Beast of Reincarnation, the action-RPG from Pokémon developer Game Freak, hit PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC yesterday, on August 4, and players are running into various issues from performance to story pacing to subtitle text size being too small (and unadjustable), and more. Game Freak posted on its X account that it is planning a “series of continuous updates” for Beast of Reincarnation based on player feedback, and the first patch is coming soon.
“Thank you for playing Beast of Reincarnation,” the Game Freak post reads. “We take your feedback to heart and are currently planning a series of continuous updates.” Here are the updates expected to arrive in the next patch, which Game Freak says will hit within a week:
Camera adjustments
Increased text size
Story pacing improvements (ongoing adjustments planned)
Changing the default setting from Cinematic to Performance mode
Other bug fixes
Game Freak says the contents of this patch are subject to change, and asks players to continue sharing feedback at the form here.
Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault has been coming together in PC Early Access since November of last year, and the dungeon-crawling action RPG/shopkeeper simulator is ready for its full launch. Developer Digital Sun has announced the game’s 1.0 launch date: September 2.
The sequel trades the top-down pixel art style of its 2018 predecessor for a fully 3D isometric aesthetic. What remains the same is the core gameplay loop: as adventurer Will, you’ll explore dungeons at night to slay monsters and find treasures, then sell your loot in your shop during the day.
The 1.0 launch will introduce new weapons, armor, and a new combat ability called Bomb Path that causes enemies to explode after taking enough hits. Additionally, the shop will reach its final level, unlocking additional Bloblet slots, new cosmetic options, and more space. Moonlighter 2’s story will also receive its conclusion.
Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S (launching day one on Game Pass), Switch 2, and PC. Digital Sun has also made the first Moonlighter free to own on Steam starting today and until August 9.
Last September, Electronic Arts announced plans to be acquired by a trio of investor groups, taking the once-publicly traded company private. That acquisition is now complete in a move EA claims will position it to “accelerate creativity and innovation to shape the future of entertainment.”
In a press release, EA shares that its acquisition by PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners, collectively known as the “Consortium,” has successfully closed. PIF is the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (which already had a minor stake in EA for years); Silver Lake is a multi-billion-dollar technology investment firm; Affinity Partners is a Miami-based investment firm founded and run by CEO and former White House senior advisor Jared Kushner, son-in-law of President Donald Trump. The Consortium acquired EA for $55 billion, which is the largest all-cash sponsor take-private investment in history.
“This moment recognizes the extraordinary people whose creativity, ambition and passion have made EA one of the world’s leading interactive entertainment companies,” said Andrew Wilson, Chairman & CEO of Electronic Arts, in the press release. “We’re entering this next chapter from a position of strength with partners who share our vision and ambition. Together, we’ll invest boldly, accelerate innovation, and build the next generation of games and experiences for the hundreds of millions of players and fans who inspire us every day.”
Madden NFL 27
As previously reported, the completion of this transaction means EA stockholders, who approved the acquisition last December, receive $210 cash for each share of EA common stock they owned as of the closing. EA’s stock has been delisted from NASDAQ.
The future of Electronic Arts is unclear. While its annual sports franchises, such as Madden and FC, will undoubtedly continue as planned, the futures of other studios and projects remain in question. For example, it’s unknown how this acquisition affects BioWare and its upcoming fifth Mass Effect game or Motive Studio’s long-awaited Iron Man. A third Star Wars Jedi title is also reportedly in the works at Respawn Entertainment. In 2026, EA’s slate of upcoming releases includes Madden NFL 27, FC 27, NHL 27, and Star Wars Zero Company.
For more recent EA news, back in June, the company launched an advertising platform promising “non-disruptive” brand integration in its games
I published an in-depth retrospective about Onimusha’s success, its “Sengoku Biohazard” origins, and more based on my interview with Eshiro, and you can read that right here, but I also spoke to him about watching this series return after a 20-year hiatus. Though he’s not officially working on Way of the Sword, he works at Capcom in a producer role, supporting up-and-coming producers working on various projects at the publisher-developer.
