評論

• gamedeal user

  Nov 2, 2014

  Year Walk is one of those rare bits of media that lingers in your mind long after you've finished it. It makes you feel like a part of you is missing after you've finished it and, like a junkie, you become desperate for more. Don't let the "ending" fool you. There's more. Find the Journal. Open the box. It's not too late. You know what to do.
• gamedeal user

  Mar 7, 2014

  It's been months since I first played Year Walk on iOS and I still think about it regularly. The Steam version of this game is as beautifully made as the original, and the changed puzzles feel at home on the PC. The atmosphere is greatly enhanced in this version of the game, providing a creepier mood than the iOS version - so much so that surprises I knew were coming still got jolts out of me. The story behind this game is so intriguing and mysterious that I wish there was more information about it online; Year Walk is an amazing introduction into Scandinavian folklore that everyone should play.
• gamedeal user

  Mar 7, 2014

  First off, there are two things I must mention: one, I have had absolutely zero experience with the iOS version of Year Walk; this review is based 100% on the PC version currently available on Steam. Two, I almost exclusively dislike "puzzle games." I find them annoying and tedious. That being said, I found Year Walk to be a mesmerizing and enjoyable little game. In terms of its gameplay, Year Walk doesn't break the mold - there's nothing revolutionary to be found here. The puzzles are relatively simple and only required me to doodle a few things down on a scratch pad to help me solve the majority of them. They're not overly difficult. And if you do find yourself stuck, there's a Hint system in-game that's actually useful. The controls for the PC work well overall, and I had no problems or confusion in how to do anything. So, as a port from a touch based device, this aspect is done fine. So, then what makes this an excellent game? As I said, the puzzles presented in the game are not challenging. In fact, as I finished this game I came to the realization I had been tricked. This game wasn't about the puzzles at all. It was about the experience; the visuals, the music, the story, and the atmosphere it all creates. The puzzles are just a way to move you along. Year Walk is ultimately all about the experience. And it's definitely quite the experience. It's visually striking - the art style is unique and hauntingly beautiful, and the music fits perfectly in with it. Together they enhance a weird, dark, and rather sad story. In the end, Year Walk feels fleshed out and solid. It creates a unique atmosphere that's hard to compare and even harder to forget. Despite not liking puzzles games, I really found myself engrossed in the world that Year Walk so successfully creates. [i] Addendum (3/19/2014) - After playing through the game completely, twice, and also messing around with extras and some achievements, I feel that I have to make note that this is a short game, and more importantly one that lacks replayability. I'd still recommend the game, it's just something to bear in mind when making a purchase. [/i]
• gamedeal user

  Jun 30, 2017

  I struggle to articulate what it is about this game that left such an impact on me, but I couldn't let Year Walk go without giving it my recommendation. I've always enjoyed subtle horror elements in video games, but never been a fan of pure horror games for mostly one reason. The jumpscare as of recent in horror has become what autotune is in the modern music industry. A tool for an artist to improve their art, not a means to cover up a lack of talent by littering one's creation with it, and Year Walk does a great job of using this tool alongside it's many others to craft a uniquely unsettling experience. Horror as a genre in gaming is something that can be hard to keep consistently impartial. When a player only ever sees other characters as something to be scared of, the fear becomes one-dimensional very quickly as almost everything that moves is an obvious threat to the player. I've dropped horror games before because i'm sick of being pulled along while the game rapid fire tries to scare me with loud noises and flashing imagery. However the eerie creepiness of Year Walk just comes naturally as it's often unclear when and if the player should be scared. Between the light safety and the dark horror lies a gray area that Year Walk hides itself amoung: fear of the unknown. The in game encyclopedia, should the player chose to read it, gives information about the act of Year Walking as well as the five supernatural creatures asociated with it who are all said to pose a threat psyically, mentally, and spiritually. This, alongside all beasts being associated with death or murder in some way immediately sets the expectation for them to be the enemies, or the "scary" part, of this horror game. However there is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it, and the entire buildup for said bang is done inside the player's head. This also creates a sharp contrast with the rest of the game, as the player is put on edge, yet the snowy landscape and ambiance is eerily peaceful. Year Walk is a puzzle game that is a compelling narrative first, and also just so happens to be scary because of the expectation that the game influenced me to create for myself by making me come face to face with the unknown and entrusting it to continue. This game is horror done so so right, and it's a shame it almost went under my radar, don't let the same happen to you. It's an experience I wish more could experience so that we could stop giving attention to the shit that Youtubers play for reactions. 10/10 Redefined my standards for horror games.
• gamedeal user

