What Is Big Walk, and How Do You Play It?
Big Walk is a cooperative open-world puzzle-adventure about walking and talking with friends. Released by the creators of Untitled Goose Game, House House, it drops you and a group of friends onto a vast, handcrafted island full of puzzles. There are no quest markers, no on-screen prompts, and no stamina or health bars to manage — every mechanic is diegetic, and every discovery is your own.
The core loop is deceptively simple: explore, experiment, and solve puzzles together. You play as one of a group of "Walklings," and the game rewards teamwork and communication above all else.
The Tutorial and Your First Steps
When you first start, you begin in a tutorial section of the island. Here you'll learn the basics of movement and how to interact with the world. After completing a few puzzles, unlocking and shaping a key, and using it to lower a footbridge that wraps around a mountain, you can freely explore the rest of the world.
From that point, your path ahead is entirely up to you. Big Walk's island is handcrafted, so every area feels intentional — from switchback paths down mountainsides to radio stations playing their own tunes.
Focus on the Towers One at a Time
A key early tip is to focus on the colored mountaintop towers one at a time. There are red, blue, green, and yellow towers. Each has a console you fill with puzzle MacGuffins (famously nicknamed "eggy things"). Completing a tower unlocks a major reward.
While the order is your choice, the game gently nudges you to start with the red tower because you begin so close to it, and its reward makes the rest of the game easier. As a rule of thumb, start there and fill in five eggy things to unlock its prize.
Use the Blue Structures for Extra Items
As you explore, you'll encounter blue buildings that hold either a backpack or a belt. These give you extra storage for a single item each. Combined with your hands, each person can carry up to three items at a time. Unlike your hands, items stored in a backpack or belt can't be dropped when you fall a great distance, making them reliable.
Communicate — It's the Heart of Big Walk
Big Walk is as much about talking as walking. The game builds a proximity voice chat system where your voice sounds different up close, far away, in a tunnel, or over a walkie-talkie. When you're out of range, you'll need to point, gesture, or use tools to stay connected. There is also a proximity text chat so the whole game is playable without voice.
This communication system is central to solving puzzles. Some puzzles require you to work closely together, timing actions precisely; others force you to split up, sometimes across long distances, making finding each other a puzzle in itself. A few even block communication — like locking one player behind soundproof glass while they relay information to the group.
Practical Beginner Tips
- Don't rush the world. Getting lost and exploring is part of the fun, and there are plenty of ways to find each other again (like shooting a flare).
- Pack for the hike. Inventory space is limited to what you carry, and simply packing something for a hike often needs co-op help — a buddy may need to take your backpack off so you can read a map.
- Leave puzzle-solving open-ended. Challenges are designed for funny and surprising new ways to talk — miming, inventing a code, or even singing. There's room to do things your own way.
Final Thoughts
Big Walk strips video games down to their foundational verbs: discover, experiment, prevail. It's a game of few words, offering a massive canvas where your group writes its own story together. Whether you're playing in a group of two or up to twelve, the shared joy of overcoming puzzles through thoughtful communication and teamwork is what makes Big Walk truly special.