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Big Walk

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Big Walk
DeveloperHouse House
PublisherPanic
Designers
  • Stuart Gillespie-Cook
  • Nico Disseldorp
  • Michael McMaster
  • Jacob Strasser
Composers
  • Sam Gill
  • Luke Neher
EngineUnity
Platforms
Release4 August 2026
GenreAdventure
ModeMultiplayer

Big Walk is a 2026 cooperative adventure video game developed by Australian studio House House and published by Panic. It is an exploration-focused game in which players trek through an open-world bushland area and solve puzzles, communicating in many different ways. It was released for macOS, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Nintendo Switch 2 on 4 August 2026. Big Walk received critical acclaim, with praise for its environment, puzzles, creativity, and social interaction.

Gameplay

[edit]

Big Walk is a multiplayer cooperative adventure video game in which a group of players walk through an open-world environment.[1] Players form a group of two to twelve in an online lobby, with content adjusting with the size of the group.[2][1] The lobby host maintains save data, allowing other participants to join or leave.[1]

Each player is represented by a humanoid avatar with a segmented head with eyes that glow in the dark,[1][3] as well as a torso and legs.[1] The game's tutorial area, which takes the form of a playground, contains various objects and a number of signs which teaches players how to jump, crouch, pick up objects such as cowbells, and use them.[4][5] Players can learn the controls in any order, and are able to leave into the full game at any time.[4]

Big Walk has a proximity chat system.[6] The volume of players' voices changes depending on their location, becoming inaudible when a short distance away.[7] This distance is shorter than many other co-operative games of the same type, meaning that players can become easily separated from one another.[3] A day-night cycle and darkness at night requires players to use torches and other light sources to see each other.[7] When players are too far to speak to each other, they can communicate through using hand signals,[8] making noise,[9] leaving messages on whiteboards,[10] and using flashlights, laser pointers,[8] megaphones,[1] walkie-talkies,[9][10] static broadcast stations,[3] and flare guns.[9][10]

Completion of puzzles requires players to use different methods of communication.

The objective of Big Walk is to complete puzzles,[1] most involving teamwork.[11] As a result of many of the puzzles limiting usual forms of communication such as speech,[12] players must use novel methods to communicate with one another,[11] including miming, singing or transmitting codes.[13] Sound is a recurring theme in several puzzles.[3] Upon completing a puzzle, players are rewarded with a purposely unnamed bulbous object with a shape similar to a butternut squash,[12][14] which can either be red or purple for easier and harder puzzles respectively.[15] These objects are variably referred to by players as 'gourds', 'peanuts',[14] 'beans',[16] 'babies', 'heads',[14] 'nipples',[15] and 'Kongs', the latter in reference to a brand of dog toy.[14] Completion of a number of puzzles unlocks features that allow players to further navigate the environment, including a map room to plot travel, a train,[1] and a ski lift that traverses half of the world.[9] Accessibility features include an ability to use text chat and to fully skip puzzles if it is not possible to complete them.[15] The ending of the game is gated off by a large wall.[9]

Development and release

[edit]

Big Walk was developed by Melbourne-based independent studio House House, creators of Untitled Goose Game.[6] This game had given the studio enough funds to remain afloat through the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and afterward.[9] During this time, the developers and their friends used online video games to reduce their isolation from each other.[9][14] Playing games such as Overwatch, they found inspiration from the waiting lobbies before each match. They wanted an alternative to their large Zoom meetings which would allow for side conversations, and as a solution envisioned a virtual space with proximity chat.[9] They played the survival games Raft and Valheim, though later switched to the platform Roblox on which they played and gained inspiration from Scuba Diving at Quill Lake,[15] the open-world train game Somewhere, Wales, and Theme Park Tycoon 2, developer Michael McMaster having designed a colourful "shape zone" in the latter.[14]

Starting during the COVID-19 pandemic,[14] a prototype for the game was created within one week. Early on, players could be one of two characters, though only one of these remains as the present player character model.[15] The developers initially believed that what they were creating would be a non-commercial project.[8] The full development of Big Walk took six years.[14][8] House House co-founder Nico Disseldorp has said that the development time was initially estimated to only be up to three years, and that "if someone had appeared and told us it'd take six years, we would've pulled the plug".[9] Kalonica Quigley aided with play-testing, later becoming the studio's fifth member,[9] and working to design the game landscape alongside developer Jake Strasser.[12] Owing to the COVID-19 lockdowns, team meetings were held in-game.[8]

Big Walk's world is based on Wilsons Promontory National Park.

