Question What can you do in a "walking simulator" besides walking before it's no longer a walking simulator?

[ZedClampet]

Personally, I think you can just walk (and read/listen to the story, of course) and maybe make narrative decisions. If you have to do anything else, it's not a walking simulator. Purple Prose Champion of the Universe, Dear Esther, would qualify for me.

As far as I know, there isn't a real definition, although I'm sure Wikipedia thinks there is, but that probably changes monthly. So what is your definition?

If there's an activity you think is allowable that I didn't include in the poll, just add it to your comment.

 

[Colif]

I wonder if journey is a walking simulator... All you can do is walk or fly.

I never saw it as such, but there isn't a lot to game unless you explore outside game space. There are hazards but no combat
Maybe it fails as its actually a game

This is an example I could remember. I try to ignore them as the last type of game I want is one with no action.

 

[Pifanjr]

I think you can do some puzzling as well, as long as the solutions to the puzzles are part of the story you're reading/hearing/seeing.

 

[Brian Boru]

All of these work for me:

• Some light puzzles
• Run from enemies
• Make narrative decisions
• Occasional combat

Just like a walk around the 'hood.

 

[neogunhero]

I would say everything besides combat, but I suppose it also depends on what it is you are specifically doing that isn’t combat.

A Story About My Uncle is a first person platformer that features everything you listed but no combat. The whole game revolves around a grappling device that you use to traverse weird suspended islands and complete puzzles usually by moving objects to specific places. There are narrative choices, lots of dialogue and story to read, and platforming sections, no combat whatsoever. However, I would not consider this a walking simulator since the action and excitement comes from grappling around at high speeds.

So with that being said I’m being hypocritical to my own personal definition of a walking simulator. I think really I use it a blanket term for a game where there isn’t much player input besides moving the character and interacting with things in the game such as pulling levers or reading story logs, but then again it depends on what you do in the game.

I’m confusing myself now so I’ll just shut up

 

[Brian Boru]

I’ll just shut up

That intent will serve your purpose well

 

[Colif]

Not sure combat is enough to save a walking simulator.
Hellblade 2: over 90% of all Xbox players who started the game didn't even finish it. Its only 5 hours long but no one cared enough to complete it.
You need more than pretty graphics to save a walking Simulator

 

[ZedClampet]

Not sure combat is enough to save a walking simulator.

You all are confusing the hell out of me.

 

[Colif]

Hellblade - all you can do is walk and listen to voices constantly, with a little combat. So Its still a walking simulator in my eyes. The combat is so sparse that its about 5 fights all game. 5 hours of cut scenes and walking doesn't make for a fun game. No matter how good it looks.

as said under a video I saw on it:
Bad graphics won't make a good game bad
Great graphics can't save a bad game.

I am probably not the audience for these as I like gameplay in my games. Too much talking in some games, not enough action.

 

[ZedClampet]

Hellblade - all you can do is walk and listen to voices constantly, with a little combat. So Its still a walking simulator in my eyes. The combat is so sparse that its about 5 fights all game. 5 hours of cut scenes and walking doesn't make for a fun game. No matter how good it looks.

as said under a video I saw on it:
Bad graphics won't make a good game bad
Great graphics can't save a bad game.

I am probably not the audience for these as I like gameplay in my games. Too much talking in some games, not enough action.

That's weird that they made it that way. The first game wasn't like that.

 

[Colif]

I didn't play it - although its on gamepass so i could have -I was just going from what I saw on reviews. Its possible there is more combat. I know there are 2 hours of cut scenes in that time... maybe they even realised too much walking would get boring.
A lot of people thought the first game was better.
I think all they did was remake last game but with better graphics.

I also know their next game is about a woman going through mental problems. Sound familiar?
This dev is in a rut, they need a new topic to make games about.

 

[Hveðrungr]

Broke: walking simulators
Woke: WAR KING SIMULATORS!

 

[neogunhero]

That intent will serve your purpose well

Dammit Brian I’m trying to be mindful of what walking simulators are!

 

[Zloth]

Well, I've heard Death Stranding called a walking simulator, so this must be part of it:

It really depends on the crowd you're speaking with. For the high octane, competitive shooter crowd, it's a derogatory term that can be used on any game where you aren't shooting at others at least 50% of the time.

I guess for me it's a game where the story is practically everything. There could be a little light platforming, puzzle solving, combat, whatever - but there's no challenge, because that's not the point. The not-just-walking part will be there to establish a mood, not to test you. The walking simulator one step away from the visual novel.

Dammit Brian I’m trying to be mindful of what walking simulators are!

