Herdling review

I loved Far: Lone Sails and Far: Changing Tides, the lonely, meditative side-scrolling forays into the unknown from Swiss studio Okomotive, so when its new game Herdling was announced last year I was immediately interested. Also, I admit, a bit apprehensive: Herding animals? Really? But yes, really, and it pleases me greatly to say that it is wonderful.

Herdling sets you off as the world's most naturally gifted young shepherd, ushering a growing herd of calicorns—huge, magical teddy bears, basically—from a grimy inner city to the great wilderness beyond. Maneuvering your crew left or right, slow or fast, is a simple process, and the whole thing is very linear: It's essentially a sightseeing tour, and you're not so much exploring as just immersing yourself in the lush, constantly shifting landscape.

Unlike the Far games, Herdling is fully 3D, but Okomotive's distinct visual style is still there, and while there are no direct connections between the games, there's an aesthetic commonality that ties them together. Herdling feels to me like it could be a prequel to the Far games—the final moments of a dying world, out of time and chances, affording only a tiny few an opportunity for escape.

Herdling doesn't get into that kind of narrative, though, and the world beyond the sprawl of the city is beautiful and untouched by whatever self-induced calamity has turned the human bits so grody. The environments aren't very interactive—you're here to look far more than to touch—but there are dangers. Your calicorns can be injured or even killed by environmental hazards or occasional predators. After saving one calicorn from falling off the edge of a crumbling cliffside (by mashing "E" with the ferocity of an angry soccer mom), subsequent ventures across visibly dangerous terrain became unexpectedly tense.

Keeping your calicorns alive isn't particularly difficult, to be clear, and I was able to avoid or anticipate a lot of headaches (and heartaches) by simply running ahead of my charges now and then to see what we were marching into. And I strongly recommend doing so, because driving the herd forward without paying attention to what lies ahead is just asking for trouble.

One such trouble spot is unavoidable (at least as far as I could figure out), but also clearly designed to be escapable. Even so it was a white-knuckle ride that had me saying some very special words as my squad stampeded down a mountainside, and some of my calicorns took a pretty good beating by the time we all made it to safety. (They were covered in red and made bloo-bloo noises. I was extremely upset.)

Alanis Morrisette ironic twist: All of this was avoidable! I learned after completing the game that there's a "Calicorn Immortality" option in Herdling's settings that protects them from death.

I don't think I would've enjoyed the adventure as much with that risk removed—much of Herdling's emotional impact arises from the calicorns' near-total dependence on you, the player, and nothing reinforces that notion like "these sweet, perfect creatures can die and it'll be your fault"—but it's there for players who struggle with maneuvering the herd precisely enough to avoid or escape danger. There's no notification in the game that this option is available (it really does need a little popup or something to point it out, even if only when Herdling runs for the first time) so be aware, and you're welcome.

My only real complaint about Herdling, and it's a minor one, is that it didn't quite stick the landing for me. The endgame sequence is visually breathtaking and appropriately celebratory, but the narrative notes I clocked through the game didn't come together in a way I expected. Which is kind of an Okomotive thing. The Far games have similarly inconclusive endings, but things I saw (or maybe thought I saw) as the finish approached led me to expect that something more narratively definitive was in store.

It's a small quibble in the overall scheme of things, and the fact I plan to jump back in and do it all again to get another look at Herdling's game world speaks to just how much I enjoyed it. Herdling isn't for everyone—I've seen a few references to it as a "walking simulator," and yeah, sure, there's no shooting or jumping between platforms or leveling-up stats—but I think it's genuinely wonderful: A deeply atmospheric and evocative adventure that's almost as magical as the calicorns themselves.