During development, a small map was initially created using a photo scan of one of the Faroe Islands, though the developers have stated that they wanted something "more local".[15][12] As such, the completed game's environment is an approximately 1:20 loose scale model of the Wilsons Promontory National Park in south-east Victoria, Australia.[8][17] Strasser has noted that the promontory had the "isolated video game level feeling that we needed".[12] The team spent time on the promontory and stayed in a cabin at Tidal River, brainstorming, going on walks in the area, and taking reference photos.[12] Strasser's partner proposed to him while on the trip. They used a lidar scan to create a 3D map of the promontory,[8] and based on the research gathered, Quigley created and placed into the game's world 80 to 100 3D models of plants native to the promontory, according to Victoria's ecological vegetation class.[8][6]

The first puzzle created for the game, according to developer Stuart Gillespie-Cook, was later removed as it was "un-fun". It involved one player opening doors for another in a tunnel.[15] The large wall which gates off the end of the game was initially created as a way to block off puzzles which had not yet been fully developed, and was added permanently as developers liked the sense of mystery it added.[9]

Sound design was helmed by Vancouver studio A Shell in the Pit. Em Halberstadt spent multiple days recording sounds in Wilsons Promontory such as kookaburras and quartz sand,[14] the latter being recorded by Halberstadt punching the sand on Squeaky Beach with her fists.[8] Halberstadt stated that all of the character sounds were made with a Kong dog toy, whereas the sounds for the bulbous objects were made with a butternut squash.[18] After being recommended to the developers by Halberstadt,[12] Nicholas Zhang joined to work on the technical side of the sound design, implementing features such as an echo when a player shouts from a cliff[15] or when they enter a tunnel.[12] The soundtrack was created in collaboration with artists Sam Gill and Luke Neher under the name AKSFX,[19] the pair having previously created a track in the nightclub expansion for Grand Theft Auto V.[15] The music was intended to be diegetic to the world, conveyed through objects such as speakers[19] and changing in accordance with the game's day-night cycle.[15]

Big Walk was announced during the December 2023 Game Awards,[20] accompanied by an announcement trailer.[21] An official gameplay trailer was released on 7 June 2025 coinciding with the Steam Day of the Devs showcase.[22] It was released on macOS, Windows, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch 2 on 4 August 2026.[23][24][14][12] Cross-platform play is supported.[7]

Following release, there was criticism that the volume control features made players' voices much quieter than intended "even when very close by".[25] On 8 August, the studio stated they had fixed the issue, which they said was due to individual players' quiet microphone setups, though did not change the in-game distance at which players' voices could no longer be heard.[26] Gillespie-Cook stated in August 2026 that there are "no content plans" for expansions or downloadable content.[27] A mod which turns the game into a virtual reality experience, by indie developer CircuitLord, is available.[27] Development on this mod began as soon as two days after the game's release.[28]

Reception

[edit]

Following its announcement, several publications identified Big Walk as one of the best games of the Day of the Devs showcase.[35] Matt Wales of Eurogamer praised the concept as "wonderfully distinctive".[36] Adam Newell of Destructoid stated in 2025 that the puzzles seemed "wonderful" and "feels like a game where no two play sessions are the same".[37]

Big Walk received "generally favorable" reviews for the Nintendo Switch 2 and PlayStation 5 reviews while the Windows version received "universal acclaim", according to review aggregator website Metacritic.[29][30][31] Fellow review aggregator OpenCritic assessed that the game received "mighty" approval, being recommended by 93% of critics.[32]

Critics praised the co-operative gameplay design.[38][39][40][41][42] Nintendo Life described it as the "purest and most rewarding" co-operative game ever played, commending its puzzle design as clever and its "strict reliance on communication".[7]

