Hello everyone.
As you may have noticed, the majority of games under consideration in our discussion series (with spoilers) have been so-called ‘walking simulators’, the arguably pejorative and dismissive term coined for first-person narrative adventures.
That wasn’t necessarily always the intention, although after a certain point the prospect of catching up with a selection of significant games within the genre all at once started to appeal, particularly as we were both enjoying the exercise, and it made sense to be able to compare and contrast as we went along.
But we’re probably now at the point where we might broaden things out a little more, and so thought it might be worth having a little re-cap of our thoughts on the games we’ve covered.
This piece comes without spoilers (unless you click on the links to the original discussions, of course). And in case you thought the absence of scores in this series was a sign of FFG embracing a more mature attitude with regard to the evaluation of computer and video game entertainment, let us now disappoint you with the revelation that this is a listicle.
Yes, we’re doing rankings! Because video games must always be ranked and/or scored, from now until the end of time. (Also, it’s good for a bit of fun).
This is likely to be the last post we’ll make before the 25th, although we might be back again before New Year. Anyway, I’ll take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas – hope you have a good one.
And now, since there’s no need to brace yourself for a spoiler warning, you can just go straight ahead and enjoy the discussion below.
Pre-chart hype
Rik: So I guess this is effectively ‘Discussion: Walking Sims (no spoilers!)’ Unless you can think of a preferable term for walking simulators, which I know you don’t like, as a phrase.
Jo: I recently heard we’re reclaiming it? I still don’t like it, but I suppose it’s the easiest way to refer to the genre. I guess all that matters is that the people who play and enjoy these types of games understand there’s a lot more to them than the term suggests.
Rik: Ok, so I guess having spent most of this series talking about such games, we decided that we might do a bit of a roundup. And while our previous spoiler-tastic discussions have included our opinions of each title, it might be nice to do a rundown without discussing plot specifics.
Jo: Yeah, just to summarise things, and talk about what we learned! And I suppose, this way, if someone fancies giving one of these games a go, then this list can act as a guide without anything being spoiled. Also, I think as we went on, we couldn’t help but draw comparisons, so it makes sense to do it officially. Well, not ‘officially’, but all in one place.
Rik: We’ve by no means played all walking sims, but we’ve played 10, including some of the most well-known ones. So this isn’t a definitive ‘top 10’ but it is a top 10, of sorts. And also we’re thinking about maybe moving onto different games for this series. Here we’re sort of rounding off this phase of discussions, without ruling out similar games being covered in future!
Jo: Before we start, I just want to say I’ve really enjoyed playing through these games and discussing them – including the ones we didn’t like much.
Rik: Me too. I’ve gone from having a list of names of new-ish games that I kept meaning to try without knowing exactly what they were or ever actually diving into them, to having played and discussed all of them and more. And they’re a refreshing counterpoint to the usual FFG fare in terms of length and difficulty.
Jo: And I’ve gone from ‘PC gaming is over, I should get rid of my PC’ to ‘there are so many PC games for me to play – why did I get rid of my PC?!’
Rik: Anyway, we’ve both made our own ranking list in secret, and we’re going to go through them in reverse order. There’ll be no spoilers, but we will link to our earlier pieces. And it’s probably also worth noting that the order in which we covered them isn’t the same as this ranking, so the cross-referencing between discussions (if you click on them) won’t necessarily always scan.
Jo: I’m excited to know what order you’ve chosen!
Rik: Yes, part of me feels like we largely agreed, but then I think we might possibly differ on some. Although for some reason I don’t have any doubts about what number 10 is.
10: The Suicide of Rachel Foster
Developed by: One-O-One Games
Published by: Daedalic Entertainment
Year: 2020
Summary: Bereaved young woman returns, in bad weather, to the creepy and isolated hotel that was her childhood home.
Rik: So, The Suicide of Rachel Foster at number 10?
Jo: How did you guess?
Rik: In my mind, on this list, there are some big gaps between some games, while others are clustered together. This one is firmly at the bottom.
Jo: Yeah, I mean I have to say I felt like I really agonised over where to place some of them, but I think maybe we both knew, even after playing Rachel Foster, it would be at the bottom of the pile.
Rik: How do we sum this one up? I’ve written, ‘A bad cover version’.
Jo: I wrote ‘mess’.
Rik: It’s the newest of all the games in this list, and it’s clearly inspired by better, earlier, examples.
Jo: It definitely is, but you’re right, it’s a poor imitation really. I certainly think, if you’re tempted to give a walking sim a go, this wouldn’t be the one you’d start with.