Free your mind! (Pushes Neo off the edge of the building)

(Oh dear. Well, nobody ever makes the first jump. But what happened to the stretchy pavement?)

 

[Colif]

The few times I have watched that game, the majority does seem to be walking around with things on your back, so there is no formula that says a game needs to have X percentage of walking to be classified, but if its a lot... without anything else happening, then it could still be one, even if it does have other transport options later into game. I have seen zip lines etc.

Its a long game, they didn't want to make you walk everywhere. Kojima isn't that mean.

 

[PointnClicker01]

For the high octane, competitive shooter crowd, it's a derogatory term that can be used on any game where you aren't shooting at others at least 50% of the time.

This would include 100% of the games I played. And it would also mean that Point'n'Click adventures would count as walking simulators!

I think nowadays it is always hard to say what a game is or isn't. Many games are playing in between the genres and some even do question a whole gaming genre or even their very own existence as a game (eg. There is no Game).

As for the walking simulators... I'd only be calling those a walking simulator where it is stated as such in the game description or by the devs themselves. No real boundaries of what to expect in a simulator, cause I'm sure that any rule you set, there's at least one game out there that will break it.

 

[Hveðrungr]

I've heard Skyrim called a walking simulator.

 

[Brian Boru]

it's a game where the story is practically everything

I'd include world and flora-fauna and atmosphere too as worthy elements in their own right, capable of exploration and enjoyment however you please.

One of Far Cry 6's best scenes is the Meet The Legends mission. It has nothing to do with story—you can short-circuit the entire journey via air drop if you like—but is a great hike up the mountain in the company of various mostly-benign jungle dwellers.

nobody ever makes the first jump

Neo did—the Matrix moved the pavement to reveal the mattress factory…

Kojima isn't that mean

Get back to me after you 'play' MGS-TPP intro 'sequence'.

I've heard Skyrim called a walking simulator

No, that's RPG—therefore a pain simulator

 

[Colif]

I'd only be calling those a walking simulator where it is stated as such in the game description or by the devs themselves.

You don't get sales then. Most of them are disguised as real games to make money.

It is a very small niche of people who just want to walk around and not interact with anything.... they are called Art Gallery patrons. I realise Gaming is an Art form but its not found in many Art galleries yet. Sculpture is another story.

There aren't many gamers who want it.

 

[Frindis]

There can be only one true Walking Simulator.

Walking Simulator on Steam

The year is 2020, world war III destroyed the civilized world. You are the last post carrier, tasked to get parcels from point A to B in the most barren and desolate places on earth.

store.steampowered.com

 

[ZedClampet]

I've heard Skyrim called a walking simulator.

Basically, what I'm getting from all of this is that you call whatever you want a walking simulator. It's not a genre. It's an insult.

 

[Zloth]

It is a very small niche of people who just want to walk around and not interact with anything.... they are called Art Gallery patrons. I realise Gaming is an Art form but its not found in many Art galleries yet. Sculpture is another story.

There aren't many gamers who want it.

Nooooo! My Subnautica art gallery video doesn't have a million views because of the evil YouTube algorithm!

Basically, what I'm getting from all of this is that you call whatever you want a walking simulator. It's not a genre. It's an insult.

Not from everyone, but from quite a few gamers it is one.

 

[Colif]

Sure its not a genre, there seem to be plenty of examples. Games that lack fun gameplay

 

[ZedClampet]

Sure its not a genre, there seem to be plenty of examples. Games that lack fun gameplay

Not everyone is action-oriented, and some people don't want "fun gameplay". I don't know how anyone would consider Powerwash Simulator as having fun gameplay, but it's sold millions of copies. And cozy/non-violent games are gaining in popularity.

Plus, lots of people like visual novels where there isn't any interaction except for changing the page. Walking Simulators, by my description, are basically visual novels where walking around works in place of page turning.

 

[Colif]

Powerwash Simulator

I guess some people like cleaning. Why else would you do is as a living... so you right, what some people find enjoyable leaves others scratching their heads. I have watched videos on people cleaning out drainage pipes & cleaning drive ways, but I have yet to play it as a game. It can be good to compare what the property looked like before to after... it can be a sense of achievement

really, very little difference between that and qix. One just offers a challenge that isn't just the environment

I mean, people play Farming Simulator and I the only thing less appealing to me is walking simulators... I can probably think of worse.... for instance

Autopsy Simulator on Steam

Autopsy Simulator is a first-person horror-sim hybrid where players take on the role of a practice pathologist and study case files, created in collaboration with real-world forensic doctors, to help guide their dissection of anatomically accurate bodies to determine each subject’s cause of death.

store.steampowered.com