Big Walk: The Joy of Hiking Without the Blisters

It feels like we need a new word for "friendslop" games. You know, those cooperative games where you play as annoying shapes trying to find a toilet before soiling your underwear? Yeah, that's pretty much slop. Games that feel less like they're riding a trend and more like they were designed to forge a bond between players that goes beyond solving the day's puzzle? I'm not sure the "slop" label really applies. I felt that way playing Peak, even though that game gave birth to the term "friendslop," and I feel the same way about Big Walk.

Since Big Walk is exclusively a cooperative game, I couldn't progress on my own, and my play sessions have been so limited that these impressions won't receive a score. I'll try to play more before then and will update this article when I have a more complete impression of House House's latest title. In the meantime, I've enjoyed Big Walk's puzzles, open world, and bizarre, bumbling characters enough to share some initial thoughts.

Big Walk is a game about a long journey. Your goal is to chat with your friends and work as a team. It's literally impossible to overcome challenges without cooperation, and even if you're not always with your friends, you'll want to regroup when you encounter a challenge while exploring the world. If you succeed at a challenge, you'll get an item that I can only describe as something very similar to a Kong brand dog chew toy. These are your keys to unlocking new areas and progressing in Big Walk.

House House, the developer of Big Walk, also created Untitled Goose Game, so you can expect similar quirkiness and a level of whimsy, all intended by the creators. It's not difficult to get lost in Big Walk, and the darkness can be quite profound. The round, shapely characters stand out in the otherwise realistic open world: you can throw objects as far as you want, hold glowing orbs high above your head, and wave to your friends when they're out of earshot. All the tools at your disposal are focused on collaboration. Big Walk relies heavily on you enjoying the very idea of adventure. Not necessarily a goal to achieve, nor items to collect, but something a bit deeper than a simple to-do list.

Everything from Big Walk's visual design to its laid-back, distant soundtrack tells you that this is a game that fully embodies the idea that the journey is more important than the destination. It doesn't rely on the constant chaos that has plagued other successful cooperative games. You probably won't spend your time farming clips in this game, but I've seen few games in recent years that manage to capture the desire to wander with your friends like Big Walk does. The map is immense, there are plenty of mechanics the tutorial doesn't tell you about, and it's incredibly easy to get lost. At first, it was a bit frustrating to realize I had collected many challenge rewards but had nowhere to put them. This lack of direction is one of the issues I've noticed in Big Walk, but it's also an integral part of the overall experience. It's less a flaw of the game or a design error and more an essential cog in the machinery.

If Big Walk told you where to put all the dog chew toys, by illuminating the map with a big red marker or something, then the gameplay experience would be very different. It would have much less to do with exploration and discovery, and it would be more about giving you a to-do list. It would have you exiting the central point like worker bees, to bring back challenge rewards as soon as you find them. Again, the overall experience of Big Walk is much less about shortcuts, objectives to complete, and end credits. It's an experience I can truly only compare to a hike. A true "Big Walk." You're bound to get lost, you'll probably get annoyed with your friends, but you'll likely remember the small details that helped you overcome the course far more than the view at the summit.

As the "TikTokification" of cooperative games continues, with many "friendslop" games pushing you to reach objectives as quickly as possible within a roguelite structure, Big Walk's approach, allowing you to breathe a little and progress at your own pace, is incredibly refreshing. There's no pressure to have fun in Big Walk. No hunger meter threatening to make you abandon a session, no rising lava to crush you. Whether you embark on an adventure with a single friend or bring 11 of your best pals across the country, whether you use all the tools at your disposal or just rush into the wilderness hoping for the best, your journey is entirely your own in Big Walk. Simple principles, simple challenges, and a simple world: nothing overwhelms you with distractions to push you forward. You're there to have a good time and stay there for a while in Big Walk, and I can't wait to dive deeper into it.