Creative minimalism: developers about “walking simulators. Walking Simulators Best Walking Simulators
Recently, among the releases there have been projects that can hardly be called games in the usual sense of the word. In such adventures, the protagonist either simply walks from place to place, or everything comes down to a set of obvious actions. This is not an interactive movie, since there are no mini-games for reaction or staged segments. The authors of such works attract buyers with meaningful plots and an attractive atmosphere.
Taking into account the primitivism of the game component, the key place in the adventure goes to history. The emphasis is on a measured narrative with analysis and comparison of fragmentary data.
As you progress, the authors give the main character notes from her sister’s diary, but it is advisable to discover all the sources of information scattered in the corners of the mansion. They, like flesh and blood, transform characters from skeletons into full-fledged people. A fundamentally simple picture turns out to be much more interesting and evokes a whole range of emotions.
The creators do without numerous notes, but skillfully build an atmosphere of mystery, make them fear for the fate of the boy Ethan Carter and escalate the situation with brutal murders that took place in the past. A stunning world with cruel morals has been constructed, and all the elements of the complex system hide many secrets.
The developers of Dear Esther immerse the player in an atmosphere of surrealism and tell a deeply personal story through rare appearances by the narrator. The brevity of the game (it takes just over an hour to get to the credits) is compensated by the fact that the monologues are activated randomly and it is problematic to understand the whole point in one go.
These games either constantly offer food for thought, like Gone Home, making the environment part of the narrative, or pose more and more questions to the protagonist, as in The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, or force him to glue pieces of the foundation into a single whole, as in Dear Esther. And also - all these are the deepest personal dramas of specific people who find themselves in difficult life situations. Their fates and feelings run like a red line through the narrative.
This is achieved due to the fact that the authors pay a lot of attention to the key characters. The move is old, but effective. Even a global shock is felt more strongly when it is shown in the context of the tragedy of several people or a family.
In disaster films, there are always a few key characters who flash across the screen from beginning to end, trying to escape. In the same Titanic, the audience was most impressed by the death of the hero Leonardo DiCaprio, and not by hundreds of other passengers on the liner. Some of the best works about the Great Patriotic War are considered to be “The Cranes Are Flying” and “The Fate of Man,” where battle scenes are not at the forefront. Many people find it much easier to perceive the severity of a situation when it is demonstrated through obvious examples with living, believable characters. That is why individual works produce such a powerful effect.
But breaking the fragile structure is as easy as getting to the finish line of another “walking simulator”: just mess up the plot or its presentation. In the game, the authors split the narrative into short, uninteresting and poorly connected mini-stories of the inhabitants of a British village. As a result, it is impossible to empathize with poorly created images. In addition, the game does not have a conflict with an emotional climax or a spectacular finale where the puzzle pieces are put together into a complete picture.
The “creators” from IMGN.PRO in the project turned the promising story about the Dyatlov Pass tragedy into a madhouse with special services and otherworldly forces, simultaneously filling the narrative with “water.” The authors' imagination was only enough for schematic pictures telling about the problems of overpopulation and alcoholism. You rejoice at the end of such projects only because in a short time they have already become tiresome long walks and trivial tasks. Beautiful scenery or magical music can sweeten the pill, but nothing more.
The works of Thatgamecompany studio stand out: and. They have no plot at all in the traditional sense of the word. These are concentrated emotions evoked by stunning images and scenery. In these games, everyone sees something different and all interpretations are correct in their own way.
Walking simulators have their leaders, outsiders and controversial representatives. The existence of such games cannot be called meaningless, despite the rudimentary mechanics. To succeed, authors have to create extraordinary universes, write memorable stories and bring characters to life in unusual ways - through notes and diaries. Yes, such games do not last long and are often disposable. But best representatives leave a deep imprint on the soul, and this is worth a lot.
The project that popularized walking simulators. The mod for Half-Life, which later grew into a full-fledged game, puzzled gamers: many did not understand how you could just walk around the island, look for some notes and not meet a single monster the entire time. However, there were also those who liked this gameplay: Dear Esther attracts with stunning landscapes and interesting story, but you can fight enemies in other games.
9. Tacoma
An interactive adventure that invites you to explore a space station where an accident occurred. Traveling through the compartments and reproducing snippets of past events, the main character will gradually restore the sequence of incidents and get to the bottom of it.
