In a time of massive AAA blockbusters, endless battle royales and pixelated rouge-likes, it’s refreshing that developers like House House are still out there to create something so uniquely charming as Untitled Goose Game, a recent addition to the Nintendo Switch’s ever-expanding selection of indie games.

Here you’ll control a mischievous goose, adept at all manner of, ahem, “fowl” behaviour. Moving it around is fun, and we couldn’t resist honking at everything and everyone, but picking up objects can be a tad finicky when they’re packed closely together. Punishment for failure means little, though, with an NPC typically replacing the item, allowing you to try again. It’s never enough to cause tangible frustration.

Goose Game‘s presentation is a delight. The simplistic, low-polygon graphics make the characters and objects pop against minimalist backgrounds as you make your way through a small town. The goose couldn’t be much cuter, either, as it waddles and honks, running away from frustrated humans with some plunder in its beak.

A very subtle, piano-based soundtrack accompanies you on your journey, disappearing for long stretches and only piping in when needed to add a little more humour to the proceedings. It’s excellent.

There’s no plot here: you’re a goose, and you like to wreck shit (and also bells). That’s pretty much the size of it. Each time you enter an area a list of goals will appear for you to accomplish. As you check them off you’ll eventually trigger an extra event, and completing that allows you to proceed. Then you’ll waddle through the town until you reach your next sandbox. Rinse and repeat.

At its heart, Goose Game is a stealth puzzler — and although the tone is completely different, the series it reminded us of was Hitman, in which you’re given a checklist of objectives and then are pretty much free to accomplish them however you see fit. There’s a pretty decent variety within them as well with some being very straightforward and others more exotic and involved.

One early example tasks your goose will getting on TV. You can see the electronics store right away, but how to get in there…? Eventually we were able to chase a child into a phone booth, he then calls the owner, who comes out to check on him, leaving the door open. In we went, flipped a switch and we were on every TV in the place. It’s hard to explain why that whole process was so enjoyable, but everything about it just clicks.

It’s unfortunate then that the experience is over so quickly. Even accounting for getting stumped and failed efforts to do things like getting the gardener to change his hat or setting the table outside of the pub, Goose Game took less than two hours to complete. Maybe the additional “to-do as well” tasks that open up after you finish the main goal could push it past two hours, depending on how much you struggle, but no matter how you slice it there isn’t a ton of content here.

OVERALL (4.25/5)

Despite its brevity, Untitled Goose Game is oozing charm and whimsy out of every pore, making it worthy of your time and money. Here’s hoping we get some DLC or an expanded edition whenever it inevitably makes its way to Sony and Microsoft.

Nearly eight months after Agent 47’s latest adventure began in France we have reached the conclusion of Square-Enix’s episodic endeavour with the release of Episode 6: Hokkaido. Having weeded out a mole at the highest levels of the ICA during his last mission, Agent 47 has been sent to “retire” the traitor and send a message to Providence in the process. more

After gallivanting all across the globe, Agent 47 is finally ready to do some work stateside behind enemy lines in Episode 5: Colorado. While some may bemoan the lack of layers to this level — the entire thing is pretty much one big compound so you won’t be blending in with tourists or posing as the delivery guy — it feels like a legitimately different setup than the first four, and that’s a good thing.the first four, and that’s a good thing. more

Staying at the Himmapan are a pair of unsavoury characters: Jordan Cross, acclaimed Indie rock singer and son of billionaire Thomas Cross, and Ken Morgan, the family’s attorney. Whatever thread has been holding previous episodes together is ostensibly absent here, as it’s made clear this is a private contract taken out by the family of Hannah Highmoore, the alleged murder victim of Jordan — a crime that was covered up by the unscrupulous Morgan. more

Having settled things in Sapienza, Agent 47 is off to Morocco in Episode 3: Marrakesh to take down two more targets. First up is Claus Strandberg, a Swedish-born banker that stole huge sums of money from the population but escaped custody and is now holed up in the Swiss embassy. Your other mark is General Zaydan, who engineered the escape and intends to use the chaos surrounding Strandberg to overthrow the current government. more