The 8 Best Walking Simulators Of All Time

Highlights

• Walking simulators provide atmospheric and contemplative experiences that focus on storytelling and visual aesthetics.
• These games offer immersive and thought-provoking narratives, exploring themes such as aging, personal struggles, and family mysteries.
• Walking simulators like Proteus and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter provide unique and meditative experiences through their use of audio, visuals, and exploration.

Sometimes, the term walking simulator is used as a negative to point out a lack of action in a game. But, if you haven’t played one, you may not know just how fun and engaging a walking simulator can be. Typically, this genre relies heavily on story, using environmental cues or in-game notes to progress the narrative.

Walking simulators don’t provide action-based set-pieces or tense combat. Instead, they offer atmospheric and contemplative experiences that evoke questions or emotions. You’re not trying to survive or defeat enemies but meant to take in your surroundings. Because this game style relies on visual storytelling, walking simulators are often some of the most visually stunning titles you can play.

8 Firewatch

Firewatch is an intriguing game that takes you journeying through the colorful Wyoming wilderness. You play as a fire lookout and converse with the other main character through your handheld radio. The story involves a mystery that has you stumbling across items and encountering a strange figure.

This experience goes deeper than your typical game, as the backstory to your character and Delilah, the other fire lookout, is revealed. Your character must come to grips with personal struggles and make some challenging decisions along the way.

7 Dear Esther

Dear Esther was one of the first titles developed as more of an interactive story than a game. It’s about a character who becomes shipwrecked on an island, and the plot unfolds through narration. You explore this beautiful but dreary place that features excellent environmental detail.

While there aren’t any objectives other than traversing the island, a mystery naturally unfurls as you reach new areas. You’ll notice subtle indicators helping to direct your movements to important locations, but you are free to travel anywhere.

6 Before I Forget

Before I Forget is a reflective and thought-provoking look at aging. You play as Sunita, an older woman who has begun having trouble with her memory. Exploring Sunita’s house, you can pick up various objects that trigger her memories and tell her story.

The creative use of both color and the absence of it help provide insight into the reality of your character’s condition. This game is full of powerful metaphors and tackles a serious topic like few games have.

5 That Dragon, Cancer

That Dragon, Cancer is a touching tribute to a boy named Joel. Narrative-driven, this game uses a mixture of first and third-person with point-and-click actions throughout. The game can be challenging to play, not because it’s poorly done but because of the heavy subject matter.

Essentially, you’re immersed in reenacted real-life memories of a family struggling to combat their young son’s disease. There are themes of hope and faith as you get to know the characters. Unfortunately, there are so many more children out there just like him.

4 Proteus

For a more meditative experience that uses both audio and visual components uniquely, there is Proteus. You enter a procedurally generated world with a soothing soundtrack. The point of the game is to explore and take in all the scenery.

The art style mixes chunky pixels from classic video game design with elements of a landscape painting. The areas you travel through react to your presence with audio and musical cues as you approach them. Think of this as a relaxation exercise and reap the benefits.

3 The Vanishing Of Ethan Carter

The Vanishing Of Ethan Carter stands out with graphically impressive locations achieved using photogrammetry technology. You play a detective who responds to a troubling message from a boy only to discover he has gone missing.

While there are some puzzles, the game mainly relies on its foreboding ambiance and supernatural narrative. You navigate the world searching for clues but don’t need to find them in any particular order. The game has unsettling segments, but it’s a general tension rather than outright horror.

2 Stray

How often do you get to play a game as a cat? Stray takes place in a future where humans are absent, and droids fill the cities. You navigate neglected alleyways and run-down urban streets on a quest to solve a mystery.

Movements like jumping are simplified, so there is no danger of falling. You get a companion in the form of a flying droid who helps you communicate with others. There are some enemies, but it’s more about exploration and story than combat.

1 What Remains Of Edith Finch

In What Remains Of Edith Finch, you play as Edith and search your family’s massive home for clues. You are the only member of your family left, and it’s unclear why. The mystery unfolds as you explore and uncover details about the past.

This title is wildly imaginative and varied as you discover the fate of each Finch member. Themes of awe, inspiration, and human fragility will leave you pondering well after the end. This title, like many others on this list, is relatively short, though that doesn’t lessen the overall impact.