Herdy Gerdy Review

Herdy Gerdy takes place on a magical island, one that was created with the power of the first acorn. The keeper of the acorn is entrusted with the task of maintaining harmony across the land. In order to determine who is most worthy of the acorn, a tournament is held every five years. Unfortunately for the island, Sadorf has repeatedly been wining the tournament and abusing the acornâs power to maintain a dark rule. As the tournament approaches the island places its faith on one man, Gedryn one of the master herders. He is their only chance to reclaim the magical acorn⦠but disaster strikes and Sadorf places an evil spell on Gedryn that plunges him into a dark sleep. As Gedrynâs son, Gerdy must save the island and rescue his father from the evil Sadorf.

Herdy Gerdy has been creating a lot of attention, if only because of its visuals that set it out from the crowd. Thereâs no denying that Herdy Gerdy is the most beautiful game ever created, the hand drawn textures and stunning animation help to make Herdy Gerdy feel like a cartoon really come to life. However itâs the way that everything comes together to create a truly remarkable and captivating experience that is so impressive. Each level is brought to life in such a way that, like a good Disney film you canât help but fall under its charm. Not since Jet Set Radio have we had a visual style so refreshingly distinct, and like that title expect hundreds of derivative clones to appear in the next year. I could go on about the delicious visuals forever, instead Iâll focus on the gameplay, just take a look at the screens and imagine wonderful animation and a silky smooth framerate, mmmmmâ¦â¦



Fortunately Herdy Gerdy has the gameplay to match the delicious visuals. At first the game appears to be a straightforward 3D platformer, as you run around collecting bells and playing a variety of mini-games. But then the herding feature takes on more emphasis and youâll realise that there is something a bit different, something a bit special.



There are a variety of different types of creatures that inhabit the island, each with their very own behavioural instincts. The first youâll meet are the Doops, cute little creatures that are scared of Herdy and can be herded with relative ease. However Herdy will have to keep an eye out for the pink-fluffy Gromps, this fearsome creatures will eat anything and take a nasty swipe at Gerdy if gets too close. Fortunately there are a variety of Gromp traps scattered throughout the levels to trap them. However be warned a Gromp in a trap next to a pen will still find way to get his lunch. If you see your Doop population dropping, but believe youâve trapped all the Gromps, check the traps they could sneakily be using a fishing rod to snatch their lunch from the pens youâve put them in. 

To open up new areas you must herd a certain percentage of the herding creatures, if you reach it the new level opens up, if the Gromps eat too many then youâll miss out on it. Each level has around 2 areas that can be unlocked; the first area is relatively simple, however to access the second area youâre going to have to keep a close eye on those Gromps. The way in which this is structured adds a lot of depth to the game, as you can craft your own way through the adventure coming back to open up the areas that you missed out on.



Later levels change the emphasis to more of a puzzle-based approach, because of the location of the pens and the varying attributes of the different types of creatures. The deranged music loving Bleeps can fall from heights safely, and youâll notice that their pens are in fenced off areas, the trick is to find the place to jump off from safely to their pens. The game has several other types of creatures that each adds a different element to the approach; 



Along the way youâll meet a variety of different characters that offer information and special items in exchange for you performing certain tasks. Different items will give Gerdy different skills; some such as the Flute allow him to herd the otherwise unheardable Bleeps, whilst others such as the feather grant Gerdy the chance to climb to great heights.

The only gripes that I have with Herdy Gerdy is that the herding occasionally becomes a little frustrating, but when you consider how bad this could have been you have to congratulate Core for keeping this to a minimum. The loading times are also long and obtrusive, breaking up what is otherwise one of the most captivating videogame adventures around. However on the whole you feel compelled to reach the next stage, if only to see the visual splendour that awaits.



Fortunately there is a lot to Herdy Gerdy with over 35 different levels and a large number of hidden areas. Like any good platformer thereâs always the scope to go back to levels to collect all of the items, for example collecting 100 bells from each level will open up a variety of goodies in the extras menu.