Game Informer
Motohide Eshiro
Sitting beside Way of the Sword director Satoru Nihei, Eshiro tells me he’s been “very surprised and impressed” with the way video game graphics, particularly across the Onimusha series, have evolved alongside the action genre over the past two decades since Onimusha’s start. He also believes Nihei and the rest of the Way of the Sword team have nailed the swordplay action.
“I feel that one of the strengths of it is the swordplay,” Eshiro says. “In particular, I found it was quite an interesting evolution from the base game, but also, maintaining elements like the Issen, that satisfying feel of pulling it off, and the back and forth of Japanese swordplay – I feel they’ve done a really good job of capturing that feeling and creating a bit more of a realistic start of the swordplay action.”
There is a clear but polite embarrassment in the room from Nihei, as he listens to Eshiro discuss Way of the Sword’s strengths, and it’s endearing to see. Nihei refers to Eshiro as a legend and is happy to hear he thinks Way of the Sword is satisfying in its action. “When we have legends like [Eshiro] check out the game, I definitely feel nervous,” he says. “Are they going to be like, ‘What are you doing here?’ There’s definitely a bit of pressure, but obviously I look forward to hearing what they have to say about the game.”
Delving further into his impressions, Eshiro says he is very impressed by what the Way of the Sword team has accomplished with today’s technology. “Coming from someone involved with the past titles, I am very impressed with that and am really happy to see the project in good hands,” he adds. “I’m very excited for people to get their hands on the game.”
Ever the studio man, Eshiro closes out his thoughts by saying if someone is excited about Way of the Sword and wants to learn more about the series, “I would love for people to check out the Onimusha 1 and 2 remasters to see how the series has changed over these 20 years.”
I actually played through both remasters in the lead-up to this cover story trip for Way of the Sword, and though I loved the games as a child, I was surprised to see how well they hold up. Onimusha: Warlords, in particular, remains a fascinating game; it really is “Sengoku Biohazard,” the first game’s codename, à la a Resident Evil game (even set in a singular location like Spencer Mansion) but with samurai instead of agents and swords instead of guns. Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny ups the ante, expanding the game’s scale, complete with a wide-spanning friendship system and multiple branching paths that are still intriguing pieces of game design history today. All of this is to say, I echo Eshiro’s thoughts: Give Onimusha: Warlords and Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny a go if you’re waiting for Way of the Sword and in need of more swordplay action.
I’ll be diving deeper into Capcom’s return to Onimusha as part of Game Informer’s month of Way of the Sword coverage. We’ll be publishing exclusive gameplay and behind-the-scenes videos (including a Rapid-Fire Interview) on the Game Informer YouTube channel as well. Keep an eye on the Onimusha: Way of the Sword coverage hub so you don’t miss any of it.
In the meantime, here’s some additional Onimusha: Way of the Sword reading for you:
The September release calendar already looks overwhelming, but if you’re a fan of action RPGs, there’s now one more to consider. Crimson Moon, the next game from ProbablyMonsters, is set to release on September 1 at the $20 price point.
Crimson Moon looks to take many of the core tenets of the Soulslike genre and apply it to a run-based action RPG more focused on replayable missions. Stepping into the role of a half-human, half-angel protagonist, you battle through Gildenarch, a city under siege, using the kind of precise combat and character progression players have come to expect from the genre. Missions can be played solo or with two-player cooperative play. The game scales, meaning whether you play solo or with a co-op partner, Gildenarch’s three districts should feel appropriately challenging. If players can finish all three districts in a row, they will face a world boss, which is designed to test players’ masteries of the game. In total, there are three world bosses, which are punctuated by an extremely difficult final boss.
Despite the focus on precision-based combat, ProbablyMonsters wants the game to be an approachable entry for players, both in gameplay and price, leading to it costing just $20. “We’ve made Crimson Moon an intense action-adventure RPG that’s approachable to players,” general manager and game director David Lesperance said in a press release. “With our gothic-inspired art design, co-op support, and epic metal soundtrack, we’ve made something truly unique for gamers to experience this September.”
If you’d like to get the most out of the experience, Crimson Moon’s Deluxe Edition brings the price from $20 to $30. This upgraded version includes the Ceremonial Armor Set and the Axe of the Gods weapon cosmetic, as well as an upcoming expansion that will arrive at some point following launch.
