I have personally covered Far: Lone Sails and Far: Changing Tides and thought that these were great games from Okomotive. So when Herdling was announced, I was really excited about it. So what is Herdling and is it a game you should be playing?
The story of Herdling is that you’re an unhoused kid on the streets of an unknown city. You come across a creature that’s stuck in a box, likely looking for food. You pick up a stick and you use the stick to tame and herd these creatures on your journey up a mountain to the summit.
I will admit that the story sounds kind of generic or vague. But that is the story that is found here in Herdling. Also I should mention that there is zero dialogue and narration in the game. Everything is told through actions and things that happen over the course of the journey across landscapes and eventually up the mountain and the summit. Herdling doesn’t have much in the way of a story as mentioned above, but what it lacks in story, it makes up for in everything else.
Herdling is a game about herding creatures called Calicorns. These are creatures that resemble some kind of mix between a cow, goat, and in my opinion a bit of guinea pig. So the entire game has you herding these creatures along as you come across them. You have to tame them, give them a name or let the game randomly name them, and they are then added to your herd.
Once they are added, you are constantly directing them across grassy plains, through a cave, down into valleys, all in an effort to get up to the mountain in the distance. As you come across one to add to your herd, you have to tame it and it will then help you move an obstacle that is blocking the path for it to join the rest of the herd you have. Over the course of your journey you will come up against additional obstacles. These will be in the form of rocks that need to be moved, or may be in the form of areas you have to get up to in order to pull a lever. When you come up against these obstacles, you will use one or more Calicorns. All of this herding and constant moving may seem mundane and kind of boring. Well as repetitive and mundane as it may seem, I can assure you it’s anything but that.
So what Herdling lacks in mechanics, it more than makes up for in every other aspect. Graphically, the game is rather impressive. You have narrow passages that open up to large expansive landscapes that just look honestly breathtaking. I mean I found myself stopping the herd for a few minutes, just to take in the landscape; and no I am not kidding. The land around you is lifelike in appearance as much as it can be, with the Calicorns and the player character taking on a cartoon like appearance. This stark contrast between in game models and their environment is rather fun and unique. I feel I must mention that when I say lifelike landscapes, I mean that they have a real world feel to them and don’t look as cartoon-like as the in-game character models do.
When it comes to performance, there really isn’t much to say. I mean you’re constantly moving and the game is rather fluid and smooth. That’s really all I can say with this game being played on the Xbox Series X. If it was hyper realistic, I could see the game maybe having some performance hiccups, but because this game looks the way it does, there aren’t any issues with performance at all.
When it comes to the audio, the in game music tracks are something else. Like I previously mentioned, I have covered previous Okomotive games and each game has some of the most beautiful music I have ever heard in an adventure game. Herdling is no different at all when it comes to this aspect. The music in this game sounds like it was something taken from Lord of the Rings or some other major epic fantasy movie. It doesn’t seem like it would be found in a video game, let alone one about herding cow-like creatures called Calicorns.
Music in this game has high fantasy vibes where it sounds nice and tranquil but can ramp up and sound really epic when it comes to tense action scenes, or at key points along the journey. It really helps to add depth to the adventure and is very enjoyable to listen to. In terms of sound effects, there is the occasional (moo?) coming from the Calicorns which is kinda funny and rather charming. Other than that, you do hear the galloping of the herd as you traverse the landscape. This really adds to the task at hand and gives you a real sense of connection to the animals. Aside from these sounds, there really isn’t much else aside from environmental sounds when it comes to rocks falling or the sound of running water when you’re traveling across a stream or up a mountain side.
In conclusion, Herdling is just another epic masterpiece of interactive media from Okomotive. One thing about the developer is that they create short but yet amazing gaming experiences. All of their games take between four to six hours to beat, so not very long really. But what they lack in terms of length, they make up for in every other aspect. I mean these games are really something special. When it comes to Herdling, you have a very unique game that has you connecting with and guiding these animals across beautiful landscapes. Couple this with a sound track that sounds like something out of an epic fantasy film, and this truly is a game that needs to be experienced.
Herdling is a game that I suggest everyone play at least once. The good news with this is that the game is available on Game Pass. So if you have an Xbox One or an Xbox Series console and you have a Game Pass subscription, you should definitely download this game and check it out. This is definitely one of my favorite adventure games, second favorite game from Okomotive.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
In addition to writing articles, Ryan Byers also creates content for his YouTube channel called "Obscure Games and Consoles", collects video games, and dabbles in video game development.