Big Walk
| Big Walk | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | House House |
| Publisher | Panic |
| Designers |
|
| Composers |
|
| Engine | Unity |
| Platforms | |
| Release | 4 August 2026 |
| Genre | Adventure |
| Mode | Multiplayer |
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,[1][2] and Nintendo Switch 2[3] 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.[4] Players form a group of two to twelve in an online lobby, with the size of the group adjusting the content.[5][4] Cross-platform play is also supported.[6] The lobby host maintains save data, allowing other participants to join or leave.[4] Each player is represented by a humanoid avatar with a segmented head, torso and legs.[4]
The objective of Big Walk is to complete puzzles.[4] Many challenges involve teamwork and using novel methods to communicate with one another,[7] including miming, singing or transmitting codes.[8] Upon completing a puzzle, players are rewarded with an unnamed item in the shape of a butternut squash, variably referred to by players as "gourds", "peanuts", "babies", "heads", and "Kongs" (in reference to a brand of dog toy).[9] Completion of a number of puzzles unlocks features that allow players to further navigate the environment, including a map room to plot travel or a train.[4]
Big Walk has a proximity chat system.[10] The volume of players' voices changes depending on their location, becoming inaudible when a short distance away.[6] A day-night cycle and darkness at night requires players to use torches and other light sources to see each other.[6] When players are separated, they can communicate through leaving messages, using walkie talkies, or launching fireworks to signal their location.[11][6]
Setting
[edit]The environment is an approximately 1:20 scale model of the Wilsons Promontory National Park in southeast Victoria, Australia.[10][12][13] The vegetation is based on the region's native flora, and sound effects were designed using recordings from the area.[10]
Development and release
[edit]Big Walk was developed by Melbourne-based independent studio House House, creators of Untitled Goose Game.[10] During COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, the developers and their friends played the survival games Raft and Valheim, though later switched to the platform Roblox on which they played and gained inspiration from the open-world train game Somewhere, Wales and the game Theme Park Tycoon 2, developer Michael McMaster having designed a colourful "shape zone" in the latter.[9] Starting during the COVID-19 pandemic, development of Big Walk took six years,[9][14] and owing to the related lockdowns, team meetings were held in-game.[14] Designer Jake Strasser stated the approach was to "give enough direction for the group to keep a good momentum, but relaxed enough that you're mostly just able to enjoy spending time with your friends".[12] Around 80 to 100 3D models of plants native to the Wilsons Promonotory were created and placed in the environment according to Victoria's ecological vegetation class.[10] The soundtrack was created in collaboration with artists Sam Gill and Luke Neher under the name AKSFX. The music was intended to be diegetic to the world and conveyed through objects such as speakers.[15] Sound design was helmed by Vancouver studio A Shell in the Pit, with Em Halberstadt spending multiple days recording sounds in Wilsons Promontory such as kookaburras and quartz sand.[9]
Big Walk was announced during the December 2023 Game Awards,[16] accompanied by an announcement trailer.[17] An official gameplay trailer was released on 7 June 2025 coinciding with the Steam Day of the Devs showcase.[18] Several publications identified Big Walk as one of the best games of the showcase.[19] Matt Wales of Eurogamer praised the concept as "wonderfully distinctive".[20] Adam Newell of Destructoid stated the puzzles seemed "wonderful" and "feels like a game where no two play sessions are the same".[21]
Following release, in response to criticism that the volume control features made "players' voices much quieter than intended even when very close by", the studio announced a fix would be forthcoming.[22][23]
Reception
[edit]| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | (NS2) 75/100[24] (PC) 91/100[25] (PS5) 89/100[26] |
| OpenCritic | 93% recommend[27] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Eurogamer | 5/5[11] |
| Game Informer | 9/10[5] |
| GameSpot | 9/10[4] |
| Nintendo Life | 8/10[6] |
| PCGamesN | 10/10[28] |
| The Guardian | 4/5[29] |
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.[24][25][26] Fellow review aggregator OpenCritic assessed that the game received "mighty" approval, being recommended by 93% of critics.[27]
Critics praised the co-operative gameplay design.[30][31][32][33][34] 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".[6]
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.[35][31] Although some wrote its co-operative gameplay and proximity chat bore a resemblance to the genre,[35][4][31] critics also expressed that it was uniquely differentiated from other co-operative titles in its tone and design.[36][37][4][35] The New York Times and developer Jake Strasser have suggested that the sharp increase in the popularity of these games over the course of Big Walk's development primed audiences for the game.[9] The Wand Report compared Big Walk favourably to other indie games, such as Peak and A Short Hike.[38]
The environment design was also praised, with several reviews describing the open world as realistic.[29][6] Eurogamer stated its "organic elements" did not feel over-designed and helped encourage players to appreciate the natural beauty of its setting.[11]
Big Walk sold more than 1 million copies during its first week of release.[39]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Big Walk Steam Store Page". Steam Store. Valve. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
- ↑ Romano, Sal (12 February 2026). "Big Walk confirmed for PS5, coming to PlayStation Plus Monthly Games on day one". Gematsu. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
- ↑ Romano, Sal (9 June 2026). "Big Walk adds Switch 2 version, launches August 4". Gematsu. Retrieved 28 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Delaney, Mark (3 August 2026). "Big Walk Is One Of The Best Co-Op Games Ever". GameSpot. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- 1 2 Van Allen, Eric (3 August 2026). "Big Walk Review - A Walk To Remember". Game Informer. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Onley, Alex (3 August 2026). "Big Walk Review (Switch 2)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- ↑ Romano, Sal (6 June 2025). "Big Walk adds console version, delayed to 2026". Gematsu. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ↑ 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.
