December 2019
Untitled Goose Game
Untitled Goose Game captured the attention of gamers everywhere at its initial reveal, mainly based on its bizarre name and premise. You were a goose, naturally a jerk, and your goal was to terrorize and cause havoc on a small town. Sound like fun? It is! Let me caveat that. Untitled Goose Game is definitely fun, but it’s not MY game. While I found the core concept fun, the finicky nature of some of the tasks and puzzles frustrated me at times. So why is this my pick? Well, this is a game my wife loved, adored, and played through from beginning to end in a few sittings, something she never does anymore. Watching her play was such a fun experience for me. How she deduced the next steps to take, laughed out loud at the mean goose’s antics, or simply messed around with the environments was incredibly sublime for me. She wanted to see every way she could pick on the gardener. She wanted to see if she could steal everything from a storefront. She wanted to take and ruin all the food at the restaurant. It was hilarious and so much fun, so much better than playing and is an experience I wouldn’t trade for any gaming session.
Only a few other games came close this month, with Shovel Knight Treasure Trove and My Friend Pedro coming closest. Wow, end of another year!