  Mar 7, 2014

  this game, oh man. heads up, i played this on ipad almost a year ago and it still holds up really well even on pc its super creepy and has a vibe not many puzzle games have. the best way i can describe it is that it feels like a popup book rendition of a super creepy swedish folklore version of myst. everything feels dream-like but you soon start seeing that not everything is as it appears. +great art +great soundtrack +captures the feeling of being lost in the woods +lore is polished really well +puzzles are outstanding and mostly nonlinear, and without spoiling you have to dig pretty deep to solve some of the more arcane puzzles -relatively short for a pc game ... its almost midnight.
• gamedeal user

  Dec 31, 2017

  In short, Year Walk is the mobile port of a game you never played (but should), and about folklore you never knew about (but should). In long, Year Walk is based on the pagan ritual of Årsgång, and the Swedish folklore behind it. In theory, if the participant survived or passed certain tests during the Walk, he would be able to see into the future. Done on nights that were believed to be more magically and spiritually charged than others, such as new years eve, Christmas eve, and solstices, the participant was required to deprive himself of food, rest, and light for a day before making his way through the woods to the nearest churchyard. It was there, if he was deemed worthy enough, he could learn his fate and the fates of others in the year to come. In the game, you are one such individual, and making your way to the churchyard is your task. But you are not alone in the woods. The demons, sprites, and figments of folklore surround you and test you on your journey. They do not wish you well, and they will make you prove your worth in the woods. There are light puzzles you must solve, usually revolving around backtracking and fetching...things...which can get very dull. Fortunately they are short, save one, which I highly recommend using headphones for, otherwise you will more than likely have difficulty. You’ll know it when you get to it. I almost wish this one wasn’t in the game, though the conclusion of it will stick with you for quite some time. In fact, most of the game will likely stick with you. The spirits of the woods are subtle yet terrifying to the core. The sounds of the woods are quiet and haunting. The color palate is soft, yet foreboding. The in game encyclopedia is a wonderful, and for one of the puzzles, required, read. Or at least a quick scroll through. I won’t spoil for what here, but let’s just say it’s one of the best uses of an in game encyclopedia I have ever seen. Though nobody may say so directly, Year Walk is an often subtle, a few times not so subtle, short, horror adventure. If you can get past the odd, mobile-friendly navigation of practically strafing through the world instead of walking through it, as well as the aforementioned backtracking, you should definitely play this, especially if it’s on sale. It’s not long at all, a couple hours at most, but very meaty and entertaining for those couple hours. There are incentives to replay, too, through some mysterious achievements. Year Walk will frighten you, scare you at times, and chill you almost constantly. Maybe even frustrate you, or stump you. But yes, you should definitely give it a go. Why? Well, I think we all, at one point or another in our lives, have wished we could know some of what our futures hold for us. Though debates could rage at what the idea of seeing the future means to us. Some would want to know it all; some would not want to know anything about what is to come. Some could say the future can be changed; some would say everything is written in stone. Some would say if they knew their future they would try to change it; others would say they would leave it alone, come what may. Year Walk offers a glimpse into a world where such discussions would have merit beyond character studies and musings. Where such a privilege would have to be earned in a dangerous world, in a snowy evening, in a churchyard.
• gamedeal user