We liked what we saw at Game Developers Conference 2026, but Crimson Moon is up against an onslaught of massive game releases, including another highly anticipated action/RPG in The Blood of Dawnwalker just two days later. Hopefully for ProbablyMonsters, the unique structure, $20 base price tag, and the fact that it’s coming out at the start of the month will be enough to entice players to dive in when it arrives on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on September 1.
This morning’s Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave Nintendo Direct featured a 20-minute gameplay deep dive into the upcoming strategy RPG. The presentation broke down classes and non-combat activities and revealed the game’s true structure.
As previously detailed, Fortune’s Weave centers on four playable protagonists who enter the Heroic Games, a gladiator-style arena tournament, to have their wish granted: Cai, Dietrich, Theodora, and Leda. You can switch between playing each one at any time, with progress for each one saved, allowing you to experience each character’s narrative in parallel. This plays into the game’s main theme of multiple fortunes intertwining.
However, the twist is that this era is actually set in the past. Fortune’s Weave’s true plot is set five years in the future, where the world has been destroyed by the returning demon god Balor. The progenitor god Sothis has summoned the one soul capable of stopping him, a nameless hero clad in white who is the game’s true protagonist. To avoid facing Balor alone, this hero travels to the past to influence the fates of the four champions in order to assemble them in the future to save the world.
Arena combat involves choosing a team of units and placing them on the field in traditional Fire Emblem fashion. Units can wield swords, gauntlets, spears, axes, bows, and magic, each with different properties and even forms (such as a gun(!)). Unleash Combat Arts deal greater damage at the expense of weapon durability, while Blaze Arts unleash bespoke special moves at the expense of HP. For example, Kai can blast a fireball that deals burn damage, Dietrich can instantly teleport to new squares, and Leda can buff surrounding allies and summon a monster to the field. After each move, you can rewind to any previous point in battle to redo any mistakes.
The game’s classes are divided between Beginner, Specialty, and Advanced. Here’s a breakdown of each one, as detailed by Nintendo.
Beginner – There are five Beginner Classes, each dedicated to playing a foundational role in combat. They include gladiators who excel in handling weapons, diviners who wield magic, ornius riders with increased movement range and more.
Specialty – There are over 10 Specialty Classes, each with specific abilities. Armored knights offer ironclad defense, wing soldiers can leap obstacles and cover long distances, charioteers can strike multiple enemies in a straight line, and more.
Advanced – These classes are masters of their skills. Cataphracts have the mobility of horses and are heavily armored; guardians are skilled with white magic and spears; and elephant riders fight astride their giant mounts, to name a few.
Between matches, Free Time occurs. You can prepare for future battles by training in the arena or by watching rivals battle to gather intel on them. The shopping arcade offers new weapons and enhancements. At Temple Row, you can volunteer at certain temples to temporarily gain stat buffs in battle, such as reduced damage. Taking certification exams lets units learn a new class, provided they have prerequisite skills. You can also take on quests from townsfolk, which must be finished within a deadline. Certain citizens can be recruited to your cause, though some require gifts or a meal to convince them to join. Inns let you lodge, eat, and pass time to gain resources automatically. Bonded characters converse in cinematics, raising their bonds.
Outside of Dagsion, you can explore a world map to visit towns, gather information to find treasures, and battle in random encounters. You can also find dungeons to get materials for weapons and other rewards. Interestingly, dungeon battles unfold as traditional turn-based battles instead of taking place on a grid.
The presentation concluded with smaller updates. Nintendo Music will be updated to feature a selection of tracks from Fortune’s Weave, such as the main theme. The Nintendo Today app also has new Fire Emblem themes coming tomorrow, along with new information leading up to launch. A new Ask the Developer article will be published on September 15.
Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave is coming to Switch 2 on September 17.