Rik: My only dilemma about it is whether it is just bad or dangerously, atrociously bad.
Jo: I would say, it’s just bad. But I think there are dangerously bad elements to it?
Rik: If you were being forgiving, you would say that the setting has potential and it looks quite nice.
Jo: Yes, the generous side of me wants to say it has potential. And I do feel that way to an extent, but a lot of is just unforgivable really.
Rik: I read somewhere recently that in games you sort of get points for graphics and basic technical competence where you wouldn’t in other media. Like, a film critic rarely says, ‘this was terrible, but the editing was good…’
Jo: Or, ‘this was awful, but the scenery was nice.’
Rik: But take those positive elements away from Rachel Foster and it is very bad indeed. Particularly the way it handles pretty serious topics.
Jo: Ultimately, it’s a deeply flawed story with poor character development. Without a story or likeable characters, you’re just wandering around hoping something will happen.
Rik: I suppose there are fundamentals of exploration and trying to figure out what happened that keep you interested first time around. But storytelling is kind of everything in this genre and this doesn’t do it very well. I don’t think anyone will get to the end and think it was good. And some might be upset and/or traumatised.
Jo: For me, the insensitivity of its treatment of difficult subjects is what’s most unforgivable, and why I can’t really say ‘give it a go’.
Rik: Yeah, it needs a big content warning on it at least.
Jo: If it wasn’t for that, if it was just the crappy story and the one dimensional characters, I’d say something like ‘It’s not a patch on the other games in this genre, but give it a try’.
Rik: Agreed. Lots of the other games in this list seem able to handle that kind of stuff with sensitivity, so this one really stands out.
Jo: Also none of it really makes much sense.
Rik: Play everything else on this list first, then this one might be of interest, as long as you heed the warnings about content. I guess that’s why it’s at 10!
Tears rating:
Rik: I feel like lots of these games are quite emotional, so we should give each one some kind of rating for its ability to induce tears. Although this probably isn’t that relevant here…
Jo: I give Rachel Foster no tears out of ten, except for the tears I shed about how bad it was.
Rik: One sad face/vomiting emoji out of ten from me.
Link to full discussion (with spoilers!)
9: Dear Esther
Developed by: The Chinese Room
Published by: The Chinese Room/Curve Interactive
Year: 2012 (Original); 2017 (Landmark Edition)
Summary: Disoriented man wanders around a Scottish island while periodically reading aloud notes to someone called Esther.
Jo: I feel quite harsh putting Dear Esther next to Rachel Foster, because while I didn’t enjoy it, I don’t think it deserves to be only one place above that game.
Rik: Yeah, I mean we’re not really doing scores, but I would have given Rachel Foster something like a 3, whereas Dear Esther was more 5-6 out of 10.
Jo: Yeah, RF was about 2 out of 10 for me.
Rik: Dear Esther reminds me of quite a bleak time. And there was definitely something in it that I liked, but when I think about it now I find it quite silly and pretentious.
Jo: It was a very sad time when we were playing that game. You were much more forgiving about it than I was in our discussion. It has merit for starting a new genre and being pretty bold, but honestly I didn’t understand a damn word of it either time I played. And I couldn’t get past how pretentious it was.
Rik: I was 50% emotionally invested and into the artiness of it, and 50% thinking of the Milky Joe episode of The Mighty Boosh, where they make friends with a coconut on a desert island. ‘The man’s an arse! He won’t stop talking about Sartre…’
Jo: Hahaha! Well, the narrator reminded me of Howard Moon and I couldn’t take it seriously. Anyway, this is the game that started the genre, and it’s arguably where the ‘walking sim’ name came from, as there isn’t really any interaction.
Rik: Yes, it was originally a mod for Half-Life 2. The version we played was a polished up version of the commercial release. Taking shooting out of a first person game was the real innovation really. You’d have talking and shooting or just shooting but rarely just walking, talking and looking. And the absence of puzzles, was notable, too, perhaps: there had been first-person adventures before. But this is very much about just trudging around an island going a bit mad. I think some might like it more than us, but it’s definitely not for everyone.
Jo: Yeah, I think that’s a fair way of putting it. A swift Google showed that a lot of people really connected with it from the off.
Rik: I definitely connected with it, while also finding it silly.
Jo: I didn’t connect with it and I found it silly.
Tears rating:
Rik: Definitely a solid 7 tears out of 10 on this one.
Jo: I don’t know if I did cry at this one much. No, I don’t think I understood enough to prompt an emotional response: 0 tears out of 10.
