Walking simulator
In a walking simulator you explore an unfamiliar place and piece together a story from what you find. Movement and interaction with the surroundings are the whole game: there is no combat and no win or lose state.
Where the name comes from
No first use of the name has been found. It began as a jibe in the late 2000s, and some players used it to mock Dear Esther when the commercial version came out in 2012. Polygon noted in 2016 that fans had since embraced it ironically and that it had become a fairly neutral label.
Where the edges are
Whether the name is an insult or a neutral genre is still argued. Critics who say these are “not real games” want a challenge or a fail state; developers such as Dan Pinchbeck reject that. Kill Screen asked in 2016 whether the term should be dropped, and big games such as Death Stranding get the label too.
Key walking simulator games
Each game links to its article; the last column links to the source that puts it in the genre.
| Game | Developer | Engine | Genre per |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dear Esther | The Chinese Room | Source | Wikipedia |
| Gone Home | The Fullbright Company; BlitWorks (Switch) | Wikipedia | |
| Firewatch | Campo Santo | Unity | Wikipedia |
| What Remains of Edith Finch | Giant Sparrow | Wikipedia | |
| The Vanishing of Ethan Carter | The Astronauts | adventuregamers.com | |
| Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture | The Chinese Room | Wikipedia | |
| Proteus | Ed Key, David Kanaga | gamerant.com | |
| The Stanley Parable | Galactic Cafe | Source | adventuregamers.com |
| Death Stranding | Kojima Productions | Decima | Wikipedia |
| Open Roads | Open Roads Team | Wikipedia |
Related genres: Cozy game, Visual novel, Immersive sim.
At a glance
- Parent genre
- Adventure
- Name used for
- Dear Esther (2012)
- Also called
- Walking sim
Sources
Checked .