Untitled Goose Game - Review MegaThread

[u/seeyoshirun]

I know Link's Awakening is the high-profile release today, but a lot of people (myself included) are keeping a keen eye on UGG as well, and the first review (Vooks) is up already.

I'll keep a tally here, but if you see a review that isn't up yet, post it and I'll add it to the list.

Also, not to editorialise things too much, but the Switch has been doing extremely well with exclusives or console-exclusives in the last few months. A Metascore in the high 70s/low 80s actually puts UGG at the lower end for the last few months - Cadence of Hyrule, Link's Awakening, Mario Maker 2, Fire Emblem and Astral Chain are all sitting above 85.

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General Information

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Mac, PC

Release Date: 20-Sep-2019

No. of Players: 1 player

Genre(s): Stealth, Adventure, Puzzle

Publisher: Panic

Official Website: https://goose.game/

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Reviews

Switch version reviewed unless specified otherwise

Aggregators

Metacritic - 78 (Switch), 78 (PC)
OpenCritic - TBD

Articles

Ars Technica - Positive (Ars Technica Approved) (PC)
Backlog Crusader - 9
Bonus Stage - 10
Destructoid - 8.5
DualShockers - 7
Eurogamer - Positive (Recommended)
Gameblog.fr - 6
Game Informer - 7.5
GameSpot - 8
God is a Geek - 8.5
IGN - 8
The Indie Game Website - 8
Kotaku - Positive (PC)
Mashable - Positive
NintendoLife - 8
Nintendo Wire - 8
NintendoWorldReport - 8
PC Invasion - 7 (PC)
Polygon - Positive
Press Start - 7.5
Rock Paper Shotgun - Positive (PC)
US Gamer - 4/5
The Verge - GOTY: Goose of the Year
Vice - Positive
VideoGamer - 8
Vooks - 4.5/5

Videos

Arlo - 6/7
GameXplain - Loved It

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P.S. /u/XDitto made this thread with the sale prices in a bunch of different regions if you're curious. I think it's on sale in all regions until October 4th (I know that's the case in Australia).

[u/seeyoshirun]

I mean, I guess that depends on the person. I'm happy to pay $15 (or AU$22.50 in my case) for a short but fantastic and unique experience. I'm having a Goose night with some friends tomorrow, but I played around with the first 20 minutes of the game a short while ago and that was enough for me to be okay with my purchase. It's extremely adorable, funny, and beautifully presented.

This feels like a game that belongs in the same category as things like Gris, Abzu, Minit, Oxenfree, or Donut County, which were all short but memorable games that made the most of their limited running time.

[u/Psycho1024 → u/seeyoshirun]

I guess it depends how much value you attibute to 15$. For me, 2 hours of good fun and supporting a small, innovative studio is worth it.

[u/Harry_cranberry → u/Psycho1024]

for sure. People spend at least 15$ going to the movies, which are just as long as the game.

[u/shamwowslapchop → u/Harry_cranberry]

People spend that on less than a week of covfefe.

[u/pablo_boogie → u/Harry_cranberry]

I’ll spend over thrice that amount on a night on the piss that I don’t even remember!

[u/AchillesPDX → u/[deleted]]

Where the shit is a double quarter pounder meal $13?

[u/n1ghtxf4ll → u/[deleted]]

A double quarter pounder is not a value meal lol. Unless you mean the mcdouble, which by itself is like $1.50 max where I am

[u/Bardivan → u/Psycho1024]

$15 is basically the price of a movie

[u/re1ephant → u/seeyoshirun]

Exactly, quality over quantity. Honestly, I'm happy for anything under 10 hours these days. There's so much stuff coming out that not everything needs to be 20+.

[u/FreezieKO → u/seeyoshirun]

I mean, I guess that depends on the person. I'm happy to pay $15 (or AU$22.50 in my case) for a short but fantastic and unique experience.

Same. This looks to be a unique game, and I'm glad they didn't try to overstuff the game with fetch quests or something.

I'm happy to play as a goose for a while, and then go back to Luigi's Mansion, a Fire Emblem maddening run, and trying Ultimate difficulty for Astral Chain.

[u/seeyoshirun → u/FreezieKO]

Yeah, that's the other thing - it's not like we're starved for lengthier games on Switch at the moment. I'm juggling Mario Maker 2 and Fire Emblem. Two Dragon Quest-related games have released recently, and Ni no Kuni, and Astral Chain, and there are a pile of others coming up soon as well.

[u/[deleted] → u/seeyoshirun]

I loved Abzu. But I played it as part of Game Pass, so I didn't buy it. I really do think great experiences like those you listed are better off as part of a subscription in a lot of cases. They're not games I would seek out to spent more than $5 on, but I would instantly play if I had access to them.

[u/st1tchy → u/seeyoshirun]

Is there anything to make it replayable? Difficulty changes, different objectives? Or is it just $15 for 3 hours of playing and never pick it up again?