Melbourne Game Sparks ‘Hero to Geese’ Award

Indie video game Untitled Goose Game has taken the world by storm—both serious gamers and amateurs alike have become obsessed with it, and it’s all about geese’s perspective. Here at PETA, we’re such big fans of it that we’ve sent House House (the Melbourne creator) a Hero to Geese Award.

The Award is also accompanied by some delicious hand made Treat Dreams geese-shaped chocolates!

Even though geese are just trying to live in peace (and have been around for about 10 million years longer than we humans have, by the way), humans often consider them a nuisance. But Untitled Goose Game rightly flips this narrative on its head. From the first moment of the game—when you, playing as a goose, are in a wooded area littered with junk and garbage—it’s apparent that humans are the ones who, long ago, invaded the land of geese.

Each level of the game has a to-do list, but you can accomplish your tasks in any order—or you can completely ignore the tasks in favor of harvesting carrots, rearranging items in a shop, or repeatedly locking the angry shopkeeper in the garage. Essentially, the game gives geese what they’ve deserved all along: their freedom.

Aside from topping gaming charts and earning awards, Untitled Goose Game has triggered a few interesting theories about who the main character really is and where he comes from. One of our favorites is from Eater, which posits that the game takes place in a town where the main industry is foie gras production and the goose must seek revenge.

We have our own proposal for the next version of the game: Untitled Canada Goose Game. It could show what happens to real geese used for Canada Goose jackets. A few folks on Twitter have already pondered what Untitled Goose Game would be like as a Canada Goose spinoff—but we already know the answer: violent and terrifying, obviously.

The goose from Untitled Goose Game may be amusingly “horrible” (according to the game’s description—and would you be happy if your friends and family were constantly disturbed or killed and made into coats and pâté?), but real geese are bright and loyal individuals. They mate for life and are protective of their partners and offspring. Did you know geese often refuse to leave the side of a sick or injured mate or chick, even if winter is approaching and the others in the group are flying south?

Geese don’t deserve to be bothered, killed for food, or plucked for their soft down feathers. They, like all animals deserve to be left in peace. 

We must have empathy for these animals who share planet. That’s why we love Untitled Goose Game—and House House for creating it.