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Independent video games are perhaps more important than ever these days. In an industry filled with never-ending hype loops, AAA games with 5-plus year development cycles, and bloated budgets, it’s crucial to look at the smaller side of gaming.
Tingus Goose is the prototypical example of that. If you imagine in your mind what an indie game made with passion looks like, Tingus Goose would be the type of game that springs to mind immediately.
Developed by SweatyChair, Tingus Goose is a darkly comedic, surrealist strategy game that feels like the demented love child of Rick & Morty and Lemmings. As odd as that sounds, this supremely strange combo hooked me immediately.
Its bizarre world and intoxicating gameplay loop are a fantastic duo. The end result of its systems is one of the most fascinating game experiences I’ve had in years, as I often found myself playing it in ways that I’d never played games previously.
Quite often, Tingus Goose will let you just sit back and watch the madness you’ve created. Its systems and structure are immensely fun to engage with, and I’ve not quite played a game like this before.
We All Need A Little Weird In Our Lives
Just one look at Tingus Good will let you know just how unusual this game is, but in the best possible way. Tingus Goose describes itself as a body horror cozy game, which may be the most inventive genre description I’ve heard in a while.
Upon starting up my first few moments in Tingus Goose, I found myself immediately attracted to how unapologetically odd it was. I didn’t know quite what to expect, and the uneasy feeling the cutscenes created was one I hadn’t felt in a long time.
It reminded me of how I felt when I played games like Faith, where the unnatural movements and off-kilter animation tickled a very specific part of my brain. I’ve always been rather fond of weird animation, as growing up on shows like Liquid Television and Aeon Flux codified a very distinct bit of visual noise that makes me happy.
Each cutscene in Tingus Goose is an absolute trip. The promise of body horror is one that the developers have made good on, as the strange transformations built around the prospect of geese is brilliant.
Tingus Goose also amps up the weird in its presentation, as well. It’s not just weird to be provocative, but rather is part of the entire package.
The menus, UI, and overall presentation are incredibly consistent. Tingus Goose earns every bit of its weirdness.
Sit Back And Relax
Tingus Goose presents a very simple, easy-to-understand concept from the outset. Your goal is to get your goose, which pops out of a decidedly outlandish source once you water it at the beginning of each chapter, to reach its mate at the top.
In order to do this, you must guide a series of babies, the eponymous Tingus, that the goose spits out down to a piggy bank. It has a sort of Lemmings energy to it, where you basically concoct an over-the-top Rube Goldberg machine to steer them where you want.
It creates a truly fascinating game loop as a result. You need money to grow your goose to the top, and the only way to get money is to use the game’s absurd power-ups in order to increase your income.
This includes multiplying the Tingus, then creating a system where they bump into each other. Because when they do, they morph into a larger, more profitable Tingus.
Then, when those Tingus collide, they create an even more profitable one, and so on. You’ll ultimately have the most success by building a rewarding loop that generates a huge amount of cash, then sitting back and watching.
Which led to one of the most unusual, intimately satisfying gameplay experiences I’ve had this year. Sometimes, the game just plays itself, but in a good way.
There were certain points where I was able to get a system going that was insanely profitable. As in, something around 3 billion dollars every minute.
I sat there, watching this game just operate on its own. It was so compelling.
In fact, the game even encourages this, as it informs you that it will continue to generate money even when you alt-tab out. I let my money machine go, went and fixed some dinner, then came back and saw I had more than enough to reach the next chapter.
There’s a certain zen-like calm watching your machine, constructed from various bits of cloning devices and oddball bouncing pits, rake up two trillion bucks per minute as you sit back and watch. It’s so unlike anything I’ve previously experienced.
Money For Nothing
Ultimately, it isn’t enough to just make a good machine that dunks Tingus down into your piggy bank. You’ll want to buy as many of the game’s interesting upgrades as possible, as soon as you can.
Once you reach a gem checkpoint, it’s important to wait for Dr. Food to pop up and offer upgrades. He only spawns every four minutes, and the upgrades are crucial, as they allow you to earn more cash.
Which is important to note, as some of the cash requirements to reach the goose waiting for you at the top in later levels are a bit obscene. If you’re not generating multiple trillions of dollars per minute, you’re going to have to leave the game running.
His upgrades have ranks, as well, meaning that some are worth buying immediately while others are best to ignore. Something marked yellow as Legendary is going to increase your Tingus output greatly, and that will help immensely.
Some of them are hilarious, including ones that drop little teeth down to collect a Tingus and generate money, as well as one that shoots them back up to where they came from. It’s a game that has a wicked sense of humor.
That humor may or may not work for you. I personally find this type of humor to be rather charming, but what makes me laugh could easily make someone else cringe.
If games like Killer7 are on your «Most Underrated» list and Rick & Morty makes you laugh, I think you’ll enjoy the insanity that Tingus Goose presents.
By the end, I did feel that the game was running a bit long. That said, it’s also a game that is infinitely replayable. If you’re the type of player drawn to a game that runs continuously, then that probably won’t bother you.
Closing Comments:
Tingus Goose is a bizarre experience all around. Thankfully, it embraces its own oddities, and that’s the type of weird I can get behind. If you’ve ever played games like Lemmings, you’ll feel right at home with it. The challenge of creating a Rube Goldberg machine to guide the Tingus to the destination, while gaining as much cash as possible, is an intriguing gameplay loop that is hard to put down.
Pros & Cons
- Unique concept with surreal humor
- Surprisingly in-depth upgrade system
- Funky aesthetic and cutscenes
- Good music
- It can feel a little bloated by the end
- Humor and style is not for everyone
- Cash requirements in later levels are sometimes obscenely high
