The Shepherd: Black Sheep

About this game

Become a shepherd with your trusty dog in the alps!



Matthias, a young shepherd in a rural Austrian town, embarks on a new journey with his loyal canine friend, Rocky. They face the challenges of shepherding: training the sheepdogs, herding the sheep, and defending them from wolves. On his journey, Matthias forms new friendships, rekindles old relationships, and even comes across a few rivals. However, he knows Rocky, his trusted friend, stands beside him in every situation, ready to lend a paw. The bond between Matthias and his animal companions forms the heart of this fun role-playing adventure that offers players a chance to experience the beauty of rural life in the Alps and the adventures that come along with it.


Train and play with your dog(s) to make them the best girls and boys! They learn by the way you treat them, making training as realistic as possible.

• Sophisticated Dog-AI, trained on your level of care and commitment
  
• Make profit on your farm by breeding animals
  
• Compete in Dog and Herding Shows to win the coveted grand prize (during Early Access)
  
• Unlock new dog breeds and customize them with accessories (during Early Access)

Direct your dog to herd the sheep with an all new herding behavior. The better your companion is trained, the better the sheep follow.



A branching interactive dialogue system as well as a reputation system with every person in town help bring the narrative adventure to life. Some events will only unfold with a person that likes you - others with people who don't.

• Branching Dialogue
  
• Fun side stories with the townsfolk based on your reputation
  
• Fully voiced in English and German

With a special exploration system you can hike the Austrian Alps and uncover the minor and major legends, like the Mystery of the Black Sheep.

• Interactive exploration to find gifts and more
  
• Hiking system requiring supplies and tools
  
• Tied to the story

Need a break from reality? A vacation in the mountains? The Shepherd: Black Sheep is designed from the ground up to be a relaxing and cozy experience.

Latest news

• Patch Notes·10 Feb 2025Official

  Kokorokon Discount and BETA Update

  Kokorokon came and passed, and it was great! We were happy to talk with lots of you and present the game to an entirely new audience: Anime Lovers! The -75% Discount for Kokorokon will run 1-2 more days, so if you want to grab the game, best do it now :) There is a new Update on the Beta branch with a couple of fixes - in part mentioned by you during the convention. We're testing and expanding on it, so if you try it, let us know if you encounter any problems. Once stable, we will move these fixes towards the main branch - with a few surprises! Finally, a friend of ours released his first game on Steam last night and we suggest to definitely check it out -> https://store.steampowered.com/app/3222950/Project_KNOSSOS/
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• Patch Notes·7 Nov 2024Official

  Update Notes 0.3.2

  Fixed French Spelling/Grammar Remastered Dialogue Audio (ongoing) Reworked Journal: Improved Filters and Tracking Added Memories Changed Rewards to have to be claimed Improved Visuals and Animation Reworked Shaders: Cell Shading Updated buildings, added Snow to them in Winter Fixed a bug with Steam & Discord Rich Presence Initialization Fixed a bug with townspeople leaving lights on during the day Fixed Description for Chapter 3 not showing up Fixed a loading issue with Rosa Mayer's Grocery Fixed several bugs with paying Lukas (Story: The bill comes due) Added Info when Stores are closed at the current location Updated Pathfinding Fixed Music during Intro Cutscene Minor Changes preparing for 0.4.0
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• Announcements·31 Oct 2024Official

  Pixel Vienna 2024

  We will be attending Pixel Vienna 2024 as part of the cre-at Indie Area! Playtest the latest build with us and chat about Game Development. Attendence is free so if you're in Vienna, be sure to come by - not just for us, but also Pixel Vienna with great lectures. Save the Date: November 8th 2024 10 AM to 6 PM November 9th 2024 10 AM to 6 PM Learn more about Pixel Vienna at https://pixelvienna.com/!
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• Announcements·28 Oct 2024Official

  Early Access Release 0.3.1

  Welcome to a little town in the Austrian Alps called Hochboden! This marks the official Early Access Release of "The Shepherd: Black Sheep". Thank you to everyone who contributed in some form or another already! Feedback We want to improve and develop this game with you, so your feedback is invaluable to us. Please join our discord or send an E-Mail to support@bandaloop.at to participate. The Release: 0.3.0 If you played the Demo you will find a few changes: Seasons are visually more distinctive (ongoing changes) Visuals have been improved for most aspects of the game More music has been added Localization updates But most importantly: Release of Chapter 3: Settled In Release of Exploration with the first Hiking Area, unlocked in Chapter 3 Additional stuff we got to today for 0.3.1: Fixed giving gifts to Townspeople Improved gravity's hold on dog treats, so Rocky can eat them *chomp* Fixed Spelling and Grammar in German Localization The Road ahead A small outlook what we have planned for November with Version 0.4.0: Training Update for Competitions Sheepherding and Dog Show Competitions Chapter 4 release Graphics overhaul Tutorials rework Journal rework Thank you for playing and happy Halloween!
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• Patch Notes·19 Oct 2024Official

  Demo Update 0.2.2

  We've been working hard to integrade Feedback from Gamecity Vienna into the Demo already while working on new features for release, despite team members being sick! We hope you enjoy the Demo and we can't wait to show you what's next. Patch Notes Fixed an issue with VoiceOver Fixed ItemIcons for Torch and Stick Improved Rocky's animation handling during training Fixed a bug in Rocky's Brain causing him to run off for no reason at all Fixed a bug making Items unusable in Training after having used one before Improved choice viewport scroll in Dialogues Fixed an issue with French and German Locales being swapped in some places Reduced Speed of Herding EdgePan Fixed Locales in Herding Pop Up Improved Herding Visuals Added Cooldown to Herding Commands, reduced whistling Improved MM & Training Scene Visuals Fixed a bug blocking a loaded Encounter from finishing Fixed a bug allowing to take a turn too early in Encounters Reduced glint in Rocky's Eyes Improved Tutorials (ongoing) Added new Hochboden Background Music Adjusted Audio Mix Made first trust value lower in Story
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