Reviewer’s Log: Day 1
Today, I take my first steps into a new digital world! I have been tasked with exploring Big Walk, a new co-op game from Untitled Goose Game developer House House. Unlike a recent wave of multiplayer hits that center around shared frustration, Big Walk instead aims to foster chill hangouts in a world full of gentle puzzles that demand close communication between friends. I will not be alone on this expedition. I am joined by my colleagues Julia Lee and Johnny Yu, two navigational experts who have spent hours in the Peak mines. Will the three of us be able to work together and solve the mysteries of a strange world? I’m sure it will go just fine. —Giovanni Colantonio
I spawn into this world not in the vast, open countryside, but in a long hallway. I make my way to the next room to see a big play area with a slide and a jungle gym. I can hear Julia coming down the hall, so I go to surprise her, but instead I am surprised. What is she? Do I look like that? Then Gio comes in. Yes, we all look like some sort of amalgamation of a bug, a duck, and a Chex Mix breadstick. We look a little weird … but it’s growing on me. We’re just goofy colorful snowmen with legs going for a walk! —Johnny Yu
As we take our first steps, I’m immediately struck by the open world. It has the naturalistic feel of an Elder Scrolls map, but it’s dotted with brightly colored structures that look like they’re constructed out of playground plastic. That contrast makes it easy for us to start mapping out a route as we point out inviting points of interest from the top of an overlook. Even if one of us gets separated from the group, lost out of range from the sensitive proximity chat, we’ll always have landmarks to reconvene at that are visible through the trees. —GC
I lead the charge out of the tutorial area, but realize I can’t hear Julia and Gio anymore. I turn around, flail my arms like a maniac, and jump up and down hoping they can see me. And it works. While the range of Big Walk’s in-game proximity chat is fairly small, it feels intentional. You’re not always meant to hear your fellow breadsticks, so you need to overcome it through gestures. You can flail your arms, give a simple wave, or even punch the ground in hopes that your pals can hear your thumping pleas for help. No matter the method, you’ll always end up with your hands raised to the sky after you reunite with your pals or complete a challenge. (Though I wish we could clap our hands). —JY
We stumble into our first puzzle. There is some kind of red shape hanging underneath a blue scaffolding, but it’s too high to reach. Someone remembers that you can pick up another player. Aha! With just a bit of fussing, I am suddenly at the top of a totem pole reaching for a switch. I shout down to the feet of the operation to try and get us positioned right under the button. It takes some awkward communication on my part, but we eventually get on the same page. I click the button, and the vice holding the object loosens, dropping it below. Great! Now what the hell is this thing anyway? —GC
Image: House House/Panic via Polygon
This red bulbous object… I feel maternal to it. It’s a make-up sponge? It’s a “Kong” dog chew toy? It’s a gourd? I shake it, and it sounds like there’s something in there, but there isn’t much space inside for whatever it is to make noise. I officially decide to call it a “baby,” since its segmented form looks similar to our segmented form. I must collect more babies. I should probably also stop shaking them if I’m going to call them babies. —Julia Lee
More puzzles. I get locked in a room full of symbols only I can see, and have to describe them to my friends outside, who have to place cards with those same symbols in the correct order. We find a ball that is too heavy to carry, forcing us to pass it back and forth in relay race fashion to get it to a hole. We discover a straight-up basketball hoop at some point and have to sink enough two-pointers to free the baby. Every puzzle we encounter is different, and plays with team communication in new ways. It’s like navigating one giant escape room splayed across an open-world. Talking over how to solve a puzzle is just as enjoyable as actually executing that solution. —GC
There are a lot of different gadgets and tools scattered around this big island that help us solve these puzzles. Flashlights, a radio, and whatever this doohickey is that marks other items and interactable objects. A lot of them are things that you would naturally bring on a hike or a camping trip. There are tools that help you not get lost, like a map and a compass. There are gadgets that help you communicate with your friends, like a megaphone and walkie-talkies. Everything has its own purpose, with some more obvious than others. Honestly, sometimes it feels like there are too many, because we only have so many hands! For now, I hold onto the flashlight because, man, it really gets dark out here when the sun sets. —JY
Image: House House/Panic via Polygon
I’ve been put in charge of holding the radio. It’s honestly kind of loud and makes it hard to hear my friends sometimes, but I can’t resist the soothing music. I’m excited to find out what other radio stations there are to find! —JL
Found a laser pointer. No idea what I can do with it, but I feel compelled to hang on to it for a bit. Surely we’ll find a use for it. —GC
I get scared at night. One of my hiking buddies has a flashlight, but often, as I trudge through the woods behind them, I get stuck on a rock. While I struggle to break free, I slowly see their light get farther away and their voices get quieter. Luckily, my friends know that too long without hearing my loud radio means that something is wrong, and they turn around and wait for me to catch up. I know they’ll always probably turn around and wait for me, but I’m still scared that they won’t. I blame the rocks. —JL
Fell off a tower. Lost my laser pointer. Oh no. Oh God. Oh no. —GC
Image: House House/Panic via Polygon
We found another radio station! Gio and Johnny had a dance party where they got kind of crazy. Gio was standing on the radio itself, what a goober! —JL
Found another laser pointer, thank God. I will protect this with my life. —Giovanni Colantonio
Reviewer’s Log: Day 2
Rise and shine, we’re back! It seems like our journey always starts back near a huge map and little tutorial area whenever we begin a new session. It’s nice to be next to that huge map; it lets us plan out our objectives for the day… though yesterday we kept getting distracted by new discoveries, even with our plan. —JL
Big discovery! After putting five babies inside a tower and following a trail of keyholes, we open a passage to an entire underground tunnel system connecting the island! So this is the ultimate routine of Big Walk: solve puzzles to get babies, use babies to get keys, use keys to unlock new ways to get around the island faster. It’s a strong loop that always leads us from one activity to the next. —GC
