It may not be the GOAT but there are several goats.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/72113/herdling-switch-review
I’ve played a lot of games that in theory should be similar to Herdling. I’ve played plenty of narrative adventure games built around atmosphere and environmental storytelling. I’ve played games where I’ve managed multiple characters at once. But somehow Herdling still winds up feeling very unique. Because while it has elements of games like Abzu, Rime, or even Lemmings, ultimately Herdling is a shepherding-sim.
You play as a young boy who comes across a wandering Calicorn. Calicorn are furry goat-like creatures that come in a variety of sizes. Using a stick you find lying on the ground, you quickly learn to shepherd the lonely Calicorn. As you begin wandering alongside it, you’ll come upon another Calicorn and soon your duo will become a herd. The story and motivation for what you’re doing is borderline non-existent, and you find yourself guiding the Calicorns forward largely because this is a video game and that's what you do. Herdling has no dialogue so you’re relying entirely on environmental storytelling and natural moments to form attachments to its world and characters. Over time you’ll get a general sense for where you’re going but never any real reason why or a deeper understanding of the world itself. Now and then the music will swell and you’ll get a nice setpiece moment, but with no attachment to the herd of similar looking Calicorns, it is tough to be too invested in their progress or safety. That being said, it's a very compelling world to be in. It's an odd combination of ancient and more modern decay. It would be nice to learn more about either of those elements.
Your control over your herd is straightforward. At any point you can press ZR to send the herd moving directly away from you. They’ll always move as a unit so you don’t need to worry about scattering them if you’re not quite standing in the right spot. Holding ZR in open areas allows you to charge up a stampede that can be quite satisfying after navigating treacherous terrain. You can also hold A to slow down your herd or double tap it to call for a quick stop. Most of the time you’ll just be moving through the world, but now and then you’ll also need to carefully navigate hazards. Though, the danger is generally just limited to your Calicorns losing the energy they need for the stampede charge. I should also mention that the camera is a little awkward; it seems to hesitate between being totally free and heavily scripted and can wind up in some awkward positions now and then.
The music, sound design, and overall presentation are quite good. I played primarily on a Switch 2 where performance was smooth for the most part. The original Switch can stutter a bit more, but of the sections I tested it was never too bad. Distant landscapes are noticeably low-poly but the immediate environment, your character, and the Calicorns all look good. The music is extremely restrained, but when it does come in it's always a highlight. I noticed that during some big moments the music even intelligently lowers the volume of other sounds giving the score more room to shine. This is definitely a soundtrack I’d happily listen to independent of the game itself.
Herdling has most of the pieces of a strong and unique narrative adventure, but comes up a little short where it matters. It rarely gives you moments to form any specific attachments to its characters. The world certainly has some cool setpieces accompanied by a soaring soundtrack, but at the end of the day I struggled to care. There is still a well crafted world and some interesting mechanics at play, but the storytelling causes it to fall short of the genre greats.
Topic: Herdling (Switch) Review (Read 81 times)
