| Zkuq said: Maybe Journey and Firewatch 'officially' fit the bill, but they definitely don't fit my understanding of a walking simulator. Of course evidently I'm no expert on walking simulators. On the other hand, say, half of Death Stranding fits the description just as well (but the other half doesn't). My point? I don't think I really have one, I don't really care much to argue about what is usually considered a walking simulator and what isn't, since there already seems to be a pretty widely agreed consensus. Still, the borders of the genre don't really seem to be clear to everyone, as is also evident in this thread. I would guess it's because it's not a genre all that many people are very familiar with. |
Yeah this definition "A genre of adventure games where the primary focus is on movement and exploration" leaves me puzzled to what adventure games are not movement and exploration focused. But I guess it can't have puzzles or inventory? Firewatch has an inventory, ugh. (but no inventory management)
Death Stranding's primary focus is 'delivery' though. I would call it a Transport Tycoon game before walking simulator :)
Other characteristics for walking sims are mentioned as:
- Limited or no Combat
- No Fail State
Anyway there are lots of definitions floating around, yes or no interaction, has to be first person, narrative driven.
It's a stupid name for a 'genre' which is not surprising since it started as a derogatory term. Same as 'Art games'. All games are art... It seems to be just terms for games that don't fit the standard genres and are considered boring by some.
Anyway, what is a pure walking simulator as all the games mentioned have multiple genres listed, while Dear Esther, attributed to be game that coined the walking simulator genre, doesn't have walking sim listed lol. Genres: Adventure game, Indie game, Casual game, Art game, Visual novel, Adventure Yeah whatever.