The Tacoma is interesting because of the stories it tells. Each item is in its place for a reason: it reveals another piece of information about its owner. The characters are well written, and the more you get to know them, the more you become immersed in their destinies. At the same time, the game touches on many important topics, from admissibility romantic relationships in the team to the importance of AI in technology, so it gives more than one reason to think.
8. Everybody's Gone to the Rapture
A meditative game with a plot full of mysteries and beautiful graphics on CryEngine 3. Gamers will have to go to a deserted village and uncover the mystery of the end of the world, collecting evidence and fragments of memories of the disappeared inhabitants.
Like all the other games in this collection, Everybody`s Gone to the Rapture will not force you to fight aliens or hellish demons, will not load you with complex puzzles, and will not test your reflexes for speed. Travel around the location, admire the scenery and enjoy the story that the developers decided to tell - nothing more is required.
7. SOMA
This project is already making you nervous, because it contains elements, albeit primitive, but still horror. The main character, who miraculously traveled through time and space and ended up at an underwater station of the future, will have to hide from its nightmarish inhabitants and find a way to get out of the trap.
However, SOMA is not Resident Evil and not Outlast: the enemies do not have outstanding intelligence and pursue the protagonist lazily, “for show.” Therefore, stealth in the game does not pose barriers for gamers (and with a recent update, the developers have even added the ability to disable the aggressiveness of enemies) and does not interfere with concentrating on the story, which here, without exaggeration, simply blows the mind.
6. Gone Home
5. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
An interactive story about a psychic detective who went to a remote village to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a local guy. The hero explores stunningly beautiful locations (the authors used photogrammetry technology to achieve maximum realism of the picture), solves simple puzzles, observes the ghosts of the past and gradually approaches the terrible truth.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter sometimes tries to scare the player (both with an oppressive atmosphere and jump scares), sometimes it confuses the player, without explaining what to do and where to go, but thanks to the fascinating plot and full immersion In the enchanting world of this game, you can forgive all its shortcomings.
4. Life is Strange
3. What Remains of Edith Finch
A short but very emotional walking simulator that tells the story of a girl who, after a long absence, returns to an empty family home. Over the years of its existence, the mansion has acquired many buildings, turning into a kind of Frankenstein's monster, and has witnessed a huge number of events, both funny and not so funny. The players will have to experience these events, getting used to the role of the main character.
2. Firewatch
A beautiful sketch dedicated to the themes of loneliness, relationships and fear of responsibility. The game tells the story of a guy named Henry, who ran away from family troubles into the forest, taking a job as a summer caretaker at a fire tower. There are kilometers of trees around and not a single living soul, except for the voice from the walkie-talkie of a partner who sits in the same tower on opposite side forests. However, Henry will soon find himself in a mysterious and even slightly mystical story.
The charm of Firewatch lies in the dialogue - in rare games the characters communicate so vividly: they joke, argue, pour out their souls, remain awkwardly silent. Thanks to the ability to select answers, the player can adjust Henry's character to suit himself, which contributes to deeper immersion in the atmosphere. The second pillar on which the project rests is a bright, attractive picture: you always want to save local landscapes in the form of screenshots, decorating your desktop with them
A modification for Half-Life 2, which gained enormous popularity and eventually became a full-fledged game. Here gamers will have to get used to the role of Stanley, a simple office worker who one day became a participant amazing adventure. Or he didn’t... Who knows?
The project gives players freedom of choice. Two dozen endings await them, each of which depends only on their actions. A guide in this complicated story will become a Storyteller who comments on what is happening, gives hints (which do not have to be followed), and reveals more and more new stories. You should definitely try out The Stanley Parable, at least to discover new facets of storytelling in video games.
Also worthy of attention: Layers of Fear, Among the Sleep, Ether One, Virginia, Abzu, Observer, The Novelist
Almost immediately with the release of Gone Home, this “genre” became one of my favorites. Story games without unnecessary gameplay obstacles, the short form in itself is great. And thanks to this, they can be recommended to anyone: they do not require any skills, do not take much time, and allow you to tell stories that have no place at all in “big” action games. I've tried quite a few similar games and I'll try to briefly summarize my impressions of them here.
