Flock Together

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Flock Together is a game where you play as a little girl who has lost her sheep. Except instead of the sheep wandering off to greener pastures, she accidentally tied one too many balloons to him. So her lost sheep has soared off into the stratosphere and you have to take off into the clouds to find him.

You do this by using rope to lasso birds, then use those birds to pull yourself into the air. The problem is the doves that start near you are too small to carry your weight very high, so you need to go find bigger birds. Eventually you can reach a hot air balloon where you can buy rope, which allows you to lasso even more birds. Soon, you’ve moved up to hawks and albatrosses and are soaring high into the air.

The gradual progression of the game does not feel like a Pokemon situation, there’s plenty of birds to go about. The challenge is in catching the birds by trying to match their flight pattern. Gentle, gliding motions are what seem to win the day.

This is helped along by the tranquil music and the absolutely stunning but simplistic artwork. The peaceful, relaxed setting permeates the entire game. This is a pleasant surprise coming from the creator of Achievement Unlocked. The edges of the screen aren’t an ominous black but the edges of a running film strip set against a white background. When the girl falls into the water, she bounces back up into the air as if nothing’s happened, which means there’s no way to fail in this game. It’s meant to be a relaxing experience.

Why You Should Check This Out: Flock Together is a relaxing experience with soothing music and simplistic but beautifully animated visuals. The game encourages you to relax and move your character in sweeping, gliding motions while the world makes it impossible to fail. It’s relaxing, and a welcome respite from faster-paced shooters and platformers. No stress, just enjoying flying with your birds among the clouds.

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Comments

I know it has its own soundtrack, but this is what was in my mind the whole time I played:

Yeah, it's an old hardcore song. Certainly changed the mood.

wordsmythe wrote:

Yeah, it's an old hardcore song. Certainly changed the mood.

I can see that. With the original soundtrack, the game sounded like something from a spa retreat. (Though I don't mean that as a criticism; it's certainly worth playing.)

A game like this helps me make it through the final few hours on a Friday. Also, I've never lassoed a bird before. I still haven't, but this game informs me that it's a really great idea.

Thanks Pyroman!

Fun game. The music undermines the somewhat-twitchy nature of the gameplay (damn those birds are fast!) so it was kind of odd, not in that it was hard to snag some of the birds, but that it was hard to stay frustrated for too long.

Haven't played yet, but a relaxing game is just what I need while coming down from the Critterpalooza high I've been on all day. Gonna give it a shot now. If it's hard and frustrates me, Pyro owes me a beer. Actually, I'm gonna go ahead and say he owes me a beer either way. Just because.

*supplemental post*

I got my sheep back, nice game. Those birds are a little squirrelly though.

I found this fascinating. It seems you played this game with the built in soundtrack, and I played it with John Legend's new album going in the background. I didn't find it relaxing, in fact I found it a stressful get as high as I can game.

MyNameIsHunter wrote:

get as high as I can game.