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Everyone from Chrissy Teigen to Blink-182 is freaking out about a 'goose game' - one look at the bizarre new game explains why
Everyone from Chrissy Teigen to Blink-182 is freaking out about a 'goose game' - one look at the bizarre new game explains why
Ben GilbertOct 1, 2019, 23:26 IST
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House House/Panic
Everyone is talking about a "goose game."
The game, named "Untitled Goose Game," just launched on Nintendo Switch and PC/Mac for $20. In the days since it launched, "Untitled Goose Game" has become a viral hit.
But why? Why is this goose game suddenly so popular? Because of what it is: An opportunity to mess with people unapologetically - as a horrible, no-good goose with an attitude problem.
Between September 20 and the onset of October, "Untitled Goose Game" rose from obscurity to celebrity. There are goose memes, and viral GIFs, and fan art. It's having something of A Moment™.
So, uh, what the heck is going on? Why do people keep responding to your texts with the word "honk"? Here's the deal with "Untitled Goose Game," available for $20 on the Nintendo Switch, PC, and Mac:
Everything in "Untitled Goose Game" — from the art style to the controls — is blessedly accessible.
There are very few controls to learn in "Untitled Goose Game."
You move your goose, and you make your goose lower its head, and you grab things with your bill — and you honk, of course. So, so much honking.
There are some tasks to complete, and plenty of humans to terrorize, but that's about it.
The game's premise is simple as well: Geese are jerks, and they exist to mess with human beings.
You could, ostensibly, just float around in the water and hang out in "Untitled Goose Game." You do you, by all means.
But the game sets out a set of very simple tasks, such as forcing a scared child into a telephone booth, or dragging a rake into a lake, or building yourself a goose picnic (out of stolen items from nearby humans).
In so many words, it's a game about cause and effect. You, as a goose, cause havoc, and the humans around you deal with the effects of that havoc.
It's easy to understand why people are enjoying "Untitled Goose Game" so much — it's ostensibly a simple game about messing with people.
Between the playful art style, charming music, and silly-looking goose, causing havoc as the goose feels exactly as cathartic as you might expect. It's a sheer joy terrorizing the vaguely British stereotypes of the game's storybook world.
There are no guns, or high scores, or loot boxes to open — it's just you, as a goose, messing with the people of the world in relatively basic ways that almost always made me laugh out loud.
The image above is a perfect example.
The goal was simply stated as "Get on TV" The issue, of course, is you're a goose. What TV? With what camera? Aha, the store with TVs in the front window! But how to get inside?
It's this kind of logical puzzle solving that "Untitled Goose Game" is rife with — but the thing you're solving for, always, is "how to mess with people."
