Year Walk

Year Walk is an adventure game developed and published by Swedish mobile game developer Simogo for iOS devices in 2013.[3] The game is loosely based on an ancient Swedish tradition called "Årsgång" (pronounced [oːʂgɔŋ]; "Year Walk").[4] The game was ported to Windows and OS X PC platforms via Steam in 2014, and on the Wii U via eShop[5] on September 17, 2015. It was succeeded by the free, e-picturebook Year Walk: Bedtime Stories for Awful Children.[6]

For the Swedish tradition known as the year walk, see Årsgång.
Year Walk
iOS Icon
Developer(s)Simogo
Publisher(s)Simogo
Writer(s)Jonas Tarestad
Composer(s)Daniel Olsén, Jonathan Eng
EngineUnity
Platform(s)iOS, OS X, Microsoft Windows, Wii U
ReleaseiOS
21 February 2013 [1]
Microsoft Windows
6 March 2014
OS X
3 April 2014
Wii U
  • WW: 17 September 2015[2]
  • JP: 13 November 2015
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Plot

Year Walk begins with the protagonist Daniel Svensson visiting his lover, Stina, who hints that she has been proposed to, and warns the player about the dangers of year walking, implying that her cousin had died while engaging in the activity. Daniel returns home, and prepares to engage in the Year Walk anyway.

As he proceeds toward the church (the object of year walking is to get to a church and see the future), the protagonist encounters a series of fairies and mythical creatures from Swedish folklore: the Huldra, the Brook Horse, Mylings, the Night Raven, and finally the Church Grim.

In the end, the player succeeds in receiving glimpses of the future, in the form of ominous bits of conversation that are presumably from Stina. They then see a beautiful grassy meadow. When they venture right, they see Stina on the ground, her eyes closed. At first, she appears unharmed, but then blood seeps from her chest onto her clothes and the grass.

If the player uses the hints given after the credits to access the Journal component of the PC Game/iOS companion app, they can discover the journal of Theodor Almsten, a modern-day man obsessed with Swedish folklore, as he investigates the meaning behind the year walk. Through his research, the full story is revealed. The fate of Almsten himself is also uncertain; his research seems to have taken a toll on his mental state, and his final entry takes place immediately before he goes on a Year Walk of his own. However, Almsten believes that the desire to Year Walk alone is enough to be punished for the Watchers, so it’s implied he met the same fate as Daniel Svennson.

Ultimately clues from the Journal can be used in the game itself to reach an alternate ending, considered the ultimate ending (as it says "the end"). Daniel receives a knife along with a newspaper article from the future describing his execution for the murder of Stina, and a letter from Almsten telling him to do what must be done to save Stina. It is left ambiguous whether Daniel kills himself or uses the knife to facilitate the murder.

Development

Year Walk started out as a film script that writer Jonas Tarestad shared with developer Simon Flesser. The two considered turning the script into a game, according to Flesser, "almost jokingly to start with".[7] However the two eventually grew serious about the prospect and changed the script so that it would better suit the medium.[7] In the transition from movie script to game script, according to Flesser, they "basically rewrote everything about it" keeping only the beginning and ending the same.[8] In designing the game Flesser studied horror movies, specifically the timing "to get the scary bits right".[7] He has additionally cited the games Killer7, Fez and The Legend of Zelda series as well as the film Hedgehog in the Fog as inspiration.[7]

In collaboration with Dakko Dakko, the developers behind Scram Kitty and his Buddy on Rails, Simogo rebuilt the game from the ground up for release on Nintendo's Wii U console in 2015, taking advantage of the Wii U GamePad for various mechanics.[5]

Reception

Year Walk received "generally favorable reviews", according to the review aggregator Metacritic.[9][10][11]