The protagonist of Beast of Reincarnation is a synthetic human being named Emma. She does not have a soul, but she thinks she wants one. It’s lamentably fitting, then, that Beast of Reincarnation feels soulless. Emma, perhaps appropriately, is stiff and lifeless, but so are her companions and just about every other character in this post-post-apocalyptic Japan. Even the world around them – a network of wide corridors made up of concrete reminders of what was, blanketed in familiar vines, shrubs, and greenery – is stiff. The explorable setting is unchanging and placed within gameplay uninterested in the mystery the setting otherwise evokes. Everything funnels you forward to the next fight, rushing you to advance in an effort to obscure the literal and metaphorical cracks in each zone. Fortunately, that next fight is the best part of Beast of Reincarnation, courtesy of a satisfying combat system filled with experimentation and tense fun. If only the rest of Game Freak’s venture into the action space matched it.
Emma, a mysterious old man named Brad, a young girl named Kagura, and your trusty wolf companion Koo travel throughout Japanese colonies in a Cleanse Walker mech. Emma, a purifier, is tasked with, well, purifying beasts overtaken by a blight en route to the Capitol, where she must defeat the Beast of Reincarnation to save mankind.
These characters talk directly to Beast of Reincarnation’s transparent themes, taking a blunt approach and leaving little for the player to dissect or work through. The importance of friendship, family, having a soul, fighting to save people, and more are discussed ad nauseum in overly long cutscenes void of life. These characters are paper-thin, and the story, which features predictable arcs, lackluster villains, and plot beats about Koo you’ve seen in dozens of other dog-related stories, does little to inspire me as the controller of Emma. But her blade picks up the slack.
Game Freak blends Emma’s Sekiro- and Stellar Blade-style swordplay, which relies on parrying, dodging, and stagger bars, with Koo’s QTE elemental abilities that are reminiscent of last year’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to create an excellent combat system. So excellent, in fact, that sitting through 10-plus-minute cutscenes after each milestone of progression is doubly excruciating. For a game that demonstrates such confidence in its combat, Game Freak is determined to pull you away from it with yet another exposition dump.
While clearly pulling from the aforementioned inspirations, Beast of Reincarnation’s combat is easier. Bosses and more elite enemies still pose a great challenge, but generous HP recovery, powerful attacks that are easy to pull off, and large parry and dodge windows will help the less experienced feel capable and seasoned players feel untouchable.
Initially, boss fights are tense arenas for learning and mastering the combat. However, they, too, become repetitive, with recurring bosses appearing far too much, especially for what are meant to be Beast of Reincarnation’s end-of-stage setpiece moments. Pay attention too closely, and you’ll find that enemies share many animations, removing the enigma of duels and bouts. It doesn’t help that Beast of Reincarnation takes a formulaic approach to each stage, either: The big boss of the area appears for a quick fight at the start, runs off when you’ve hurt it enough, and then waits in its lair while you fight through the stage until you reach it for a proper fight. But still, fighting a boss, whether a repeat or not, means engaging in the game’s combat, and doing so is congenial throughout.
Challenge aside, which comes in three difficulty settings, the combat is rewarding and highly reflexive to one’s strengths. I stuck to an elemental build where I’d begin each fight with Koo’s lightning Javelin equipped with a 2x status build-up mod, allowing my lightning-imbued katana to inflict the “Shock” effect in just seconds. That creates a window of paralysis that lets Emma’s various combo moves and finishers inflict heavy damage and stagger, if not outright kill.
And that’s just one of the many builds I experimented with in Beast of Reincarnation. There’s room for ranged, stealth, fire, poison builds, and more. Through an expansive skill tree that continues to grow, even after the game’s final (and anticlimactic) fight, there’s no world where two players’ Emmas work the same. Generous attribute points used for raising attack, defense, and the usual standard RPG stats make the act of doing so feel inconsequential, and I rarely paid attention to my progression here. But the subsequent skill points I’d unlock, which let me power up specific abilities and moves in Emma and Koo’s kit, came in the dozens, and working through the associated skill tree was a gluttonous climb of power.
There’s a unique double jump in the form of a vine that Emma can use to push herself higher, and she can use those vines to whip to high-up perches and locations, but Game Freak is uninterested in how this might affect locomotion outside of battle. Utilizing these vines to get some air and slam down into enemies below with my Helm-Splitter ability is a treat – whipping up to a boring hallway littered with boring enemies to open a boring chest with boring rewards inside is not.
