Untitled Goose Game Review

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Fast Facts

Title: Untitled Goose Game
Developer: House House
Publisher: Panic
Website: https://goose.game
Genre: Animal Life, Simulation, Puzzle
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Age Rating: PEGI 3
Release Date: 20/09/19
Price: £17.99 – Rapid Reviews was very kindly provided with a review code for this title.

When Untitled Goose Game was first announced, the Developers at “House House” never expected the public response to be as big as it was. The first thing that should be noted is that the game was never meant to have this title. As the game was featured on news and social media outlets, the name was loved by readers and viewers alike. The team decided to end their search for a name and stuck with what the fans loved. Secondly, it should be noted that the developers of this game are based in Australia. Why is this an important thing to note? Well, the game captures the vibe of a quaint English country village so perfectly even though all those involved were situated on the other side of the planet.

The first instruction the game gives you is “Press Y to honk”, and from that moment on, you know this is not a typical video game. Unlike games such as “Goat Sim” (a game where you play as a goat on a path of destruction through different areas), this game will have you cause a nuisance in much more subtle and creative ways. Controls are limited to moving, honking, crouching and grabbing with your beak. The game also dedicates an entire button to the flapping of your wings, this does absolutely nothing to the gameplay but is just hilarious to see.

As you enter an area, you are given a to-do list to complete. This can range from collecting various items together, causing people to fall over, to putting a rake in the lake. You can tackle these tasks in different ways, and they’re not all so straight forward. Often you’ll find yourself having to analyse the people in each area to learn their movements and behaviours. Of course, you can still be a pain in the backside while doing this.

Looking at this game is just as much a pleasure as playing it. There’s no super high detailed models, no crazy textures, just simple shaded graphics that capture the joy of this game perfectly. The soundtrack is made up of minimal piano notes that increase in volume and tempo as you start to cause more trouble for the locals. This perfectly captures the mood and fits just so well, anything more would have been overkill.

Games are an escape mechanism from reality, and they allow you to live out your wildest dreams without much effort. You can be a professional footballer, a knight in shining armour, a hero to a land of people in need…or you can be a goose that wants to cause havoc for anyone and everyone it meets. This game was designed with love, and you can feel that in every single second of gameplay you squeeze out of it. It looks perfect, sounds perfect and plays exactly how you’d want.

It’s easy to see why this game has garnered the fandom that it has. From memes to coffee shops all over the place putting up “No Geese” signs (mimicking an act done in the game), this game is beyond popular. This game has even gone as far as to beat the new Link’s Awakening off the top spot of the digital charts in the USA! It’s a true underdog story, and all the success is truly deserved. Pick this game up, and you will not regret it, and remember, press Y to honk!

Rapid Reviews Rating

Untitled Goose Game can be purchased for the Nintendo Switch at the following link: https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Untitled-Goose-Game-1437769.html