discussion podcast that’s mostly reading out essays. Better to save yourself time and cut to the chase if you can.

[Jobobonobo]

This game was one that had always interested me and it was nice to finally get around to playing it. I was having some difficulty with it at first until I realised that this is a game primarily about observing the habits of others and knowing what to do at the right time. Once I figured that out, this game finally clicked for me and I barrelled through it. A lot of the solutions to some of the things you have to do are pretty ingenious such as getting access to a TV shop by trapping a young boy in a phone booth and the shopkeeper rushing out to help him or getting a flower by entertaining two ladies with my goosey charm at a beer garden. The couple at the pub were a real challenge to deal with and definitely had to do a lot of sneaking around to get all my tasks done but very satisfying when I got one over on them. Easily the closest thing to a Mr Bean sketch in a videogame and I think it is that sense of fun and mischief that got it so much attention on its release. If you want something nice and short to relax with after a 100+ hour epic then Untitled Goose Game is an easy recommend.

TWR: Truly silly goose

[BearFishPie]

'Hitman, But You're A Bullying Goose in a Quaint English Village' is a heck of an elevator pitch, and all but guaranteed this game would get a lot of attention for novelty value alone. Fortunately, for my money at least, it stuck the landing suitable, hitting a tone of breezy low stakes chaotic shenanigans and presenting the game as a series of interactive vignettes. I enjoyed my playthrough well enough, and it would have sat in my mind afterward as a pleasantly silly experience if that had been where we had parted.

But it really came into its own when I introduced it to my then-9yo daughter to the game, someone who very rarely has shown an interest in videogames. We had a genuinely delightful time ushering her through the game, and had raucous fun tormenting the poor villagers a while later with the arrival of the co-op mode. Thank you House House, for giving me the chance to create those precious memories.

TWR:

Village Bell End

(Also, as an aside...how an Australian dev team hit the vague 80s/90s Picturesque English Village setting so perfectly I have no clue

[KarlDaFrog]

Untitled Goose Game is one of those games you can show to non-gamers without fear of intimidating them with a dense UI or complex meta game. I played Untitled Goose Game through in a couple of sittings before showing it to my partner at the time. We played on the switch in her tiny studio, and I have fond memories of us (kindly) yelling at each other to be more sneaky as we passed the controller back and forth.

When games break out of stereotypes like “You’re a dude and you can shoot” or “You’re a dude and you can jump” they expand the medium. Simultaneously, because these are games that are not expanding upon tried-and-true mechanics, they are more accessible to a wider audience. I don’t think I’ve played as a goose before, let alone in the “stealth day-ruining” subgenre. To just do that is an accomplishment, but to have such a polished game is a delight.

And of course, not enough can be said about Dan Golding’s magnificent interpretation of Debussy for the adaptive score.

[NoMoreSpearows]

Credit where it's due, Untitled Goose Game accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do. That said, I feel a little sad to see so many people actively enjoying it.

Maybe I'm just getting soft, but having a game where the prospect is to worsen people's lives isn't too thrilling. Ironically, I tend to not have this issue in games that involve people dying or what have you, though that's probably because the tone is one that's more serious. Here, despite the lighthearted nature, it just feels unnecessarily cruel to ruin the lives of ordinary people going about their business.

I'll be the first to say I'm probably overthinking this, but I'd still prefer a medium where good deeds are celebrated over bad ones if you're making something family-friendly. This goose is better off cooked.

[Alex79]

I bought this game for one of my children on Switch one Christmas, and we played through the whole game together. From doing nothing but honking at each other to pulling off elaborate heist style escapades with our geese, he was giggling the whole time. There aren't many games we've been able to enjoy together cooperatively and so this, along with It Takes Two and Brothers, sticks out in my memory. It looked so nice, too. Almost painterly style graphics, and the geese handled, well, exactly how you might think they would. From running and swimming and ducking under fences and flapping wings, they were a lot of fun to play with. We cleared all of the objectives and then the bonus ones that unlock at the end, and we had a great time with the game from start to finish.

THREE WORD REVIEW: HONK! HAHA! HONK!

[sheeldz]

Odd one this because whilst I don't really like Untitled Goose Game, because it just isn't my kind of game, everyone else in my family adored it. The kids love causing chaos in the town and it has racked up nearly 50 hours of playtime on our preferred platform, the Switch, on account of it being the right level of open-endedness (after the game's completion, notably) that has given both of my kids hours of fun, single player and in co-op mode.

For me, the puzzles missed more times than they hit, and the moment to moment gameplay was fine, but it's clear that in my house that is the dissenting opinion. The music was a particular highlight, and the story, such that it is, is a nice subversion - the idea that on the first play through you're the underdog, the downtrodden rebel, fighting against these unjust slurs and prejudice against a simple innocent Goose... only for it to be revealed that you're a terror, and have been doing it for a very long time, was very satisfying, and my kids cackled with glee at the reveal.

Accomplished in what it set out to do, and for the memories my kids have of "the Goose Game" can't be ignored.

TRR: Metal Goose Solid

[designermatt]

I thoroughly enjoyed this charming, very British little puzzle game. As someone else mentioned, it's the kind of game that even the non-gamers in your life will be charmed by, with it's cosy vibes and mischievous humour.
There's a real joy in causing low-level chaos as you waddle and honk your way around a small town in the UK, and it was a joy to discover all the possibilities that came from stealing different items or setting up little domino-effect moments.
I've a real soft spot for 'cosy' games with low stakes and slow pace sometimes , and Untitled Goose Game made me smile a lot over the few hours I played it. My brother and his young kids also had a blast playing together, so I know the avian mayhem was a hit with the youngsters in the family, too.
I did find some of the puzzles pretty cryptic, so I needed to use a guide here and there and eventually bounced off it before I made it to the end, but it stays installed on my console and I expect I'll go back to finish it, next time I fancy a dose of wholesome fun.

[Buskalilly]

I remember rolling my eyes a bit when this game was first teased, but then hearing enough buzz on podcasts to eventually give it a go.

What I found was exactly what I'd been promised, but that was the problem: having heard a few of the jokes already and had the concept explained, I felt a little like I was just going through the motions. If I'd played this with a little less knowledge, I think the realisation that I was just here to be a Beano-esque menace, and the subsequent figuring out of each little scene, might have been funnier.

I'm glad I played this, and I'm always excited to see someone else come to it for the first time. But I wish I'd come to it expecting less, or it had delivered slightly more.

[Nicktendo]

A charming short game with clever objectives and controls (I mean a dedicated honk button is just brilliant).
I played this game quite a bit in the lead up to it's release at gaming events as the developer is based in my city (Melbourne, Australia), and couldn't wait to see what more lay in store in the full release. However, I was disappointed that the game doesn't really do anything new outside of the first 30 minutes of the game. Outside of the initial laugh the game became a bit monotonous.

TWR: You Silly Goose

[TheAngryWalnut]

This was the first game I downloaded and fired up, in an attempt to answer the ‘what is a Switch?’ questions a couple of vaguely curious family members were asking, on Christmas morning 2019. Fast forward 30 minutes and the whole family were crowded round the TV, my 90 year old grandmother shouting “honk at him again!” and falling around laughing. No game had ever created such family unity, and no game has since. That I later discovered these delightful moments continue for many hours afterwards means it is a game I will always remember with a smile.