You will open the same type of chest to receive the same types of resources countless times, and the “take all” button is your best friend because what these items do matters little. There are crops to grow from seedlings collected for Kagura to cook up stat-boosting meals, but these bonuses are negligible. There are skulls to collect to power up your Cleanse Walker, but I had maxed out this mech before the game’s halfway point. There are books (you can’t read) to collect, rations for a hunger system that matters little, and currency you will never struggle to accumulate. Seeking out these resources is as rote as the resources themselves.
The final act of Beast of Reincarnation, with its telegraphed revelations and color-by-numbers moments, left me feeling… nothing. But the ensuing New Game+ notification stopped me from uninstalling the game after the credits rolled. I don’t know if I’ll return to play more, but if I do, it won’t be because of Emma, but rather, what Emma’s sword can do.
Production of Amazon Prime’s live-action God of War TV series halted last month after Kratos actor Ryan Hurst suffered a bicep tear while filming. Since Hurst will require months of rehab following his surgery, Amazon is recasting his role. Varietyreports that Dave Bautista may be filling those shoes.
According to Variety’s sources, Bautista is in talks with Amazon to portray Kratos in the upcoming series. Bautista, a former WWE star, is best known for portraying Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise and the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe, but has notable roles in the Dune series, Blade Runner 2049, Glass Onion, Knock at the Cabin, Army of the Dead, The Killer’s Game, and is set to appear in Road House 2 and Highlander. Bautista is no stranger to the world of video games, as he appeared in Gears 5 as a model swap for Marcus Fenix (after the actor campaigned to portray the character in a movie).
Ryan Hurst as Kratos in a God of War on-set photo
Deadline had previously reported that four episodes of God of War had been filmed at the time of Hurst’s injury; it’s unknown if those episodes will ever see the light of day.
The rest of God of War’s cast so far remains the same, which includes Callum Vinson as Atreus, Ed Skrein as Baldur, Max Parker as Heimdall, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Thor, Mandy Patinkin as Odin, Alastair Duncan as Mimir, Danny Woodburn as Brok, and Jeff Gulka as Sindri. The series will adapt the 2018 God of War and has received a two-season order.
Though he’s not directly involved with Onimusha: Way of the Sword, Eshiro tells me he serves as a producer these days. But rather than being a head producer on a project himself, he supports up-and-coming producers on a variety of projects. Before directing Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny, which launched in 2002, he worked as a planner on Onimusha: Warlords, which Capcom released in 2001.
Game Informer
Capcom producer Motohide Eshiro
Eshiro tells me he’s been “very surprised and impressed” with the way video game graphics, particularly across the Onimusha series, have evolved alongside the action genre over the past two decades since Onimusha’s start.
Having just finished the remasters of Onimusha: Warlords and its sequel prior to this June trip, I was curious to discuss the series’ “Sengoku Biohazard” origins because Warlords, especially, is so clearly a Resident Evil game with a samurai skin (and it still rules today).
“One of the producers at the time behind the Resident Evil series was looking at what they were able to achieve with the pre-rendered graphics for Resident Evil, which has a focus on gunplay and long-distance combat, but felt that it would be quite interesting to see what they could do in the vein of a close-range action-based game, and that’s where that idea was born from,” Eshiro tells me. “Setting it during the Sengoku period, the Warring States period, would provide them a good setting to essentially have this close-range combat system with swords, so that’s where that [setting] and code name originated from.”
Eshiro says he joined the development of Onimusha: Warlords after it had already begun, so much of the game was set in stone already. But he was promoted from planner to director for the sequel, Onimusha 2, and says his main goal was to expand the scale.
“The first game was a very complete package, but it was also quite simple,” Eshiro tells me. “So, in approaching the next project, the sequel, we wanted to expand on the scale and really make players feel that the world was more alive and more liveable. [That’s why we] introduced elements such as the friendship system and having allies, so you get a bit of human drama there to get closer to the characters and understand them better. But we also wanted to improve the visuals as well.”
