If you thought there wasn’t a solid mature indie title on the Wii U, “Year Walk†may surprise you.
After playing through “Year Walk,†a myriad of thoughts will run through your head. Beautiful, intelligent, dizzying and even flat out confusing are a few of the easy quantifiers that’ll pop up. But in the end, it’s safe to say that the game is just weird. Like an M. Night Shyamalan flick weird. However, that doesn’t stop it from being a challenge-heavy, story-based adventure that has its moments
Released a few years ago on Steam and the iOS, Simogo’s “redefined†version uses the Wii U tablet to change the way controls, but the new controls are all that have changed. Visually, the game look essentially identical to the Steam version. In Smog’s defense, there’s little reason to change the look, but all of the puzzles are also the same, the only difference is now that cranks, levers and pushing and pulling are controlled with the Wii U tablet. It’s a nice tough, but for those that have played the game or experienced it in one way or another over the past few years, it’s not enough to warrant another purchase. Regardless, for those that get their kicks played weird, off-beat games and haven’t played it before, “Year Walk†is an unusually difficult title that features its share of jump scares and drama.
Simply put, the game’s biggest strength and weakness is the bizarre story. For those unfamiliar with the series and its aesthetics, if you could combine Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas†and the cult favorite “PT†on the PlayStation 4, you’d get “Year Walk.†Based on the story of Theodore Almsten, “Year Walk,†to be even more specific, is almost like a reimagined version of the Nathaniel Hawthorne classic “Young, Goodman Brown,†as the setting sees a young man set out for a walk into the woods that changes his life forever. But here’s the real difference- while Hawthorne’s story leaves the reader up in the air, “Year Walk†provided few real clues for the character’s main motivation and then ties up the story in a neat little bow at the end.
Continue Reading This Article From Review Fix Editor-In-Chief Patrick Hickey Jr. at Examiner.com
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