This gorgeous upcoming indie stars a border collie, and for a very good reason.
Farewell North is an open-world adventure game from solo developer Kyle Banks and sees players traveling from island to island, avoiding monsters, and interacting with wildlife to restore color to the world. The interesting thing about this game is that you actually play as a dog, and not just any dog; a border collie.
The game's developer has been sharing clips of Farewell North on TikTok (which is where we came across this wonderful game) and received a comment from one user who asked if it was possible to swap out the dog for another breed in the upcoming game.
"There is a reason you play as a border collie in Farewell North," Banks says in the video below, "that's because the story of the game actually involves you being a working dog and working with your human."
@kylewbanks ♬ Dream Away - Ramol
In case you didn't know, border collies (and all other collies, actually) are classed as a "working dog" breed meaning they thrive when they've got a job to do and don't cope too well when they're not being mentally stimulated - hence why collies are mainly used on farms to herd sheep and other cattle. Other dogs that fall under this category include Siberian huskies, Bernese mountain dogs, German shepherds, and many more.
Speaking of the collie's herding abilities, Banks actually touches upon this in the game too: "Along the way, you'll get to herd some sheep, cattle, and even ducks" - so it just makes sense for this game to feature a border collie protagonist. "I do, of course, love the idea of playing as other breeds," Banks says in the TikTok, "but the story is about a specific woman and her dog named Chesley, and it's really quite specific to a border collie."
If you love the idea of running around Scottish islands as an excitable border collie, we suggest wishlisting Farewell North on Steam so you can keep track of it while we wait for it to release later this year. You can also find a number of other hidden gems to look forward to with our upcoming indie games list.
While we wait for Farewell North, find something else to play with our best dog games list.
