Herdling Review: A Captivating Exploration Of Abandonment And Found Families

Herdling begins in a city – but more importantly, it begins with the image of a poor, unhoused kid living in an underpass. As you explore the innards of this dark metropolis, the uncompromising reality of being without a home becomes all too clear. The city is a twisted labyrinth with cold concrete buildings, compact alleyways, and empty streets. What few clues you’re given about the civilisation that remains here does not matter, as it’s abundantly clear that you cannot stay here.

Herdling is an adventure game where you must take a pack of “calicorn” up a mountain to find the summit, and it’s here where your alpine journey begins. Along the way, you’ll pick up more calicorn to join your flock, while various hazards and dangers attempt to compromise the group and prevent you from reaching your objective.

If you’re familiar with Okomotive’s previous games, Far: Lone Sails and Far: Changing Tides, you’ll know that the studio delights in balancing both maximalist and minimalist scopes for its games. It has crafted an incredibly beautiful world, with vast plains, ancient ruins and gargantuan mountains to explore, but it also crafts its fiercely straightforward story without words, dialogue, or needless exposition.

Herdling is a relatively short experience, clocking in at around 4 to 6 hours of playtime. Stepping back from the controller after rolling the credits, I found it to be lovely and sad. Much like the horned beasties you’re protecting, your character is an unsheltered outsider in a bleak and scary world.

As the story develops, you grow closer to these creatures as they do to each other. The calicorn are creatures that have been left behind by the rest of the world, abandoned and forgotten by those who may have previously cared for them. But by joining with your group, there is a newfound sense of community in the wake of hardship or trauma. There becomes hope for them.

Okomotive

With this in mind, there’s no mistaking that Herdling explores themes of abandonment, found families, and unhoused individuals. In Switzerland, where Okomotive is based, alarming homelessness figures were reported last year, where thousands of people have faced barriers in finding jobs and permanent shelter. And it’s not just an issue isolated to Switzerland, either, as many countries across the globe also report similar statistics.

In the wake of abandonment by its previous owners, companions, or friends, the calicorn of Herdling find solace in each other by working together as a team. These creatures are bound by choice, rather than obligation. That connection offers catharsis, in a sense. There’s this lingering feeling throughout the game’s story that with every new calicorn who joins your herd, the group grows stronger together.

This extends to the interactions between your character and the calicorn. At certain points in the story, you’re given a chance to take a small breather and make a campfire for the group. The herd will pause here. Some need cleaning, others want to play fetch. Every action you take furthers your bond with them. It really helps to form the narrative around this idea of companionship when you’re not just guiding them from A to B, but actually interacting with them as if they were real creatures with unique personalities.

Okomotive

But Herdling is also a story of survival. There are dangerous predators and natural hazards around every corner which can break your group apart. This warmth between the calicorn and yourself makes it all the more heartbreaking if one of them succumbs to these threats. For example, I got to a section early on where a giant bird was clawing at my flock, and I began to feel my heart racing as I rushed to get them to safety without losing anyone. These kinds of encounters aren’t too common during Herdling’s playtime, but there are many moments during the game where you’re going to have to go into “mam mode” and closely look after your herd to ensure they all make it through in one piece.

These kinds of survival situations are a bit different from Okomotive’s previous titles. The Far games don’t really feature any other characters who depend on you, so there’s a bit more of an implied distance between yourself and the vehicle you’re driving. But since the calicorn in Herdling have unique personalities and looks, there is a bit more emotional attachment given to them which makes these situations stressful.

Okomotive

Similarly, Herdling’s puzzles aren’t quite as refined as Okomotive’s previous games either. Those games felt more mechanical, specific problems requiring specific solutions. Herdling has some puzzles, often regarding you collecting various coloured flowers which give your herd unique abilities. But it’s pretty clear that the “puzzle” element of the game is more in the way of looking after your flock.

Still, in having a minimalist approach to its storytelling and game mechanics, Herdling is able to bring closer attention to its overarching message about hardship and found families within nomadic, unhoused groups. It does an excellent job at balancing these themes in a digestible way, leaving you room to sit back and really take in what it’s trying to say. That it also manages to be an interesting survival game is just the cherry on top.

Pros: Beautiful world, emotional narrative, great pacing

Cons: Awkward controls, occasional performance issues

For fans of: Far Lone Sails, Journey, Spirit of the North

9/10: Exceptional

Herdling is out on 21st August on PC (version tested), Nintendo Switch, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. A review code was provided by the publisher. Read a guide to our review scores here.