Herding in the Final Frontier
In Collie Call: The Future is Calling, the goal of each stage is to herd sheep onto pasture tiles. The theme is futuristic and while the robotic Collie that you control appears to be fine in zero atmosphere, the same can’t be said for the sheep scattered across each level. Each sheep wears a helmet and the pasture tiles are marked with a contained atmosphere where they can relax once they are herded there.
Sheep can be pushed any which direction, so long as there is an empty adjacent tile. There are pitfalls, as well as other obstacles that block off the path to the pastures that need to be navigated around.
Navigating Teleporters and Switches
Collie Call: The Future is Calling is the latest in the Collie Call series, taking place across 30 levels, and progressively becoming more difficult. Afil Games has released similar games, the Little Helper Cafe games to be specific, which feature similar mechanics. However, compared to them, Collie Call seems to have some more challenging levels to navigate. It’s not an absurdly complex game, but some of the layouts require more roundabout solutions than immediately apparent. Most of the levels are fairly straightforward to solve, but Collie Call does manage to make the player think a bit too.
The game does this by introducing teleporters and walls that are controlled by switches in later levels. Teleporters function by placing a sheep on the opposite side from the direction the sheep enters it from. This means if a sheep is pushed into it on the left side, it will appear on the right side. This also means that there needs to be an empty space on the opposite side of the destination teleporter for it to work.
Complex Logistics
What this also means is that sheep can’t be pushed in the same direction again once they enter a teleporter, as the destination teleporter blocks the Collie from pushing it, and the Collie also can’t use the teleporter either. This can lead to more confusing layouts when there are multiple pastures stacked up directly adjacent to a teleporter.
Sheep can block the path, and only a single sheep can be pushed at a time, so having them in a row means they need to be approached from different directions.
The last levels of the game also introduce a button and wall mechanic, where switches in the level will toggle walls while the Collie or sheep are on them. Some levels feature multiple switches that work in tandem. The walls can also be blocked by sheep or jumped directly on by the Collie if they are adjacent to the switch, which allows them to be bypassed. Of course, getting off the slot where the wall appears will cause it to reappear if it is supposed to be active.
The Essential Undo
Hopping off in the wrong direction can completely ruin a setup for a puzzle solution, but thankfully there is an undo button to undo the last action. This can be used indefinitely and without any cooldown which makes it a nice quality of life feature. However, players also have the option to completely restart the level if need be.
This is again, identical to Afil Games’ other similar puzzle games, so it’s no surprise to see it incorporated here.
Your Collie’s movement can be a bit sensitive, and it’s fairly easy to move the incorrect way unintentionally, which makes the undo feature essential. There are also several achievements tied to using the undo, as well as the restart, mechanics. Speaking of, Collie Call: The Future is Calling boasts an impressive 2000 Gamerscore, which makes it an appealing option for achievement hunters. Especially since it’s possible to unlock every achievement without needing to complete the game.
Graphically and musically speaking, Collie Call: The Future is Calling is unimpressive. It’s not bad, but the soundtrack is forgettable and while the graphics aren’t terrible, there’s nothing here that would be considered anything near special.
In fact, the animation for the Collie when it moves from tile to tile is incredibly awkward, hopping as it makes its way around the map; the animation timing failing to match the movement at all.
A Simple Puzzle Fix
At the end of the day, Collie Call: The Future is Calling fits with many of the other games produced by Afil Games – simple graphics and a single core puzzle mechanic that is designed to appeal to younger gamers.
It’s a game that works well for young children or anyone looking to boost their Gamerscore in under an hour.
Important Links
Collie Call: The Future Is Calling Sends A Good Dog Into Space! – https://www.thexboxhub.com/collie-call-the-future-is-calling-sends-a-good-dog-into-space/
Buy the game, optimised for Series X|S – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/collie-call-the-future-is-calling-xbox-series/9pdpqfd77q1t
Buy an Xbox One edition – https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/store/p/collie-call-the-future-is-calling-xbox-one/9ngd4gq4v26n
Or one for Windows PC – https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/store/p/collie-call-the-future-is-calling-windows/9p4zzzbs64p2