Several reviewers favourably discussed Big Walk's similarities and differences to "friendslop", described as a subgenre of co-operative games including Among Us, Peak, and Meccha Chameleon.[43][39] Although some wrote its co-operative gameplay and proximity chat bore a resemblance to the genre,[43][1][39] critics also expressed that it was uniquely differentiated from other co-operative titles in its tone and design.[44][45][1][43] The New York Times and developer Strasser suggested that the sharp increase in the popularity of these games over the course of Big Walk's development primed audiences for the game.[14] Before the game's release, Rock Paper Shotgun included Big Walk in a proposed "hangout game" genre alongside Webfishing.[46] The Wand Report compared Big Walk favourably to other indie games, such as Peak and A Short Hike.[47]

The environment design was also praised, with several reviews describing the open world as realistic.[34][7] Eurogamer stated its "organic elements" did not feel over-designed and helped encourage players to appreciate the natural beauty of its setting.[10]

Big Walk sold more than 1 million copies during its first week of release,[48] and 2 million by 25 September.[9]

Awards

[edit]
Awards and nominations for Big Walk
Year Award Category Result Ref.
2026 Golden Joystick Awards Best Audio Design Pending [49]
Best Game Trailer[a] Pending
Best Indie Game Pending
Best Multiplayer Game Pending
PC Game of the Year Pending

