Aussie game makes a goose of itself
IT IS a lovely morning in the village and you are a horrible goose.
That is both the pitch and the summary of Melbournebased developer House House’s delightful game, Untitled Goose Game, which recently made its debut on PC and Nintendo Switch and has basically taken on a life of its own in the aftermath.
The game is set in an unnamed English village, and you are a white goose with a penchant for nicking off with people’s stuff, honking obnoxiously and generally causing trouble.
Some of the things you can do include turning the sprinkler on to soak an unsuspecting groundskeeper, waddling off with his radio, dragging his rake into the lake, trapping a child in a phone booth, ringing a giant bell to cause a hapless neighbour to spit out his tea, and pulling people’s washing off the clothesline.
Between the distinctive art style, the piano-featuring soundtrack and the whimsical but mischievous nature of the game, it’s easy to see why it’s become a hit.
The controls are simple to use, with a dedicated button for going “honk!”, which is going to get a workout for no other reason that it’s fun to be a goose and sneak up behind people and honk at them.
It’s not a long game and the puzzles are well done, requiring a little bit of stealth (the village inhabitants will start to chase you away if they catch you), but there is nothing offensive for any age group here, and so the kids can play too.
Royce Wilson