Rating: 4.5/5 - An almost perfect game
Difficulty: 2/5 - Minimal skill needed
Replayability: 3/5 - Extra game content to explore after credits
Commitment: 1/5 - Can complete the main story in one sitting
Play Time: 3.3hrs | Achievements: 5/25 | Story: Completed | Platform: Steam | Controller Used
Available on: Steam (Win, Mac), Itch, Epic, Switch, PS4, Xbox One
Website: https://goose.game/
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I was looking for a light hearted game that could lift me out of some mid-week blues and had recently been gifted this game by a friend. I am thrilled that I chose to play this game.
In Untitled Goose Game, you use your puzzle solving skills to help a goose cause chaos across a little town. The design of the game is incredible, navigating the world feels effortless and the camera angles are rarely an issue, especially with UI that kindly shows anything that is hidden. The puzzles themselves are a lot of fun, with the quests often being something silly, and the solutions being equally so. In terms of the difficulty, I never felt like the solutions were too easy, yet I never felt close to any sort of frustration. For a game with very little guidance, it does a good job of showing you the answer. To its credit, the game allows you to employ a “grab at everything” method to the solutions, occasionally rewarding you with clues or answers.
Interacting with the world was made even more enjoyable by the music that dynamically changes as you progress through the game. Going into the game, all I knew about it was that the sound track released on a “double groove” vinyl, meaning that each time you listen to it, it will be a different experience. Even knowing this going in, I was shocked by just how delightful and immersive the music sounded. I loved exploring the world and being rewarded by a new sound going on in the background.
The only thing keeping this game from being five starts, is that the controls on controller feel clunky. This is likely fixable through the keybinds, but I didn’t want to mess with it and risk diving deeper into the mid-week blues. The game was still playable, just not intuitive enough to award it five stars.
Overall, a delightful puzzle game that I wish I could play for the first time again, and one that I still have so much to look forward to thanks to the in-game achievement hunting. This game goes up there with Botany Manor as one of my favourite puzzle games.