Notes

[edit]
  1. ↑ For release date trailer

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Delaney, Mark (3 August 2026). "Big Walk Is One Of The Best Co-Op Games Ever". GameSpot. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 Van Allen, Eric (3 August 2026). "Big Walk Review - A Walk To Remember". Game Informer. Gunzilla Games. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Peel, Jeremy (6 August 2026). "Big Walk simulates the strange, childlike sensation of being unexpectedly separated from your friends, and the joy and relief of finding your way back". Rock Paper Shotgun. Gamer Network. Retrieved 28 September 2026.
  4. 1 2 Valentine, Rebekah (5 August 2026). "Big Walk Has The Most Fun Tutorial I've Seen In Years". Kotaku. Retrieved 30 September 2026.
  5. 1 2 "Big Walk review: A thoughtful puzzle game that takes co-op communication to new levels". PC Gamer. Future plc. 12 August 2026. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 Valentine, Rebekah (8 December 2023). "Big Walk Is the Next Game From the Developers of Untitled Goose Game". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 10 June 2025. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Onley, Alex (3 August 2026). "Big Walk Review (Switch 2)". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Dominguez, Francisco (17 August 2026). "Untitled Goose Game studio turns Victoria into a playground". ABC News. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Schreier, Jason (25 September 2026). "The Six-Year Journey Behind 'Big Walk,' One of This Year's Best Video Games". Bloomberg. Retrieved 28 September 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Schilling, Chris (3 August 2026). "Big Walk review - House House's collaborative puzzle quest takes the hangout game to a new peak". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
  11. 1 2 Romano, Sal (6 June 2025). "Big Walk adds console version, delayed to 2026". Gematsu. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Neill, Alexandra (19 August 2026). "In Big Walk, players just walk and talk – and find joy along the way: 'Some stories we've heard are punch-in-the-gut beautiful'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 September 2026.
  13. ↑ Prescott, Shaun (7 June 2025). "Untitled Goose Game studio unpacks its new open world co-op game Big Walk, and it looks like nothing else I've played before". PC Gamer. Future plc. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Ryan, Jackson (7 September 2026). "This Joyous Co-op Game Emerged From Pandemic Lockdowns". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Valentine, Rebekah (18 August 2026). "The Big Interview With The Developers Of Big Walk". Kotaku (Interview). Retrieved 28 September 2026.
  16. ↑ MacLeod, Riley (4 August 2026). "Big Walk Is At Its Best When You Totally Screw Things Up". Aftermath. Retrieved 28 September 2026.
  17. ↑ Castle, Katharine (8 December 2023). "Untitled Goose Game devs go on a Big Walk in 2025". Rock Paper Shotgun. Gamer Network. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  18. ↑ Behind the Sound of Big Walk (Video). ashellinthepit. 22 August 2026. Statements begin at 15:18.
  19. 1 2 Rainier (8 June 2025). "Big Walk Delayed Until 2026, Also Comes To Console, Shows Off Gameplay - Screens & Trailer". Worthplaying. Archived from the original on 10 June 2025. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  20. ↑ Plant, Logan (8 December 2023). "The Game Awards 2023: Everything Announced". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  21. ↑ "Big Walk Reveal Trailer". IGN. Ziff Davis. 8 December 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  22. ↑ "Big Walk - Official Gameplay Trailer". IGN. Ziff Davis. 7 June 2025. Archived from the original on 8 June 2025. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  23. ↑ Romano, Sal (12 February 2026). "Big Walk confirmed for PS5, coming to PlayStation Plus Monthly Games on day one". Gematsu. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  24. ↑ Romano, Sal (9 June 2026). "Big Walk adds Switch 2 version, launches August 4". Gematsu. Retrieved 28 July 2026.
  25. ↑ Livingston, Christopher (5 August 2026). "'Sorry about this!' Big Walk is already fixing its biggest complaint". PC Gamer. Future plc. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  26. ↑ Kuhnke, Oisin (8 August 2026). "Big Walk's voice chat volume issue has been resolved with its latest patch, but House House are sticking to their guns on its overall design". Rock Paper Shotgun. Gamer Network. Retrieved 28 September 2026.
  27. 1 2 Archer, James (13 August 2026). ""We're not really sure what Big Walk's future looks like," say the waddling co-op puzzler's devs, though it probably doesn't involve DLC". Rock Paper Shotgun. Gamer Network. Retrieved 28 September 2026.
  28. ↑ Marnell, Blair (5 August 2026). "Another Way To Play Big Walk Is Already In The Works". GameSpot. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
  29. 1 2 "Big Walk for Nintendo Switch 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
  30. 1 2 "Big Walk for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
  31. 1 2 "Big Walk for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
  32. 1 2 "Big Walk". OpenCritic. Valnet. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  33. ↑ Kelly, Paul (4 August 2026). "Big Walk review - I think I'm lost again, I can't see you, I've fallen off a cliff". PCGamesN. NetworkN. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  34. 1 2 Gordon, Lewis (4 August 2026). "Big Walk review – larking around with mates elevated to an artform". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  35. ↑ Parrish, Ash (7 June 2025). "The best games we saw during the Day of the Devs showcase". The Verge. Vox Media. Archived from the original on 8 June 2025. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  36. ↑ Wales, Matt (7 June 2025). "Day of the Devs 2025 - everything announced in the big indie showcase". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 8 June 2025. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  37. ↑ Newell, Adam (8 June 2025). "Big Walk is my most-anticipated indie game—what's yours?". Destructoid. Gamurs. Archived from the original on 10 June 2025. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  38. ↑ Roxburgh, Ewan (3 August 2026). "Big Walk Review — The Best Kind of Lost". Press Start. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  39. 1 2 3 Valentine, Rebekah (3 August 2026). "Big Walk: The Kotaku Review". Kotaku. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  40. ↑ Colantonio, Giovanni; Lee, Julia; Yu, Johnny (3 August 2026). "Big Walk is a bond-building retreat where every puzzle is a trust fall". Polygon. Valnet. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  41. ↑ Attard, Elliot (3 August 2026). "Big Walk Review – All friend, no slop". Checkpoint Gaming. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  42. ↑ Shutler, Ali (4 August 2026). "'Big Walk' is one of the best-reviewed games of 2026". NME. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  43. 1 2 3 Cuevas, Zackery (4 August 2026). "Big Walk Review: Beyond the 'Friendslop' Label, a Quietly Brilliant Game". PCMag. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  44. ↑ Castania, Gabrielle (4 August 2026). "Big Walk Is More Than Just Another Friendslop Game". TheGamer. Valnet. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  45. ↑ Park, Morgan (4 August 2026). "Big Walk ignores 'friendslop' trends, and is better for it". PC Gamer. Future plc. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  46. ↑ Caldwell, Brendan (14 February 2025). "What is a "hangout game"?". Rock Paper Shotgun. Gamer Network. Retrieved 28 September 2026.
  47. ↑ Khee, Hoon Chan (3 August 2026). "Big Walk Review". The Wand Report. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  48. ↑ Purchese, Robert (11 August 2026). "Big Walk strides to sales success, passing an impressive milestone in under one week". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  49. ↑ Jones, Ali (25 September 2026). "007: First Light, Big Walk, and Resident Evil: Requiem lead the Golden Joystick Awards nominations". GamesRadar+. Future plc. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
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