If you thought there wasn’t a mature indie title on the Wii U, “Year Walk” may surprise you.
After playing through “Year Walk,” a myriad of thoughts will run through your head. Beautiful, intelligent, dizzying and even flat out confusing are a few of the easy quantifiers that’ll pop up. But in the end, it’s safe to say that the game is just weird. Like an M. Night Shyamalan flick weird. However, that doesn’t stop it from being a challenge-heavy, story-based adventure that has its moments
Released a few years ago on Steam and the iOS, Simogo’s “redefined” version uses the Wii U tablet to change the way controls, but the new controls are all that have changed. Visually, the game look essentially identical to the Steam version. In Smog’s defense, there’s little reason to change the look, but all of the puzzles are also the same, the only difference is now that cranks, levers and pushing and pulling are controlled with the Wii U tablet. It’s a nice tough, but for those that have played the game or experienced it in one way or another over the past few years, it’s not enough to warrant another purchase. Regardless, for those that get their kicks played weird, off-beat games and haven’t played it before, “Year Walk” is an unusually difficult title that features its share of jump scares and drama.
Simply put, the game’s biggest strength and weakness is the bizarre story. For those unfamiliar with the series and its aesthetics, if you could combine Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and the cult favorite “PT” on the PlayStation 4, you’d get “Year Walk.” Based on the story of Theodore Almsten, “Year Walk,” to be even more specific, is almost like a reimagined version of the Nathaniel Hawthorne classic “Young, Goodman Brown,” as the setting sees a young man set out for a walk into the woods that changes his life forever. But here’s the real difference- while Hawthorne’s story leaves the reader up in the air, “Year Walk” provided few real clues for the character’s main motivation and then ties up the story in a neat little bow at the end.
The story itself only takes a few hours to complete, but with so many twists and turns along the way, and clues given to you on the tablet through the game’s encyclopedia, “Year Walk” could take much longer if you really invest yourself in the plot. That being said, with all of the reading and treading through the same environments over and over, “Year Walk” is not for impatient gamers or those looking for cheap thrills. A few of the smaller quests feel more fetch in nature and while there’s challenge there, sometimes too much, there isn’t enough graphical variety to make the journey truly special.
Make no mistake, “Year Walk” was a wonderful game on the iOS and on the PC and Mac, but little has changed in this Wii U release, aside from actually being able to turn and push and pull the objects you come in contact with. However, from the start, they change the feeling of the game. At times, you often feel as if you are indeed, taking this walk through the woods. It would have been better to have even more added to the game, such as voice-overs and a step up in the visuals, but it doesn’t take away from the creepy factor the game tries to induce.
Overall, thanks in part to how different the game is from the usual assortment of kid-friendly titles on the Wii U, “Year Walk” is an awesome niche title that shouldn’t be overlooked due to its short play-through time or wild challenge.
The Good:
Beautiful: It’s gloomy, it’s dark, it’s scary. Simply put, there aren’t many games that look like “Year Walk.”
Creepy: While it’s not as scary as a “Silent Hill” game or “PT,” there are a few cool jump scares.
The Bad:
Incredibly Difficult at Times: There are a few puzzles that an average gamer will never find out unless they look at a walkthrough.
Story Doesn’t Fill in the Gaps: While the story is engaging, there’s little motivation behind the action of the characters. Although there’s a shock value in the ending as well, it doesn’t satisfy as much as it should.
Wii U Version Lacks Real Innovation: Away from the enhanced Wii U controls, this is the same clever game it was a few years ago.
Final Thoughts:
If you’ve never played “Year Walk” before, the Wii U version is just as solid, but it just feels like more could have been done to make it even more Wii U-friendly.