Image: House House/Panic via Polygon
These tunnels feel like they’re straight out of a nightmare. They’re so dark and ominous. It’s like we just walked into the Backro— wait … do you guys hear that? There’s a weird noise coming from that direction… Oh. My. God. —JY
We find a shack with a baby in it, and some switches inside. We flip those, but a big glass wall rises from the floor and splits us up. We can’t hear Julia through it, which is a problem considering that Johnny and I have to somehow communicate symbols we can see to her. Our limited arm gestures aren’t expressive enough, so we think about using a flashlight to work out a system of communication. And then I remember: the damn laser pointer! By shining it through the glass partition, I’m able to point out the symbols Julia needs to place in the correct order. Well, well, well, look who’s a big-brained genius after all! If we had brought walkie-talkies with us, or a whiteboard that we could type messages onto, we could’ve solved this differently, but we had the laser pointer. I am never losing this thing again. —GC
We gather enough babies to unlock another tower. This time, it activates a ski lift to help us get around the island. But we realized that the lift only sits two per chair, so somebody would have to sit alone. I volunteer, since I like sitting alone on ski lifts in the real world. However, when I get on my chair alone, I can see them having fun and firing the laser pointer ahead of me. I feel FOMO…—JL
I wonder if Julia can see my laser pointer right now. Ha ha. —GC
Image: House House/Panic via Polygon
We find a puzzle that requires us to seek out 36 colorful pegs spread out in an area. With only a few left, I decide to make a short trek to the local tower, as there’s a tool that points out interactable items! I think I’m such a genius for remembering this item, since we haven’t used this tool at all during our walk… but by the time I return, Gio and Johnny have already found the last few pegs… —JL
We’re off to another tower. We elect to avoid the tunnels and get some fresh air this time. The next tower is kind of far, but these moments also feel serene. While we’re taking a big walk in Big Walk, it’s easy to forget that we’re in a game as we’re joking around and talking about our favorite puzzles. Remembering when Gio spun in a circle to communicate a puzzle solution or… oh look, Julia stubbed her toe on a rock again. —JY
I keep getting caught on goddamn rocks. I just get stuck, and my character makes a pathetic little womping sound. I’m pretty sure I also make a pathetic little womping sound as I try to un-wedge myself from these snags. I don’t know how this keeps happening. Thank God the guys stop walking once they stop hearing my radio, or else I’d have gotten separated probably a dozen times at this point. —JL
Gio’s headset just died, and we can’t hear him anymore. He has to take a big walk (in real life) to get a new headset, so he left the game. —JY
GIO JUST DIED. —JL
Image: House House/Panic via Polygon
His character plopped over, and his pupils turned into X’s. I take it upon myself to carry Gio the rest of the way, but first we make a pit stop at the green tower. I carry him up to the top and show him the world. I know you can’t see this Gio, but look at everything we’ve solved so far. All the lights are places we’ve been! Oh, Gio just messaged us saying he’s on the way back. Well, we might as well rehost the server, right? [Throws Gio off the tower] —JY
I lost the Goddamn laser pointer again. —GC
Reviewer’s Log: Day 3
Today will likely be our last session, but I don’t really want this game to end. I’m delightfully surprised at how often these puzzles throw new ideas at me, while also being not too different from ones we’ve done before. They’re familiar, but still fresh. After a dozen hours, I’m still so excited when I see a new structure on the horizon. —JL
When I sign in, Julia and Johnny are already waiting. They have a surprise for me. They bring me over to a table and reveal that they had gathered together three laser pointers while waiting for me to log in. They place one in my hand, and then another on my belt, so I’ll always have a backup. (Then they throw the third in my backpack for good measure.) Maybe it sounds silly, but I am genuinely moved by it. This is the power of a good friendship. To have people in your life that are always paying attention and always looking for ways to support you, even when unprompted. It is a defining moment of our adventure, the moment I realize we are all speaking the same language. —GC
Image: House House/Panic via Polygon
We actually hit our first snag, where a puzzle takes quite a few tries. Gio has to communicate a number only using symbols from afar while Johnny and I try to interpret his signals. It takes a few tries, but it’s clear through the attempts that Gio is changing his communication style to try to adapt to us. At first, he was thinking like him, and then he started trying to think like one of us. Johnny got it. What a satisfying feeling. —JL
We’ve brought our last group of red babies to the final tower, and it’s time to make our last big walk together. Things have been getting weird, and I don’t know what’s waiting for us in the final area, but I know that at this point in our journey, the three of us are essentially the three musketeers. —JY
Image: House House/Panic via Polygon
Well, that’s a game ending I’ll be thinking about for a long time. I want to play this with more people. I want to see how other groups use different tools and communication skills to solve their problems. I want to watch Northernlion play this. I want to talk about Big Walk forever! —JL
There are a lot of multiplayer games that feel like a fun idea that I just so happen to be able to play with friends. Big Walk is different; it’s explicitly about playing with friends. Everything we experienced in these three days was designed to test our bonds more than our brains. It’s a retreat full of trust falls and communication exercises. I’m sad to leave it all behind — I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to experience it the same way now that I know the puzzle solutions. But I’m leaving this island with a handful of warm memories, floating inside my head like scattered diary pages. I will always cherish this adventure I got to take with my friends. And I now know to never leave the house without a laser pointer. —GC
Big Walk will be released August 4 on Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Windows PC. The game was reviewed on Windows PC using prerelease download codes provided by Panic. You can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.