Year Walk

 PC
User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 151 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 88 out of 151
  2. Mixed: 39 out of 151
  3. Negative: 24 out of 151

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  1. CaKeS
    Jan 3, 2015
    7
    While Year Walk offered a refreshing break from the norm, it failed to deliver in a few major areas that make a game good, but lets start with the positives.

    The visuals are absolutely beautiful, they're fresh and clean, very polished, and look almost hand-crafted. The atmosphere is also well-done; most of the game having a spooky paranormal aura about it. The puzzles are good and some    While Year Walk offered a refreshing break from the norm, it failed to deliver in a few major areas that make a game good, but lets start with the positives.

    The visuals are absolutely beautiful, they're fresh and clean, very polished, and look almost hand-crafted. The atmosphere is also well-done; most of the game having a spooky paranormal aura about it. The puzzles are good and some are pretty clever, they're not too hard to figure out but there's a very well made hint system to help you if you happen to get stuck. Some parts of it are very morbid and all-around messed up, but that adds a lot to the paranormal atmosphere. The soundtrack is amazing, as well as the ambient sounds and sound FX in general. The special FX are also top-notch, pulling the game together with a very professional feel and look.

    Even though Year Walk has many pros, it also has a handful of cons. For starters, the map is kind of mislead, it's hard to know where you're going without checking the map every time you enter a new screen (but at least they included a map), also some of the puzzles are kinda not obvious, like you're supposed to know to chase a woman down through the woods when you didn't really even know what happened during the confrontation with her. Also, with Year Walk being a horror game, and I stand by my ideals strongly with this, horror games really demerit themselves when they utilize the dreaded "jumpscare." And Year Walk has a few of these, and they're totally out of place since Year Walk already has an amazingly paranormal and spooky atmosphere and strange feel about it, why throw in some cheap jumpscares and make it more like all the other mainstream horror games like Slender?

    Throughout Year Walk there's quite a few puzzles you need to remember a good amount of information for, so I had to actually write them down on a pad of paper, so it may be useful to have one around. Some of the puzzles are unimaginative, as well as Year Walk having a few graphical glitches, such as the ground disappearing (which happened to me in the cemetery).

    But overall, Year Walk is very ominous and foreboding, with amazing special FX and a fantastic soundtrack, and despite the fact that it's not sure what genre it wants to be, and the story being heavily incomplete/unexplained (and I know it's trying to be "mysterious" but it almost feels like the creators didn't have the story completely fleshed out so they avoided details), Year Walk is a pretty decent game. It was a toss-up between 8/10 or 7/10, but in the end I decided to go with 7/10 because of the length being too short for the amount of game play it's lacking, the story being incomplete/unexplained, and all the other cons listed above.    … Expand
  2. SanctumRevel
    May 14, 2014
    7
    Now there is games that makes you wonder what are getting ,in this case the moment you start you find yourself eager to know what is going on the atmosphere is just as it must it will appeal only for the mystery adventure fans
  3. superkitty
    Mar 10, 2014
    7
    A really great and creepy little game, its use of scandinavian folklore gives it an unique and interesting personality. Play it with the lights off for max effect!
  4. fartheststar
    Jan 4, 2015
    7
    This is an engaging game. Being alone with our own thoughts in a quiet place is often a foreign concept in the modern world - but this game taps into the mystery of an old Scandinavian practice known as "year walking" where people might isolate themselves, not eat, and wonder the forest at night. An analogy might be something like a vision quest in native American culture.

    I'm not    This is an engaging game. Being alone with our own thoughts in a quiet place is often a foreign concept in the modern world - but this game taps into the mystery of an old Scandinavian practice known as "year walking" where people might isolate themselves, not eat, and wonder the forest at night. An analogy might be something like a vision quest in native American culture.

    I'm not someone who likes scary games, and there are a couple of places that might make you jump just a little bit, it's just a minor little part of the game that is mostly just an uneasy vibe with exploring and thinking - much like a year walk might be. You'll be introduced to creatures in Scandinavian folklore along the way. You solve puzzles to progress the story. You'll do a bit of reading in the encyclopedia and journals for hints/clues along the way.

    It has a nice art style and effective sound tracks. I had to consult a walk through a couple times, but that's to be expected when I play puzzle type games. I'm never as perceptive as others who can play through un-aided. The puzzles are mostly logical.

    It's difficult to go into much of the story without introducing spoilers - but if this sounds interesting to you I recommend it. I enjoyed it and am glad I "year walked". The game is short, so if that bothers you be aware. Otherwise, it's a memorable, cohesive, and thoughtful game.    … Expand
  5. edgepixel
    May 16, 2018
    5
    I bought this "game", based on the promise of its visuals and atmosphere. Also, the raving reviews. Playing it though is another affair. Imagine the worst part of Monkey Island, where you get lost in the woods. Looping back and forth stumbling to progress forward makes all those visuals and atmosphere lose their charm pretty quick, let me tell you. And I'm a big sucker for games with artsyI bought this "game", based on the promise of its visuals and atmosphere. Also, the raving reviews. Playing it though is another affair. Imagine the worst part of Monkey Island, where you get lost in the woods. Looping back and forth stumbling to progress forward makes all those visuals and atmosphere lose their charm pretty quick, let me tell you. And I'm a big sucker for games with artsy visuals. I didn't bother to finish this one. Keep your money in your pocket, maybe watch a let's play, if you must.… Expand
  6. clem666
    Mar 9, 2021
    5
    A really weird game that invites you to pick and assemble pieces together. The story is shattered and diffuse and it doesn't become clearer as you play 'Year Walk'. There are few puzzles here and there and the difficulty goes crescendo to reach a point I would qualify of 'almost impossible'. At some point I had to go check the soluce in order to move on and I realized I couldn't getA really weird game that invites you to pick and assemble pieces together. The story is shattered and diffuse and it doesn't become clearer as you play 'Year Walk'. There are few puzzles here and there and the difficulty goes crescendo to reach a point I would qualify of 'almost impossible'. At some point I had to go check the soluce in order to move on and I realized I couldn't get further all by myself. The game simply doesn't give you enough clues to move forward easily. I have to admit taht the game design, the overall creepy atmosphere and the artistic direction are really interesting.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

6
#6 Best PC Game of 2014
84
#84 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
87

Generally favorable reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. Game Rant
    Jul 14, 2015
    90
    For sheer artistry and inventiveness, Year Walk is a must play that demonstrates the power of folklore, games, and a familiar journey made strange.
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  2. Eurogamer Italy
    Mar 21, 2014
    80
    A short but compelling adventure, definitely worth its price.
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  3. Slant Magazine
    Mar 18, 2014
    90
    Year Walk's port to Steam is flawless, with the inventive iOS touch controls and beautifully artistic graphic and sound design immaculately recreated on the PC. The game takes full advantage of the extra hardware, cleverly utilizing a full surround soundscape to drench the player in the foreboding atmosphere of the haunted forest, while retaining the same striking animation, which suggests a nightmarish Edward Gorey picture book come to life.
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