Critical Play: Walking Simulators
The two walking simulator games I have played before are Firewatch and The Stanley Parable (have heard great things about What Has Become of Edith Finch and I’m planning to play it soon!). These two walking simulator games play fairly similarly where the main gameplay portions are composed of walking, limitedly interacting with objects, and having player choices (mainly dialogue in Firewatch and mainly actions in The Stanley Parable). The main benefit of the “limited” gameplay in these mediums is that the dialogue can flourish during these walking portions since it will most likely be the main entertaining aspect occuring. For Firewatch, during these portions the dialogue between the two main characters is easily the most interesting aspect of the game because you want to learn more about these people and become attached to them through their long period of time together. For The Stanley Parable, these walking portions are constantly filled with the narrator always talking to the player, while the player moves around trying to either follow the narrators instructions or disobey to see what he is hiding. These two games excel in their ability to show off their strong scripts during these sections. I also think many new releases try to include portions of their game that is mainly walking to simply show off the scenery and have characters banter among each other to better develop these characters.
