Gone Home, The Witness, Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture, Dear Esther, and more. All of these are incredible games. Evoking a sense of wonder, and fascination, while being strongly narrative driven. All of these are also ‘Walking Simulators’, a term almost derogatory when it comes to video games.
Walking Simulators are essentially games which include a lot of walking, and observing. A lot of these games are narrative heavy, and also tend to involve a fair bit of atmospheric storytelling. And as the name suggests, walking. Now many argue that the genre is detrimental to gaming, and devolves video games. Some even outright deny these as being games at all. Thus the name Walking ‘Simulator’. Implying that these games merely simulate the sense of walking.
However, by extension of that same logic, aren’t mindless shooters like Call Of Duty, merely ‘Clicking Simulators’. A game like Gone Home tries to add weight to the story, and in my opinion, has exceptional atmosphere, and clearly takes a lot of creative effort to build up to what it is. It makes genuine efforts to engage the players, and more often than not, has a satisfying payout at the end. A shooter like Call Of Duty on the other hand simply recycles an existing model, and milks the franchise to death. Even Assassin’s Creed, which showed true promise and potential, has been driven to the ground.
It’s baffling how gamers ask for new and unique experiences in their games, but still the most selling games every year are rehashes of existing ones. The Vanishing Of Ethan Carter is brimming with mystery, and tells an intriguing tale. It blends sci-fi with the supernatural, and takes on quite the ride. Dear Esther is filled with thought-provoking monologue, and takes you on a visual journey. The Witness has a unique art style, and tells a fascinating tale.
Walking Simulators are doing more for Gaming than any of these modern shooters. They might not require the biggest of budgets, which allows more Indie developers to delve into that genre. And the only true innovation happening is Video Games is clearly in the Indie space.
So, consider this a shoutout to the devs who are working on making great games, and innovating on a daily basis. And for those eager to dismiss games just because they are Walking Simulators, the AAA shite is always there for you to consume.
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