My top walking simulators
The game that made the genre famous and did almost everything very, very right. As before, in terms of concentration and the number of various objects and notes that reveal characters, it has no equal - and this is what, in my opinion, is especially important for “walking simulators”. And in addition to outstanding environmental storytelling, it also has a wonderful atmosphere of the mid-90s: Gone Home is worth playing not only for the simple but multifaceted story of one family, but also for the sake of nostalgia.
- The Stanley Parable
A very clever deconstruction of video games in general and the relationship between player and narrative in particular. “Stanley” is very difficult to describe - in it, meta-jokes are stacked in several tiers and are found literally at every turn. An experience like no other.
- Jazzpunk
For some reason, there was practically no hype around this game, and I (largely relying on word of mouth in choosing indie games) had already missed it (thanks to Mr. Saturn, who sent it to me and highly recommended it). But damn, how cool is she!
This is an absurdist comedy with a very minimalistic and at the same time extremely bright visuals, with great game words and with stunning unpredictability. This is a great set of gags that will probably have something for you too. Here it was for me - I laughed out loud more than once. It’s even a pity that there are so few comedies among non-quests - besides Jazzpunk, I can only remember Psychonauts and two “Portals”. By the way, Jazzpunk is closest to The Milkman Conspiracy from Psychonauts in aesthetics and themes. And it's awesome.
At its best, EGttR reminded me of Lem's favorite books while remaining deeply human. Cool graphics, well written and played characters, very beautiful story endings key characters, rare (but well-remembered) creepy episodes - but a weak ending, in my opinion.
Amazing beautiful game in a distinctly Eastern European setting (no matter what her backstory might claim). Melancholy, taciturn - and her main problem is her laconicism. The authors of the game say that the players did not find half of what was hidden in it, but for me, in this case, it does not matter whether there is something in it or not, since we do not know about it. The ending puts everything in its place and gives all the content of the game the necessary context, but there is very little content in comparison with the same Gone Home.
Didn't like it very much:
Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald I didn't understand. It's free, it's very short, it's almost funny in places, but... is that it? Either way, I'm not impressed.
The Beginner's Guide curiously replaced the game's author with the character of the same name in the role of narrator, but this substitution only frustrated me: the game tried very hard to deceive me, and I'm not happy about it (though I'm completely shocked by those who believed the game and sincerely thought that the contents of The Beginner's Guide is non-fiction). An interesting idea, but the further it went, the more it all seemed to me like some kind of farce (and especially the ending).
She offered a portion of good dialogues, after which she got carried away by the central plot, which ended in absolutely nothing.
To the Moon(I’m not sure if it’s worth including it here, but why not) I generally liked it, but the key raft-twists that explain all the events of the game are completely stupid and forced.
Didn't like it very much:
First of all, its gameplay. The plot showed promise, but it seemed to me that there was not enough interesting there for such a large game.
The Path- of course, the best of the Tale of Tales games, but in it you not only have to interpret transparent hints, but also spend half an hour searching for each of them, and this is a bit like torture.
Thirty Flights of Loving- not a game at all, but a short cartoon with a good soundtrack, pretentious editing and empty content. You could try this for free, but ask for money for this? The nerve!
Town of Light does not understand the essence of walking simulators at all and constantly imposes terrible triggerhunting. For a game about a personal tragedy, there is too unreliable a narrator, plus the theme of the main character’s illness is not really revealed from her perspective. And for a game about how terrible punitive psychiatry was in the 40s, there is too little of the 40s proper: we travel in modern times through completely empty and uninteresting ruins, and real horror remains in the past (and in some good scenes, which, really, too little).
Proteus- a dull and empty game about nothing. Nothing at all.
Dear Esther- a triumph of verbiage. Lots of words, little meaning. The environment does not play any role, the player is thrown one after another intolerably pretentious remarks, the content of which often either makes no sense or contradicts other remarks, then they very clearly visually show what all the fuss is about, after which the game ends in an incredibly pretentious zilch. There are few games I truly hate, and Dear Esther is one of them.
What I haven't tried yet and I'm not sure if it's worth it:
The Old City: Leviathan. If the transparency of hints is the main feature of the game, then I’m unlikely to like it.
Eidolon. Apparently it's empty open world, in which content is difficult to find.
Journey. I've been waiting for a discount on it all these years. It seems it hasn't happened yet. Considering that multiplayer is important there, is it too late now?
Sunset. Ahahaha, hahaha, haha. No, I will not.
…something else?