Link to full discussion (with spoilers!)
8: The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Developed by: The Astronauts
Published by: The Astronauts
Year: 2014
Summary: Paranormal investigator travels to a desolate small town in response to a letter from a young boy.
Jo: I have Ethan Carter next.
Rik: Ah, so this is where things get more interesting, because I don’t. We might need to thrash out the next few.
[Discussion redacted in the name of maintaining some level of tension and anticipation with regard to the rest of the rankings].
Rik: So I have the next three all on the roughly same level.
Jo: This is slightly below the others for me.
Rik: Ok, that settles that!
Jo: I actually never gave this one a second playthrough since we played it for the discussion. I partially feel like it could benefit from a second go, but I just don’t feel like it really came together for me somehow.
Rik: There’s one bit in particular where it strays from traditional ‘walking sim’ stuff – a tense stealth-type section in the dark – which would be a disincentive for me to repeat it too many times. Plus there are some genuine puzzles in there. It’s possibly the most ‘gamey’ one in the list.
Jo: Yeah, I’d be inclined to agree. The story’s pretty interesting, but it all felt rather disjointed.
Rik: I quite liked the system of puzzles rewarding you with a bit of the story, in that you literally piece scenes together.
Jo: I felt that way about the mystery-type puzzles, but not the more puzzley puzzles.
Rik: There’s significant potential for ‘getting stuck/lost’ here too.
Jo: There was a bit of an imbalance between too much pointless wandering and not wandering enough and missing things.
Rik: Agreed.
Tears rating:
Rik: This one had me blubbing. Possibly an 8 or 9 from me.
Jo: Tears at the end… maybe 4 tears out of 10?
Link to full discussion (with spoilers!)
7: Virginia
Developed by: Variable State
Published by: 505 Games
Year: 2016
Summary: Fresh FBI recruit teams up with an experienced partner to investigate, among other things, the disappearance of a teenage boy.
Rik: I had Virginia at 8, so I think that’s next. I did enjoy it. But looking back, it is very ‘not interactive’. And I think I’d be less inclined to play it again than some of the others. Is it a spoiler to say there’s no dialogue?
Jo: I don’t think so. There’s little by way of interaction, but still more so than Dear Esther…
Rik: But you’re not as free to wander, here?
Jo: No, you’re right. It’s much more on rails.
Rik: And also there are other characters visible in the world, even though they don’t speak. Most of these games strand you in some way, with only one or two voices for company.
Jo: I think we both found this one a bit of a head scratcher, in terms of plot.
Rik: Yes. It’s quite arty, and the narrative jumps around a bit. I don’t think either of us quite got to the bottom of it even after a couple of plays.
Jo: Even though I still didn’t really ‘get’ it, I felt very invested during both playthroughs. And I like that it makes you think.
Rik: The FBI stuff is quite effective. A bit X-Files-y, but focusing on the mundane, waiting around, element of the work. I think it would have been interesting to do a few cases…
Jo: Yes, I definitely would’ve liked to explore that world more.
Rik: Even though I know it’s completely missing the point of the game, as it is, to suggest that…
Jo: I’d also say it was probably the shortest of the games we played.
Rik: Yeah, it’s movie-length, really, about two hours. And it sort of plays out like a movie. I think if you’re of the opinion that you don’t actually do anything in these games except press a few buttons to watch the story then this one isn’t for you.
Jo: Agree. It’s definitely not for everyone.
Tears rating:
Rik: A furrowed brow out of ten from me.
Jo: No tears. I think all my heartache comes in the later entries!
Link to full discussion (with spoilers!)
6: Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
Developed by: The Chinese Room
Published by: Sony Computer Entertainment
Year: 2016
Summary: Explore the fictional and seemingly abandoned village of Yaughton, Shropshire, in the 1980s.
Rik: We both had this at 7 but it’s ended up at 6, which seems weird. But it goes higher as a result of us not agreeing on the previous two – does that makes sense?
Jo: Yep!
Rik: I think I thought you’d have this one at 8 maybe, as it was from the Dear Esther people…
Jo: I was a bit surprised too, but I was going through the discussions, and thinking about which games I actually enjoyed more. And I enjoyed Rapture more than Ethan Carter but less than Virginia. As we’ve seen, those three were sort of holding the middle ground for both of us.
Rik: I had high hopes for Rapture and was slightly disappointed. But I still thought I was keener on it than you. I like the Englishness of it and the 80s-ness of it. But you can’t do much in the world except trudge around it.
