A Complete Preview of the Intriguing Big Walk Is Best Enjoyed a Bit at a Time—What’s the Story?
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RAVE OTN - One of the first Big Walk puzzles Graham and I encountered involved a key hanging from what looked like metal scaffolding. We could see a button! We guessed we might need to grab a glowing lantern—which could be tossed like a ball—and throw it at the button or through the gaps in the grating, basketball-style, to press it. Basketball was the answer, surely!
As it turned out, that wasn't the case. The solution was for him to lift me up so I could reach and press the button myself. I did, we got the item, and we were one step closer to crafting the key needed to lower the bridge to the next area.
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But in that moment, it was great fun figuring out the actual solution and working together to solve a puzzle that was simple yet clever and enlightening.
That is the essence of House House's Big Walk. It is a series of distinct puzzles that gradually interconnect and evolve into more complex, challenging versions. One early puzzle involved entering a code using various symbols; he could see the solution, and I had to pick the correct tiles to slot into place to get the item we needed.
Later, the room he was in—containing part of the solution—had an intercom that let me hear him, but he could only see a lightbulb that lit up when I pressed a button. Since we each held half the code, couldn't hear each other directly between rooms, and found the walkie-talkies weren't working at the time, we had to devise our own method for selecting the right tiles.
It was truly brilliant. Especially since all the puzzles are adaptable. When starting a session, you specify how many people are playing, and each scenario adjusts accordingly. In some situations, however, this could make later puzzles a bit too easy.
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(There is one puzzle involving a maze, windows, and a timed ball that we felt would have been far more complex and strategic had it not required passing the ball through a single hole.) However, the other puzzles remain logical and mentally stimulating, even when tackled by just a pair of players.
House House also makes you question whether everything in Big Walk might be a puzzle. A room filled with speakers that sound slightly different depending on where you sit—is this a puzzle? Is it a clue regarding a future task involving sound and perspective? (No, it’s just an interesting, aesthetic atmosphere.)
Does this puzzle piece lead to that key area? Honestly, probably not, but backtracking isn't difficult, and with so many challenges scattered throughout the area, you can always return to them later. The fact that the hub gradually opens up and connects to various locations makes this kind of exploration feel intuitive and straightforward.
Even the tools we discover along the way make sense. You start with activatable orbs and an object finder. Eventually, you acquire a flashlight and a walkie-talkie.
You can pick up backpack attachments at specific locations, allowing each person to "carry" extra gear on their back—though these effectively serve as inventory slots for your partner, since you cannot access the items on your own back. Everything keeps evolving, constantly offering us new choices and opportunities.
While Big Walk is a lot of fun, I really dislike it when night falls. The day-night cycle is a great concept, though; it makes it easier to spot certain towers thanks to their glowing transponders, or to see players lighting flares to signal their location in the area.
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I also appreciate how easy it is to track where we’ve been by following the trail of glowing orbs left along the path. However, this is also a game where you sometimes cannot jump onto certain rocks due to their height or climb specific hills because of their steep angles—or you might even get snagged on environmental objects like branches or boulders,
even in broad daylight; naturally, this becomes far worse and more frustrating when night falls. This is especially true because you cannot attach a glowing lantern to your backpack, meaning someone in your group has to carry it so everyone else can see.
