Honk! Untitled Goose Exhibition

Overview

In 2019, a horrible goose wandered around a quiet village, then chaos ensued — and instigating it became one of the most-entertaining ways to mash buttons. Untitled Goose Game first released in September that year. By the time 2020 hit, more than a million copies had been sold, getting folks controlling a pesky waterfowl with a penchant for trouble. That's honking phenomenal for an indie game out of Melbourne, and it's a feat that the city's Australian Centre for the Moving Image keeps celebrating.

After giving Untitled Goose Game the live orchestral treatment back in 2022, the Aussie screen museum is now hosting a world-premiere exhibition dedicated to the title. Honk! Untitled Goose Exhibition features different versions of the game from its various development stages that you can play, plus sketches, concept art and design material for attendees to check out. It's going to be a lovely five months in Federation Square from Tuesday, September 17, 2024–Sunday, February 16, 2025, and you'll be an adoring Untitled Goose Game fan.

Sorry Mario Kart. Move over Tetris. Forget Wii Sports, Pokémon Go, Street Fighter or whatever other title first springs to mind whenever you think about video games. They're all well and good, but they aren't taking over ACMI like this homegrown hit from House House. If you're new to Untitled Goose Game, it's a puzzle game — and, yes, it's about a goose. You play as the bird, and your aim is to move objects and other characters, and just generally cause mayhem in a small village. No description can really do it justice, though; you just need to play it.

While the game has filled oh-so-many hours over the past few years, and gotten its ARIA-nominated original soundtrack by Dan Golding stuck in everyone's heads, Honk! Untitled Goose Exhibition isn't just for diehard gamers. No matter if you know every inch of the game or you're only hearing about it now, you'll be plunged into its world in  an interactive showcase that's designed to get you playing. How slapstick factors in, plus the form of comedy's history, is also a big feature. We don't expect that running off with keys, socks, glasses, radios and the like will be a part of it, however.