I still adore pre-rendered backgrounds, and though the indie space in 2026 is still using them, triple-A has abandoned the practice. Eshiro tells me it was a case of limitations back in the day, but says full camera control gives players additional layers of immersion. The tradeoff, however, is “with pre-rendered, you can have these really curated and crafted settings and scenes, so there’s definitely space for both beliefs.” Onimusha: Way of the Sword director Satoru Nihei adds, “the camera does allow for more freedom but there’s the downside that you can have these perfectly crafted scenes where you have this historic building, like Kiyomizu-dera Temple, that you want people to focus on, but because people can control the camera, they’re not really going to necessarily do that.
“There are definitely some downsides to having cameras, but in terms of pre-rendered, yeah, there’s the same kind of strengths.”
At the end of Onimusha: Warlords, Samanosuke takes on an Oni Form in a cutscene. But in Onimusha 2, Jubei can transform into his Oni Form at will. Eshiro says the team knew players thought the Oni Form was “cool,” and really wanted to double down on the cool factor in the sequel. Capcom reached out to Japanese film director, screenwriter, and character designer Keita Amemiya to create Jubei’s form. His rendition of Jubei’s Oni Form was cool, and that was that.
At this point in the interview, it was time to ask Eshiro the most important question of this entire cover story trip: Did the Resident Evil 4 team steal the jetski idea from the Onimusha 2 team?
“I really doubt it,” Eshiro says, probably practicing some professionalism instead of saying, “Of course they did,” like he probably wants to.
Similarly, I then ask Eshiro about robots and TVs appearing in Onimusha 2. He says the designs came from Amemiya and were put in the game to further push the dark fantasy aspect of the game and push for modernism or realism – I guess TVs and robots were all the hotness in 2002. Of note, Nihei tells me we won’t see TVs, robots, “or anything like that” in Way of the Sword.
I close out my interview with Eshiro by asking him why he thinks Onimusha was a success back in the early 2000s. He points to the use of real-world stars in the games.
“There are quite a few elements, but one of them is that at the time, in particular, it was quite rare to use real-life movie stars and actors as main characters in a game, and that was one of the big selling points for [Onimusha: Warlords] at the time,” Eshiro says. “But as well as that, the gameplay was also quite unique at the time. There weren’t really many other games out there doing the same things, necessarily. So, for instance, the soul absorption mechanics, or the Issen with Onimusha 2 – we introduced the Chain Issen and Charge Issen to kind of really flesh out that system. And even with pre-rendered background, which you know were features in Resident Evil, a lot of people maybe saw those pre-rendered backgrounds in Onimusha and thought, ‘Oh, it’s just like Resident Evil,’ but then saw our unique spin with the swordplay and the setting. So, all of those elements combined contributed to the success of the original games.”
You can read about how Capcom landed on using the late Toshirō Mifune’s likeness for Musashi’s appearance in Way of the Sword here.
Since the release of Onimusha: Warlords in 2001, the series has gone on to sell more than 9 million copies, and Onimusha: Way of the Sword is set to push that number further when it launches this September.
I’ll be diving deeper into Capcom’s return to Onimusha as part of Game Informer’s month of Way of the Sword coverage. We’ll be publishing exclusive gameplay and behind-the-scenes videos (including a Rapid-Fire Interview) on the Game Informer YouTube channel as well. Keep an eye on the Onimusha: Way of the Sword coverage hub so you don’t miss any of it.
In the meantime, here’s some additional Onimusha: Way of the Sword reading for you:
Seeing a game lean as heavily into its core ideas as Big Walk does is rare. Untitled Goose Game studio House House built an experience filled with activities: puzzles, physics, basketball and music, lights and sounds, as well as secrets and foreboding premonitions of future discoveries. But the larger experience is mostly a lot of walking with your friends. And it’s a pretty good walk, too.
Big Walk requires co-op; puzzles adjust to lobby size, from two to three, to four-plus. You can have up to 12 players in a lobby – puzzles will still be sized for four players – but you cannot play alone. And while there’s no real way to enforce this approach, House House strongly encourages you to use proximity voice chat in-game, rather than hopping on a Discord call or playing local split-screen. These requirements can seem stringent compared to other co-op adventure games, and it makes coordinating a Big Walk session feel akin to setting up a board game night. But what you get in exchange for following those rules for play, though, is entirely worth it.