148 Apps praised nearly every aspect of the game, writing that "Year Walk is a haunting adventure game from Simogo that blends a dark world and involved mythology together to create an absolutely amazing experience."[13] TouchArcade liked Year Walk's companion app, feeling it freed up the game from having to rely on expostion, "Knowing which creatures exist and what they’re capable of... makes every screen transition, every peek inside an abandoned shack fraught with apprehension". Game Informer enjoyed the puzzles, saying that they often relied on clever solutions, "each demands that you think in a new and surprising way, and draws you deeper into the cold and minimalistic presentation".[14]

IGN criticized the puzzle design of the game, noting that it could often lean into obtuse solutions, "there are a handful of obstacles that are oblique in their presentation and execution, to the point where I nearly lost all motivation for solving them".[15] Pocket Gamer liked the game's atmosphere, describing it as "pervasively uneasy".[16] PC Gamer praised the constant variety in Year Walk, writing, "It's in turn bamboozling and disturbing, constantly throwing up both chilling curiosities and fresh interactive experiences".[17] Nintendo Life felt the game's story left a lasting impact, "Like most great art, though, Year Walk sticks with you well beyond your time with it".[18]

As for the Wii U version, Nintendo World Report enjoyed the title's use of motion controls with the GamePad, "This creates a whole new way to solve puzzles, from carefully manipulating an object to large and fast movements".[19]

At the 2013 Unity Awards, Year Walk won the award for Best 2D Artistic Experience.[20] Year Walk was included in Pocket Gamer's "top 10 best iPhone and iPad games of the year - 2013 edition" list.[21]

The game sold 200,000 copies in 2013.[22]

References
  1. Brown, Mark (15 February 2013). "Simogo's spooky adventure Year Walk gets release date and free companion app". Pocker Gamer. Archived from the original on 8 April 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  2. Whitehead, Thomas (August 27, 2015). "Year Walk on Wii U Will Tell Its Tale on 17th September". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on August 27, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  3. "Year Walk Bringing the Supernatural to iOS Devices on February 21st - Indie Statik". Archived from the original on 2013-11-10. Retrieved 2013-11-10.
  4. Kent, L., 2014. Year Walk Myths and Monsters [online]. Available at: http://www.quadrapheme.com/year-walkmyths-and-monsters/ Archived 2014-05-07 at the Wayback Machine [accessed 09/07/14].
  5. Calvert, Darren (July 14, 2015). "Grim Tales and Horrifying Creatures Await in Year Walk for Wii U". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on July 14, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  6. "Year Walk Bedtime Stories for Awful Children". Simogo. 2015-09-02. Archived from the original on 2022-06-25. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  7. Schilling, Chris. "Year Walk interview". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 October 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  8. Teti, John. "Simon Flesser, co-creator of Year Walk". Gamelogical. Archived from the original on 12 October 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  9. "Year Walk for iPhone/iPad Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on 16 June 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  10. "Year Walk for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on 31 May 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  11. "Year Walk for Wii U Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on 16 June 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  12. Leray, Joseph (21 February 2013). "'Year Walk' Review – Be Careful What You Wish For". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  13. Dotson, Carter (21 February 2013). "Year Walk Review". 148 Apps. Archived from the original on 29 March 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  14. "Year Walk Review - A Sidestep Into Mystery". Game Informer. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  15. Sliva, Marty (2013-03-21). "Year Walk Review". IGN. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  16. "Year Walk". www.pocketgamer.com. 2013-02-21. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  17. PCGamer (2014-03-06). "Year Walk review". pcgamer. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  18. "Review: Year Walk (Wii U eShop)". Nintendo Life. 2015-09-17. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  19. "Year Walk Review - Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  20. Corriea, Alexa Ray (30 August 2013). "The Room, Endless Space take home 2013 Unity Awards". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on 23 January 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  21. Brown, Mark. "PG's top 10 best iPhone and iPad games of the year - 2013 edition". Pocket Gamer. Steel Media. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  22. "2014 + 200 000 + More". Simogo. 6 January 2014. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
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