  Jun 30, 2014

  [i]Haunting[/i]. Were I to sum up my feelings on my time with Year Walk, I could think of no other term or phrase that better exemplifies my experience. In the brief time that it takes to complete this surreal journey, I could barely pull myself away from my computer. Year Walk is a story of a Love that cannot be, and a man who seeks to know if his love may ever be returned in kind. What follows is a bizarre foray into Scandinavian folklore, of moving through time itself to see one’s future, and facing the terrifying creatures that block your path. You’re limited to a two dimensional plane, from which you can move left and right, and to and from connected planes . The entirety of the map is relatively small, with around a dozen or so total planes from which you can move about freely. Given the game’s previous touch screen interface, it’s important to remember as such while trying to figure out puzzles. The game expects you to move your cursor like you would your finger, often quickly and in succession. Mind you, this never becomes a problem, as there are no reflexive puzzles to speak. I just feel it’s worth keeping in mind, as first starting out, it felt a bit odd solving puzzles in that manner using a standard mouse. Given this title’s origins on mobile platforms, it is important to know that any limitations this may bring to its mechanics do not extend to its presentation. The world you explore is gorgeous, and the orchestral score and sound design is superbly unsettling, to the point where I could visibly see goose bumps forming on my arms. The visual design itself is equally divine, and combined, make even the occasional jump scare give me a notable fright. While I would recommend this for the score alone, several of the puzzles require you to recognize subtleties in sounds, and so headphones are a must. The experience is short; it took me two hours to finish everything, and that was with plenty of incompetency on my part in regards to what I should be doing. Luckily, new to the PC port, there is a map system that always pinpoints your exact location. And there’s a hint system should you ever become lost on what you should be doing next. There’s also a series of journal entries that better explains the horrors you experience. While I would personally recommend waiting on these reads until [i]after[/i] finishing the game, at the very least, you should refrain from looking at individual entries until you’ve successfully passed their respective portions of the game. In fact, the journal provides something I often find lacking in other similarly surrealistic titles: explanation. The journal provides a background on the Scandinavian mythos that you will encounter in the game, and the entire experience is better for it. Even given the very short length of the journey, I wholeheartedly recommend it as one that any interested in the bizarre and the macabre should pick up. It is spectacular, and I was glued to my computer screen for the entire duration. My time spent in these woods will remain with me for some time.
• gamedeal user

  Jun 21, 2016

  Year Walk is a game that I first purchased about a month after it's release here on Steam, over two years ago. I mainly just wanted a quick horror fix, and what I got was a lot more. This game focuses on the very obscure ancient Swedish tradition of Årsgång, or Year Walking. After playing this game, I was awestruck by not only the way the story was presented, but also by the amazing visuals, and how even though there was certainly horror elements in the game, I felt completely comfortable. Upon completing this game, I felt like I needed to know more about this tradition that was Årsgång. This feeling sent me on a two year journey through Swedish sources and 20 year old dead internet forums that helped me conclude a whole blog and thesis on this subject. Never has a game compelled me so strongly to find out more, and to know all I can possibly know, and in April of this year, I had done it. I had found out all there was to know about this once obscure tradition that now found itself as common knowledge. This is why I am asking everybody who could be reading this to BUY THIS GAME. You will be intrigued, terrified, curious, excited, mystified, and much more over this 2 or so hour journey, maybe three if you read the excellent encyclopedia. I've played this game 5 times now at different speeds and settings, just to make sure I found every little thing in this game. Now that I have, I must say it was completely worth it, and I'm sure I'll be going back to it again soon. Some people may find this game boring, and I understand that, it's not necessarily for everybody out there, but please just try it. This game is $6.00 (£4.10), when it should easily go for twice that price. if I had to give this game some sort of overall rating, it must be a 10/10. I feel ridiculous giving a rating out to a game that has changed the way I see things so much but I feel it's justified. Just play it.
• gamedeal user

  Mar 21, 2018

  A good game, even though there really is not anything TOO special about it. As someone with very little experience playing horror games (mostly because I am a wimp), I can confirm that this one, despite most certainly still being a horror game is not particularly scary. The atmosphere, while being a bit creepy is nothing thats going to scare away a lot of people. HOWEVER, this game does have a few jumpscares, most of whom are pretty predictable. The game-play mostly consist of walking around a forest, finding items and solving relativily simple puzzles. In other words it is a simple point and click game. Another interesting thing about this game is that it is based on Swedish folklore, so you will also learn a fair share about the Swedish folklore. Another thing worth pointing out is that an average playthrough of this game takes about 1 and a half hour to complete according to howlongtobeat.com meaning that not everybody will be satisfied with the game`s length. Personally I really think it is worth it for the 6 dollar asking price, if you arent convinced enough to buy it at full-price, I would suggest waiting for a sale, since the price usually drops down by about 50% during sales. I would give this game a solid 7/10
• gamedeal user

  Sep 3, 2014

  This game is hard to describe. At once serene, surreal, and disturbing. Unexpected and unnerving. And yet somehow delightful. I won't soon forget this one. It's not a very long game, but after you've finished it... it's not over. You'll see.