In an industry plastered with in-game stores and trends repeated ad ൩nauseum, sometimes the biggest fantasy a game can let us live out is one where we spend the whole time guidin✨g a bunch of peaceful yaks up a mountain.

Enter Herd💟ling, 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.

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, on social media. "Meanwhile at Okomotive: Here's a line♊ar 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 c🐭an put an interesting twist on it regardless.

Herdling doe🌼sn'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.