While I have a fondness for FromSoftware’s dark universes, I may be known as the biggest Warhammer geek among editors, I still love cozy, cuddly games. Spore and Viva Piñata are two of my absolute nostalgic favorites, and even though I know I’ll have largely the same bad experience with each new Pokémon game, I’ll still fill my plate with this junk.
I’ve had my eye on Flock from Hollow Ponds Studio for some time now. A colorful, ethereal experience where your goal is simply to find as many of the weird and wonderful creatures fluttering about the game’s Highland world as possible.
There’s something of a narrative in Flock. You’re a bird rider on your way to visit your aunt and uncle to help them explore the Highlands. Not only do you need to find creatures, but you also need to enchant them to join your flock. You do this using a collection of whistles, each of which has been stolen from nefarious creatures who have buried themselves and their stolen goods in various hills around the map. Aside from three special creatures that you need to hunt down and enchant to unlock the other areas of the map, that’s all there is to any kind of main objective.
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It’s clear that Flock isn’t an objective or mission-based game. It’s more about the atmosphere and experience it creates, and it’s still quite short, only taking a couple of hours to finish the credits. In addition, the map is quite small, meaning you won’t have to fill out the creature guide until you’re done with Flock’s story.
It’s a good thing, then, that Flock manages to be so immersive with its gameplay and game world. Flying in Flock is very well managed, and while you may run into a few minor annoyances with the automatic vertical steering, as it can put you just out of reach of a flying bug above you, it makes the overall experience of flying around the map much more enjoyable and cinematic. I didn’t come across anything during my flight through the Highlands, and even when I told myself to focus and search a specific area for a creature that was missing from my guidebook, I couldn’t help but launch myself into a tunnel of wind and fly around the beautiful world for a while.
The Highlands are a wonderful place to relax. A world where everything is cute, cozy and capable of flight. Even the sheep, who happen to be the most useful members of your flock, provide the game’s currency in the form of wool and graze on the hills where the thieving Burgling Bewls live. The graphics blend beautifully with Flock’s soundtrack, making the game world immediately enjoyable to play in. Flying around, listening to the chirping of the animals nearby and the calls of the herd trailing behind you is a great experience, enhanced even more by the imaginative design of the animals.
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Flock’s creatures are divided into different families, and each time you discover a new one, you’ll have to play a mini-game to figure out which family it belongs to and what species it is. From the tiny wingless sprugs to the banana-shaped cosmetics, each family has at least one design you’ll fall in love with. One of my favorites is the inorganic skyfish, whose large, staring eyes and constantly open mouth made me feel like my screen had suddenly become a mirror. The creature sound design is also excellent, allowing you to hear the unique calls of a creature you may not be able to see. Interestingly, the setting that lets you identify where these calls are coming from is automatically disabled, a strange decision considering some of the creatures are designed to blend perfectly with their surroundings and are invisible to the naked eye.
It’s worth noting that Flock is designed as a multiplayer and cooperative experience, but we can’t really speak to that style of play as we only had solo sessions in hand. In this solo experience, Flock proved to be a game that creates the same warm, fuzzy feeling as putting on a sweater after a cold day. It’s a cozy, comfortable game that impresses with its visual style and fast-paced gameplay, but it’s worth noting that the total time you spend in Flock is surprisingly short. And without a real thread tying everything together, it can feel empty at times. But overall, the gameplay, graphics, and sound make it worth it.