Jo: Yeah, I agree, the setting is lovely. And I was pretty interested in the local drama but the overarching story fell a bit flat. And it was a bit pretentious in places.
Rik: There’s a Radio 4 play/English GCSE coursework vibe to it all. There aren’t really any sympathetic characters and you’re sort of eavesdropping on village politics, with some strange stuff going on in the background.
Jo: That’s what’s weird though isn’t it, because there’s a much bigger thing going on, but you’re not really interested in that. I think again, it falls on the ‘no interaction’ end of the scale. More than Dear Esther, but not significantly more.
Rik: I think you can not like Dear Esther but still like this: while there’s some overlap in terms of the two taking themselves quite seriously, this is more grounded. And, again, you can wander around for hours…
Jo: Yeah, you can wander all over the place, but you don’t get much out of doing so. You won’t miss anything if you don’t – if that makes sense?
Rik: There’s little reward for deviating from the path you’re supposed to take. And you might say you’re even punished for doing so, with the slow walking speed and autosaves tied to progress in the story. If you go wrong, it’s a long way back.
Jo: The slow walking (and running) speed is frustrating considering the size of the area.
Tears rating:
Rik: There’s bleakness and sadness, but I think I held it together on this one.
Jo: Same: just a general feeling of melancholy, really.
Link to full discussion (with spoilers!)
5: Sagebrush
Developed by: Redact Games
Published by: Redact Games
Year: 2016
Summary: Break into and explore Black Sage Ranch, abandoned home of a 90s cult.
Rik: So here’s our next slight disagreement.
Jo: I had something else at number 5…
[We unveil our next couple of rankings]
Rik: Looks like we both have the next two at 4 and 5 but in a different order.
Jo: I had both of them at around the 8/10 mark…
Rik: It was close, but I had Sagebrush just slightly lower, on a strong 7/low 8 [NB: the inherent ridiculousness of terms like ‘strong 7’ and ‘low 8’ is hereby acknowledged by the author], while the next one was a solid 8 for me. Do you have strong feelings about the rankings?
Jo: No, I don’t think so.
Rik: Ok, well if you don’t mind, we’ll go for Sagebrush next. We can bear this in mind if there are later disagreements… I will defer to you next time!
Jo: Again, I was trying to whittle it down to what I really enjoyed. I just randomly stumbled upon Sagebrush last Christmas (which was a bit bleak and sad) and got completely immersed in it. When it was over, I just couldn’t believe I’d accidentally found this relatively unheard of game, that ticked all the boxes.
Rik: I really like Sagebrush too. And, as the work of a single developer, it’s ahead of some comparatively well-resourced games.
Jo: It’s a bit of hidden gem.
Rik: I wouldn’t have heard of it if you hadn’t mentioned it…
Jo: I honestly could not believe I hadn’t heard of it either. It just turned up in a sale, and I was lounging about drinking Bailey’s at Christmas with cash to burn on a new game.
Rik: It’s just a really good example of its type.
Jo: And it’s possibly more interactive than most of the others we’ve mentioned so far. The story is also very good, well researched (and it shows) and the characters are really well developed too.
Rik: There are gentle puzzles involved in navigating the compound. And it deals with a fairly sensitive topic pretty well.
Jo: There’s a nice breadcrumb trail through the narrative.
Rik: And it’s got an unusual visual style. Normally I think artificially aged graphics are a bit of an affectation. But they work really well here.
Jo: Yeah, I completely agree, they’re not gimmicky at all.
Tears rating:
Jo: I had a little weep at the end. Maybe a 5 sniffles out of 10?
Rik: Possibly I was dry-eyed. There’s some optimism in this game, if that’s not a spoiler.
Jo: It’s hard to discuss what the tears are for without getting into things we shouldn’t.
Link to full discussion (with spoilers!)
4: Tacoma
Developed by: The Fullbright Company
Published by: The Fullbright Company
Year: 2017
Summary: Contractor sent to retrieve data from the abandoned space station Tacoma uncovers snippets of its former crew’s interactions via an augmented reality system.
Rik: Tacoma is kind of my ‘fan’s favourite’ of this list. I thought about firing it up again recently.
Jo: I think maybe I feel about Sagebrush how you feel about Tacoma. We probably just connected with each game differently. Tacoma is the more polished of the two.
Rik: I know it’s not the best one, and has flaws, but it left a mark on me. Perhaps I was a sucker for the space-y sci-fi setting. There’s something about exploring an abandoned space station (as long as you know there’s no scary aliens there). Space is a setting for lots of games but usually there’s a war, or an enemy to be fought.
