Summary
Creature collecting games can be a bit rote.Pokemonisrecycling tired ideas in increasingly disastrous environments. Direct copycats like TemTem andPalworldare fun, but ultimately the same idea with different monsters. Dragon Quest, Shin Megami Tensei, and Yo-kai Watch put different spins on the genre, but all revolve around catching monsters (or demons, or fantastical beasts) and doing battle with them.
My personal favourite recent monster catching game isCassette Beasts, which has retro designs seemingly created just for me
We’ve also had an explosion of cosier monster catching games like Ooblets, Moonstone Island, and Slime Rancher in recent years. This goes hand in hand with the general explosion of cosy games in recent times, which properly kicked off with Animal Crossing: New Horizons and the start of the pandemic.
Flocksits somewhere in between. It’s not particularly cosy, there’s no heartwarming narrative or uplifting story. But the gameplay is simple, the environment bright and colourful, and the difficulty dialled right down. These are three classic hallmarks of a cosy game, but Flock is different. It’s not cosy, it’s just… lovely.
Perhaps this is all semantics and society will deem Flock a cosy game for evermore, but I find Flock has just the right level of complexity and intrigue to be the perfect post-work game. Last night I switched off my PC, made myself a brew and a little snack, and settled on the sofa for some chilled out gaming time.
I’m trying tomake the most of my Xbox Game Pass subscriptionnow that prices are increasing, so I downloaded Still Wakes The Deep and Octopath Traveler 2, and pre-installed Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess and Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn. But what to do while they downloaded? I avoided the Dragon Age: Inquisition icon on my home screen and noticed that Flock was now available. A new release from Annapurna Interactive is enough to get me to try a game, and although I didn’t really like the art style in the screenshots, I popped it to the top of my queue to play while the bigger games downloaded.
Four hours later, I was still playing Flock. From the outset, flight feels comfortable. You’re riding a colourful bird, controlling its yaw while the game controls the pitch and roll. It makes exploring Flock’s world a delight, and that feeling is only increased when you’re joined by the world’s creatures, which follow you on your expeditions to fill your Not Pokedex.
These creatures are all manner of flying fish. Tiny whales with beards float lazily between the clouds, long stripy eels weave between trees, and glowing bumblebeefish pirouette in forests. Logging them in your catalogue is more involved than just catching them a lá Pokemon. You have to embrace your inner Attenborough, watch the creature in its natural habitat, before analysing exactly which species of which creature you see before you.
This is a chilled game, so guessing wrong isn’t punished. That’s for the best, as if anyone can tell me the difference between the eelish Rustics and long, skinny Pipers, please let me know. The same goes for Gleebs and Drupes. I know one of them is my favourite species, but I can’t remember which.
Once you’ve assessed which family the creature in front of you belongs to, you must further categorise it. You must assess three to five descriptions of creatures and pick the right one. Once you’ve matched the vague sentence to the funny-looking fish, you can attempt to catch it. Or not. Whatever you want.
There’s no reason to catch creatures in Flock, other than aesthetics. Any captured creatures float behind you as you fly, creating a beautiful procession of banner-like monsters sailing through the sky. There’s no battling, no fights, just naturalist wildlife cataloguing and serene flight.
I didn’t know this was the game I needed to play until I switched it on. I’mstruggling through Dragon Age: Inquisitionat the moment, my preferred live-service timesinkApex Legends is flailing in poor monetisation practices, and my general gaming motivation is low. It’s a great opportunity to enjoy my other hobbies, but I want to get back into games. Flock has successfully brought me back around.
Flock is so chilled, so simple, and so beautiful. It’s a pleasure to play. There’s no bloated features, no egregious currencies. It’s good, old-fashioned gaming. Cosy or not, it’s going to be my go-to relaxation game for the next couple of weeks.
