Flock - Soar With Me in This Creature-Collecting Adventure Review

Hollow Pond's latest game is a indie creature collecting game set in a colorful, open world, filled with vibrant colors, chill beats, and the call of the wild.

Aug 09, 2024

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Flock is a multiplayer co-op game about the joy of flight and collecting adorable flying creatures with your friends. Soar through beautiful landscapes, seeking out rare and elusive creatures to add to your flock.

Creative Characters

Each of Hollow Ponds' games focuses on vibrant colors, which is evident in Flock right from the start. Creating a character offers colorful and fashionable options for your hair, hat, clothes, and even the color of your bird companion. I let my son pick out everything, including the name, which he aptly chose Baba. Now, you're ready to glide over the clouds and head to the opening area of The Water Towers.

Meet Your Family

Here, you are introduced to your Aunt Jane, a professor of zoology, and Uncle Reg, a shepherd. They are your main points of contact throughout the game, providing the assistance you need to explore this new and exciting world. Their relationship is playful, and Aunt Jane doesn't seem to take Reg all that seriously, leading to many funny dialogues between the two.

Now that introductions are out of the way, it's time to identify creatures, observe them, and add them to your creature guide. The Creature Guide is like your Pokédex and provides details on each species, whether you have added them to your flock, and what you have collected so far. For context, I completed the game, and my Creature Guide was only 36% complete. I will be jumping back into Flock as soon as I finish editing this review because I need to see all of these cute creatures ASAP.

Charmed, I’m Sure

Charming creatures is the last piece of the puzzle. Now that you have learned the basics, you are ready to go. You have all the tools and mechanics you need to find the remaining Bewls, retrieve the missing whistles, and charm the hell out of some beautiful odd creatures.

The process of adding them to your flock involves maintaining a distance-measured connection to the creatures. You can't get too close, or you will spook them, and you can't get too far away, or they will escape. At just the right distance, two bars on each side will align, and that is when you use your new whistle to charm the creature. A bar will fill with hearts and love until they are charmed and join your flock. It's the cutest, most adorable thing you experience in the game. Your bird learns the sound of each specific whistle and uses them to charm creatures. It's so adorable and funny that we started using the whistle sounds around the house with my wife and son.

Soaring To New Heights

From the moment the map expands and you are on your journey, you notice that you do not have a single path to explore.

You navigate this world via your beautifully colorful bird, which constantly glides through the world, even when not actively flying. This continuous gliding keeps you moving without interruption. You never touch the ground; instead, you only perch on branches used as lookouts. These lookouts are places where you will encounter other researchers. They will challenge you to practice your charm and ask you to bring them certain creatures in exchange for wool.

Yes, wool. It is the currency of this world. You also receive wool from your sheep when they finish eating away at one of the meadows. You can head back to The Water Towers, where Nadiya, a Wandering Wardrober, will gladly take the wool you collect and weave it into the freshest threads.

You even find fashion magazines hidden around that, once discovered, will open up new clothing options.

Eli The Whistling Soundtracker

Eli Rainsberry is a composer, sound artist, and audio designer. This is their second collaboration with Hollow Ponds with the previous game they worked on being Wilmot’s Warehouse. They took the lead on the soundtrack for Flock and were also included in the cast playing two characters in the game Tanya, and the wandering wardrober Nadiya. Enjoy this very fresh and chill soundtrack.

🔗Eli Rainsberry | Spotify | Bandcamp | Twitter

Why I Keep Soaring

When Flock was unveiled over a year ago, the look of the game was all I needed to immediately add it to my Wishlist. It was on my radar, and I was anxiously waiting for the game. Playing the demo during Steam Next Fest gave me more than enough to believe it would not only be a great game but one of the best games of this year.

With each new creature I discovered, some influenced by whales, owls, and more, I was excited to look for the next Bewl, Gleeb, or Cosmet. It almost felt like they were being named by the writers of Rick and Morty.

I was planning on playing the game over a few days upon release, but I can tell you that I started it and didn't stop until the credits rolled. Then, I immediately started writing this review so I could record it, edit the video, and get back to playing the game.

Sometimes, when playing a game like Flock, you get lost in its world enough that you don't want to leave. This is a game I will gladly find all the achievements for. I plan on spending more time exploring its world and getting to know the creatures in it.

So, what do you think of Flock? Are you going to pick it up? Keep in mind, if you have Game Pass, it just released for that too. Let me know if you’ve played it or your thoughts on the game in the comments below!

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