Jo: Is it a spoiler to say it avoids all the standard sci-fi space clichés?
Rik: I think it acknowledges them and plays with them a little. There’s some bleak stuff there about how society has changed, but you aren’t whacked over the head with it.
Jo: It’s a pretty interesting setting for this type of game.
Rik: There’s something quite peaceful and relaxing about Tacoma I think. Possibly because whatever has happened has happened. You only see other characters doing things in the past, so you’re sort of free to explore and just find out about them and their stories.
Jo: You’re uncovering what’s gone on before, in a similar way to some of the other games we’ve talked about. But because of the sci-fi setting, it can have more fantastical elements to play around with like the augmented reality…
Rik: Yeah, you can also see a version of them talking to each other and interacting. You press a button and the station briefly comes to life, but once a snippet has played out, you’re alone again. The only slight complaint I’d have is that the things you pick up as you explore aren’t that interesting.
Jo: There are a lot of decoy objects.
Rik: Which is surprising when you consider who made it, and their previous game.
Jo: But it’s a good story.
Tears rating:
Rik: No tears on this one.
Jo: No, me neither.
Rik: Although I did laugh at the bit with the AI therapist.
Link to full discussion (with spoilers!)
3: What Remains of Edith Finch
Developed by: Giant Sparrow
Published by: Annapurna Interactive
Year: 2017
Summary: Young woman returns to her abandoned childhood home to uncover a complicated and cursed family history.
Rik: Right, well we have the same top 3 at least. Which I could have predicted perhaps because I think there’s another small but clear gap here.
Jo: I was very torn on the order at this point. In fact I’m still not 100% confident in my choices.
Rik: Shall I go? Edith Finch is my 3.
Jo: Same!
Rik: Oh really?
Jo: Yes, but I feel very conflicted about it.
Rik: It’s a beautiful, emotionally affecting game that I enjoyed. And it was a close call, but I think when it comes to thinking about what lingers in the memory and what I’d want to play again, it just came below the others.
Jo: I absolutely loved Edith Finch. I thought it was very unique, and it did stay with me for a long time after I had finished playing.
Rik: It combines some of the wistfulness of a human story with some more surreal elements.
Jo: And it does it really well.
Rik: There are definitely some surprises in there while still recognisably being part of the genre.
Jo: Like even thinking about that now, it sort of surprises me how well that magical realism is pulled off. It’s a stunning game, and it leaves a lot up to interpretation without being annoyingly ambiguous. I feel like I can’t really justify why it’s at number 3.
Rik: Well it must be because you like the other two slightly more. Unless you don’t?
Jo: I do, I just feel like I’m being unfair to Edith Finch, because I actually loved it so much. I think the other two just kind of hold a weird place in my heart or something.
Rik: For me there’s very little in it. There were just a couple of small things that swung it for me. The controls are possibly slightly clumsy on occasion, plus I wasn’t *that* keen on one element of the story, but they’re tiny things really.
Tears rating:
Rik: 9, maybe even 10.
Jo: Easily 10 out of 10. I also cry when I listen to the soundtrack.
Link to full discussion (with spoilers!)
2: Firewatch
Developed by: Campo Santo Productions
Published by: Campo Santo Productions
Year: 2016
Summary: Schlubby middle-aged man volunteers as a national forest lookout, with only the wide open spaces and a colleague at the end of a radio for company.
Rik: Ok, well, I’m a bit more confident we have the same order now. Firewatch?
Jo: Firewatch.
Rik: So you can’t cash in your Tacoma credit, sorry!
Jo: Haha! Again, I think it’s a really beautiful game. The characters are well-realised, and there’s so much going on, but in a good way. There are things to go back for.
Rik: The point of difference is that you’re not really exploring an abandoned location to find out what happened, although there is an element of that. It feels more ‘live’.
Jo: I think this is the only one where I was more than happy to wander around, even if I didn’t find anything.
Rik: I think it’s designed so you can wander. It’s a big forest!
Jo: You can get lost, but it’s not boring, so it really doesn’t matter if you don’t find anything.
Rik: It’s just part of the outdoorsy, lonely vibe. And conversations with [supervisor] Delilah can take place as you go rather than always being ‘unlocked’ by a task completed.
Jo: Yeah, it all unfolds naturally. Nothing feels forced.
Rik: It’s a narrative adventure, so it’s all tightly scripted and organised, but it’s done well, so you don’t notice. Each day seems to offer new possibilities…
Jo: Yep, I agree.
