Big Walk review – the opposite of friendslop

The creators of Untitled Goose Game return with a new multiplayer title that redefines the modern co-op experience and demands you talk to your friends.

For lesser developers, the answer of how to follow up 2019’s indie hit Untitled Goose Game would’ve been simply more of the same. That would have been the sensible, boring option, that most big name publishers would’ve encouraged, but thankfully Goose Game 2: Goose Harder didn’t happen. Instead, indie studio House House went from a game that is all about annoying people on purpose to one that is about companionship and helping others… most of the time.

Big Walk is almost certainly going to be dismissed by some as friendslop, especially given the offputtingly ugly character designs and very vague seeming trailers. The term friendslop is already overused but in theory it’s not an entirely unfair description of what tend to be low budget indie games that are not particularly well made, and have little in the way of complex gameplay, but are still fun to mess around with online.

Popularised by Among Us, and more recent games like Peak, these games are proof that almost any activity can be made to seem fun if you’ve got other people around to endure it with. But Big Walk is not like that. It is a co-op title, and entirely based around playing with friends, but rather than being cheaply made it’s a carefully designed puzzle and exploration game that is one of the best releases of the year.

You’d never guess from the idealised British setting of Untitled Goose Game, but House House is based in Australia. That is much more obvious in Big Walk, whose island environment is very obviously inspired by the outback. Big Walk is a multiplayer-only game and one of the primary pleasures comes from simply talking with and socialising with up to 11 other people online. So if that doesn’t appeal to you, you can forget everything else about the game right now.

It’s hard to pin down what genre Big Walk belongs to but Animal Crossing is sometimes referred to as a social simulation and that seems as good a phrase as any – even though it’s not really like that game, or any other for that matter. One of the main reasons we wouldn’t call it that, is that not only is there purpose and structure to the game but real gameplay too, with puzzles to solve and difficult traversal to help each other with.

That’s not to pretend it’s a mechanically complex game but it is a game, not just an excuse to chat with friends online. You’re cast as what looks like one of those ‘70s drinking bird toys, and we have to say we found the low detail designs extremely ugly and one of the few missteps in the game, but your mileage may vary. Either way, you and your multicoloured friends have tasked themselves with exploring the island and discovering its secrets, which you can only do by working together.

Despite what you might expect, Big Walk’s world is not procedurally generated. You can tell that almost immediately by how clever the map design is and how good the signposting is. However, puzzles do change depending on how many people you have in your group. While your multicoloured avatars don’t have any special abilities – just helpful items they can pick up, like a walkie talkie – physics plays a big part in most puzzles, as you collaborate on forming a human (or whatever you are) chain to reach high places or punt objects through the air.

While the puzzles are integral to the game, the core experience is communication, with the game constantly finding reasons to split you up, and because the design is based on proximity chat (i.e. you have to be relatively close to another character to hear them) that means you often have to figure out new visual forms of communication. This can range from writing on a whiteboard so someone can see it on their binoculars from far away or figuring out how to convey information when you’re trapped in a soundproof box and everyone else is looking in at you from outside.

There’s also a lot of calling out directions to players that would otherwise have no idea where to go, so when we say that communication is key to the game’s appeal, that doesn’t mean idle chatter but actual structured gameplay, which is largely unheard of in a more laidback game like this. Sure, you might bark out tactical advice in a competitive multiplayer game, but most players barely pay attention to anything like that – whereas in Big Walk it’s the whole crux of the game.

Exploration is the third pillar of gameplay, with the game offering no hints, and certainly no on-screen indicators, for where you’re supposed to go or what you should do when you get there. However, the numerous vantage points make clear where new puzzles and interactive objects lie – all of which are rendered in simple primary colours like your avatars, in contrast to the photorealistic backdrops.

There’s only a faint hint at a story but there is an end to the game – in fact the final section is a major highlight – in what is one of the very best co-op titles of the generation. It’s entertaining not just because you’re playing with friends but because playing with friends opens up new gameplay opportunities that other games cannot replicate.

Instead of being a social experience with a sloppily made video game tacked on, or a traditional video game that simply has voice chat as an option, Big Walk integrates gameplay and co-operation in a way few other video games ever have. It feels new and exciting and unexpectedly innovative, and that’s an achievement you should go out of your way to celebrate with friends.

Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Nintendo Switch 2, and PC
Price: £15.49
Publisher: Panic
Developer: House House
Release Date: 4th August 2026
Age Rating: 3

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