Having to work against these people is extremely difficult, and navigating with and around them was unfun. Untitled Goose Game proclaims itself to be a “slapstick-stealth-sandbox”, but I would argue it’s more of a puzzle game. Each area features a list of tasks to complete, all of which involve the aforementioned humans. These human beings are the main reason why I find the game insufferable. Ironically the game’s description page again provides a perfect quote, “you hate them”. Here we lead into another massive issue I had the townsfolk. In open spaces this isn’t so much a problem, but it becomes one when trying to maneuver yourself into an item’s context sensitive range, or when humans chase you away. It has a weight problem, giving it lasting momentum that makes walking feel unresponsive. These are all fine, but drags things down is the way you move the goose. One of which is spreading your wings, a button I personally believe to be useless. The actual layout is simple and minimalistic, giving you only a few seemingly important actions. This brings me to the controls and here’s where I start bringing the mood down. The description downplays it as this button is actually extremely important to the gameplay. The game description for Untitled Goose Game is very meta and humorous, mentioning that you have “a dedicated honk button (!!!)”. It’s supposed to be obnoxious because that’s what your character is, a horrible goose. The honking noise the goose makes is actually a positive though, despite it being extremely annoying. I would actually call it a negative because while the background music is unmemorable, I felt that muting the game weakened the overall experience. Also in terms of art direction, the audio is something that is just there. Object interaction is context sensitive, so it’s hard to tell at a glance what is manipulatable and what’s just set dressing. However despite the success of those choices, the selection icon is a miss for me. Untitled Goose Game combines them with a strong color scheme that distinguishes objects in a very pleasing way. Visually I find the use of cel-shaded graphics in any game a plus, as this choice always helps to keep it from aging into a blocky, optic nightmare. I want to right off the bat say something positive about the game, so let me tell you about the artistic direction. I had heard of it before starting it up, having seen the memes, but never had the urge to play it. It was the Xbox One version that I reviewed, and this was my first time ever playing it. Released as early as September 2019, Untitled Goose Game is a self proclaimed “slapstick-stealth-sandbox” genre game also available on PC, Switch, and PS4. Many of you already know what this title is. Normally this is a few days’ time, but I spent a week between writing this, and last playing Untitled Goose Game. To assist in doing this I give myself a buffer between putting the game down, and writing my review. The trick is to not let the negatives overwhelm the experience, while also not letting the positives completely negate any criticism I might have. Going into every game I aim to have an open mind, but the human side of me often will influence things. Something I, as a game reviewer, constantly have to balance are my cynicism and optimism.