Each player gets their own orbish, bird-like in-game avatar. Tools littered in the tutorial area let you customize your character, learn the controls, and gradually understand the verbiage. You can gesture with your arms, such as lifting them up in the sky, pointing, or raising them out to the side. Sitting plops you down in place, or sends you sliding down a hill. There’s jumping, crouching, and even picking up items and kicking them like a field goal. Movement and interaction is delightfully tactile and involved, as you can talk with your hands and express thoughts with your in-game avatar body, literally pointing at things, waving, and doing the Rocky pose when you conquer a puzzle.
Distance reduces your voice volume, so walkie-talkies, radios, and even whiteboards became methods for long-distance communication for our group. A flashlight might be useless during the day, but at night you need one to navigate the darkness. Since you can initially only hold one thing in your hands at a time, equipment comes at a premium, so you make interesting decisions about what to take and leave behind. The limitations do prevent, however, carrying and using some of the more interesting and fun tools; the whiteboard is a really clever nonverbal tool to mess around with, for instance, but not as “effective” as a walkie-talkie or radio, which are abundant on the island. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t love writing “Kick Me” on a whiteboard and sticking it in my friend’s backpack as we explored.
Going anywhere takes time; not a gameplay resource or number on a meter, but just real-life time. This naturally leads to downtime which facilitates some of Big Walk’s best moments. Stumbling across a new puzzle room or gadget leads to hijinks. We argued over who got to hold the megaphone we’d just found, or go fumbling in the dark trying to find where we dropped a key item. If cartoon birds could ever re-enact Stand By Me in the Australian wilderness, it’d look a lot like Big Walk.
A north-star objective underpins all of this: small red objects, which look a little like those rubber Kong toys you fill with peanut butter for dogs, which we took to calling “gourds.” Usually, to solve these, we’d need to figure out the solution to an ambient puzzle, which had a delightful range including blindfolded obstacle courses, pitching machines, egg timers, mazes, lights and pictures, and many, many wooden blocks with symbols to hold up and nod or shake our heads at.
Big Walk loves to play with means of communication in these rooms too, and its best puzzles take full advantage of your buy-in to its requirements. Soundproof rooms forced our team to figure out how to communicate nonverbally. Shorthands evolved around specific puzzle pieces. Shouting “turn 10 degrees to your left and scooch forward” to my pal, as they’re wearing a giant helmet that muffles their voice and blocks their vision, was genuinely fun. These gourd puzzles feel like summer camp activities in the best ways.
Gourds can be placed in specific locations and, once enough have been placed, they open a secondary puzzle, which then unlocks a new feature on the island. I’m being intentionally vague because, after the initial tutorial, they become Big Walk’s big reveals. Each one introduces a new feature that recontextualizes a piece of the island, which is impactful and exciting.
If anything, that’s where Big Walk starts to slow its pace a bit. As we focused on unlocking more of the island, completing more puzzles, and figuring out what lay at the end of it all, the “walk” of it fell to the background. Walking itself is sometimes a bit too finicky; jumping up terrain and ledges, in particular, can be frustrating to manage. The expanse of the island closed in a bit, even as we uncovered more and more secrets, and found a larger post-credits puzzle chase meant for those who want more. I wanted more silly opportunities to play and find goofy levity in this large experience.
In the nine hours it took my crew of three to see the end of Big Walk, though, it felt like we had made a real journey together. We laughed a lot and came up with many absurd puzzle solutions that still somehow worked. Big Walk’s excellent finale effectively brought the message home: more than anything, this was our shared walk.
Sharing that journey is the point of Big Walk. It asks you to isolate, to put yourself in a siloed-off game station on proximity chat, so you can experience what it feels like to journey together in its virtual world. It provides tools for you to venture apart, to go vast distances, and still reconnect to gather your gourds and unlock more of the island. House House lays out all the ways your group could go, and lets you loose. Look for an ending, seek out puzzles, search for mysteries or climb for adventure; no matter what, you’re all going on a memorable walk together, and that’s a pretty good way to spend a few evenings together with friends.