Tears rating:
Rik: Definite emotions, but no tears, I don’t think?
Jo: I might have gone during the beginning bit…
Rik: Ah, you’re right, me too. Let’s say 5 boo-hoos out of 10.
Link to full discussion (with spoilers!)
1: Gone Home
Developed by: The Fullbright Company
Published by: The Fullbright Company
Year: 2013
Summary: Young woman returns from a long trip to find no-one at home.
Rik: Gone Home! It had to be really. Even though I ummed and ahhed about it.
Jo: Yeah, same. I felt like it was almost inevitable really. And I really agonised over the order of these top 3.
Rik: I know it came first out of the 3 historically, and we played it first, so that could be a factor. But it really tapped into that sense of wanting to feverishly dig through a house to uncover a story.
Jo: A first-person rummager…
Rik: I think other games have taken what it did in different directions, to good effect. But I don’t think anything quite matches the excitement I felt going into another room in this house to find out what I could pick up and what clues were going to be uncovered.
Jo: Yes.
Rik: I was like, I don’t want to miss anything. Also, I want this house to be incredibly big.
Jo: This game got me back into games. It had been such a long time since I had been so completely immersed in a game – I just didn’t want it to end. And even though it does stand up to repeated playthroughs, I’m sad that I’ll never have that first-time experience ever again.
Rik: It definitely had that, ‘Wow, I’ve never played anything like this before’ feeling. And I know there’s criticism of these games that they’re short, but they’re also quite densely packed with #content.
Jo: I don’t generally agree with that argument, and I say that as someone who really didn’t want this game to come to an end. Some things need to be short in order to be good. They just have a natural end point.
Rik: They’re not padded out with filler. I’m happy with 3-4 hours of story in 3-4 hours of game any day.
Jo: You could dilute it down with some pointless romping to prolong things, and we’ve seen what that looks like in some of the games we’ve played in this series. I was sad when it was over, and in lots of ways I wish it was longer, but I also know that a load of padding would have resulted in a less immersive experience. I guess you can’t have it both ways. I really like the feeling of being on holiday, but you can’t be on holiday forever.
Rik: Indeed. I think if you wanted to introduce someone to the genre, this is still the one to go with.
Jo: Yeah, I think so too.
Rik: Others might subsequently prefer other games of course. But I think if you don’t like this one then the rest might not be for you.
Jo: As you said, you can see all the different directions the genre has gone in.
Rik: And clearly the last thing you want is a load of games all about exploring a big house in the 90s. Although actually that sounds quite good now I say it.
Jo: No, you don’t want Gone Home 2: The Gone Homening.
Rik: Firewatch 2: Gone Fishing.
Jo: We’ve seen how badly wrong Rachel Foster, which is derivative and much less effective, got it. It’s a good example of a game of this type not done well.
Rik: I think if RF is representative of the kind of walking sims released these days (which it may not be) then it’s a sign we should change things up. Probably a combination of it being a recent game, one of the most recent discussions, and the first time we came across one that seemed so, as you say, derivative, meant it felt like a good time to move on.
Jo: My enthusiasm did start to waver at that point.
Rik: Well, we’re probably going to stick to short, narrative heavy games in future. But maybe not actively seek out ‘walking sims’ for a while.
Jo: I’m still keen to see what else will come out of this genre. Sagebrush, as we’ve discussed, was a real surprise.
Rik: Well, we’re not ruling out a return. Just a bit of a break. Anyway, thanks for this. We didn’t disagree on much, as it turns out!
Jo: I know! I’m both surprised and not surprised in a weird way. It was good to do a summary of everything, and look back at how each one stacks up against the other.
Rik: We danced around it during the discussions, and everyone likes a good list.
Jo: I love a good list. I felt like I cried more than apparently I did, but maybe they’re all just quite emotional rather than being tear-jerkers?
Rik: I mean, I’m not sure how much crying I did in my previous 25 years of gaming prior to these games, which seemed to open the floodgates.
Tears rating:
Rik: Speaking of which, did you have a little cry at Gone Home?
Jo: Yeah, a good 8/9 out of 10 for tears. And some post-gaming sobs as well.
Rik: I think maybe not so much the first time I played it, but it definitely got me second time around. I’ll say 8 full ugly-faced howls of despair out of 10.
Link to full discussion (with spoilers!)
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All of the games on this list are available for digital purchase from Steam. Most are also on GOG, and some are on itch.io.
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