In an industry plastered with in-game stores and trends repeated ad nauseum, sometimes the biggest fantasy a game can let us live out is one where we spend the whole time guiding a bunch of peaceful yaks up a mountain.
Enter Herdling, the next game from indie developer Okomotive, which previously put out two emotional but lovely side-scrolling survival games in the Far series about leading a big, odd vehicle across a post-apocalyptic landscape. The first one, 2018's Far: Lone Sails, unsurprisingly courted over 18,000 reviews that left it with an impressive 'Very Positive' rating on Steam, and after falling in love with their sombre, tranquil worlds, I'd pretty much be up for anything else they make.
And that includes the newly-shown-off Herdling, a third-person adventure game where you "head out on a grand alpine expedition with a herd of loveable beasts, as you ascend a mountain path, encounter eerie dangers and surprising obstacles, and forge your way to the mystery at the summit," according to its Steam blurb. I'm not surprised that Okomotive is promising another "emotional, wordless tale of trust, survival, and companionship during a great trip crossing through a fallen world" either.
"AAA games industry: live service, multiplayer, season passes, gazillion dollar budgets, laying off half their staff even if the products are successful," Alice Ruppert, who's handling marketing for the game, joked on social media. "Meanwhile at Okomotive: Here's a linear adventure game about going up a mountain with a bunch of weird yaks."
The non-violent gameplay mixed with epic, almost unreal landscapes kind of remind me of thatgamecompany's nachos, though there seems to be at least some danger afoot in the trailer as predatory birds swoop in to get a taste of the adorable beef we're escorting. The 'run away from big angry beasts' sections in non-violent games like Abzu, Journey, and Rime are always my least favorite part of the subgenre, but I'm hopeful Okomotive can put an interesting twist on it regardless.
Herdling doesn't have a release date yet, but it'll come to PC, Xbox Series X|S and PS5 when it's ready.
For more, see what other indie games are coming in 2025 and beyond.