- 1 2 3 4 5 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.
- 1 2 3 4 5 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.
- 1 2 3 Schilling, Chris (3 August 2026). "Big Walk review - House House's collaborative puzzle quest takes the hangout game to a new peak". Eurogamer. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- 1 2 Castle, Katharine (8 December 2023). "Untitled Goose Game devs go on a Big Walk in 2025". Rock Paper Shotgun. Rock Paper Shotgun Ltd. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ↑ "Untitled Goose Game studio turns Victoria into a playground". ABC News. 17 August 2026. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
- 1 2 Dominguez, Francisco (17 August 2026). "Untitled Goose Game studio turns Victoria into a playground". ABC News. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
Big Walk's six-year development cycle was a long lead time for an indie studio [...] With development starting during lockdown, the meetings the team had in-game were their only way to stay connected.
- ↑ Rainier (8 June 2025). "Big Walk Delayed Until 2026, Also Comes To Console, Shows Off Gameplay - Screens & Trailer". WorthPlaying. WorthPlaying. Archived from the original on 10 June 2025. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "Big Walk Reveal Trailer". IGN. Ziff Davis. 8 December 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ↑ "Big Walk - Official Gameplay Trailer". IGN. Ziff Davis. 7 June 2025. Archived from the original on 8 June 2025. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Livingston, Christopher (5 August 2026). "'Sorry about this!' Big Walk is already fixing its biggest complaint". PC Gamer. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
- ↑ Bonthuys, Darryn (5 August 2026). "Big Walk's Most Important Feature Is Getting Patched". GameSpot. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
- 1 2 "Big Walk for Nintendo Switch 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- 1 2 "Big Walk for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- 1 2 "Big Walk for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- 1 2 "Big Walk". OpenCritic. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
- ↑ 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. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
- 1 2 Gordon, Lewis (4 August 2026). "Big Walk review – larking around with mates elevated to an artform". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
- ↑ Roxburgh, Ewan (3 August 2026). "Big Walk Review — The Best Kind of Lost". Press Start. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 Valentine, Rebekah (3 August 2026). "Big Walk: The Kotaku Review". Kotaku. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
- ↑ Colantonio, Giovanni; Lee, Julia; Yu, Johnny (3 August 2026). "Big Walk is a bond-building retreat where every puzzle is a trust fall". Polygon. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
- ↑ Attard, Elliot (3 August 2026). "Big Walk Review – All friend, no slop". Checkpoint Gaming. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
- ↑ Shutler, Ali (4 August 2026). "'Big Walk' is one of the best-reviewed games of 2026". NME. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 Cuevas, Zackery (4 August 2026). "Big Walk Review: Beyond the 'Friendslop' Label, a Quietly Brilliant Game". PCMag. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
- ↑ Castania, Gabrielle (4 August 2026). "Big Walk Is More Than Just Another Friendslop Game". TheGamer. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
- ↑ Park, Morgan (4 August 2026). "Big Walk ignores 'friendslop' trends, and is better for it". PC Gamer. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
- ↑ Khee, Hoon Chan (3 August 2026). "Big Walk Review". The Wand Report. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
- ↑ Purchese, Robert (11 August 2026). "Big Walk strides to sales success, passing an impressive milestone in under one week". Eurogamer. Retrieved 16 August 2026.