Untitled Goose Game Review

If you’re like me then you’ve always had an underlying desire to wreak havoc as a goose on an unsuspecting English village. Untitled Goose Game by House House is a godsend for me, allowing me to live out my evil goose involved fantasies. Throw in some puzzle solving and good dose of humor and you have a potential game of the year candidate on your hands!

Play as the titular Goose as he waddles his butt menacingly around town crossing off handwritten tasks such as “Trap the boy in the phone booth” or “Get the groundskeeper wet.” Whoever wrote these would make Satan proud.

September and October are both huge months for Nintendo Switch owners. AAA games like Dragon Quest XI and Link’s Awakening released last month and are no doubt keeping many of you glued to your Joy-Cons. The big release this month is undoubtedly Luigi’s Mansion 3, but I’m here to tell you not to sleep on Untitled Goose Game as it demands the world’s attention.

It’s been a while since I’ve played a game where I was laughing and smiling the entire time. This title oozes with charm and creativity and forces the player into the role of the foulest of fowls. At its core, Untitled Goose Game is a stealth puzzler in a small sandbox environment. Each area comes with a handful of tasks for the player to complete before moving onto the next. Most of the tasks can be completed in a variety of ways, making each player’s playthrough different than the last.

Reminiscent of other stealth games like Metal Gear Solid where sneaking is key, this goose must utilize its wits to steal items without being detected by the unsuspecting humans only to be caught with a look that says, “However could you suspect me – a goose – as the one who would put your rake in the lake?”

This goose is such a jerk, but that’s what makes him so relatable. We all wish we could just mess with a groundskeeper while he’s trying to finish his daily chores – to the point where he questions his own sanity – with no repercussions and then honk onto the next unlucky victim. The game is so liberating.

Untitled Goose Game is, unfortunately, exceptionally short with many players able to finish all the game’s objectives in about three hours. There are some extra tasks that are unlocked upon completion, but more areas and people to interact with would have been great considering just how much fun this game is. Despite how short it is some of the missions really forced me to think outside of the box and there were plenty of clever little puzzles throughout the story.

The game’s presentation is exceptionally charming and full of bright vibrant colors highlighted by its lovely piano soundtrack. The piano tunes get faster and livelier the closer you get to any humans. It’s altogether amazing. There’s a bit of a minimalist approach with character designs, which works so well.

Untitled Goose Game is really a title that belongs in every Nintendo Switch owner’s library. In video games we have plenty of opportunities to become super heroes, gods, monsters, and now we have the chance to be something so incredibly liberating, a humble goose. Although there are plenty of great games for the Switch this is one I can’t recommend more simply because of how original and charming this title really is. It may be short, but you’ll never stop laughing and smiling at the little evil goose’s antics.

Tony Matthews

Tony has been gaming ever since he could walk. Pokémon Blue Version helped him learn how to read. His greatest accomplishment is not just having played the entire Kingdom Hearts series but also understanding it.