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YEAR WALK

DEV: SIMOGO

PUB:

PLATFORM: IOS

RATED: PG



HEX

Year Walk is a kind of puzzle-story game by Swedish developers Simogo. It's an experience where you'll want to have a fair bit of time and patience, and a quiet place where you can just sit down and nut your way through this cryptic tale.



HEX

You're about to embark on your first 'Year Walk', a magical and ancient practice performed by generations past in order to unlock the secrets of the future.



BAJO

It's the kind of game where you need to have a pen and paper with you to jot down everything you come across by way of symbols, patterns and landmarks, because every little marking or animation you come across is a clue to unlocking the next area.



HEX

You navigate the snowy landscape with simple swipes left and right, and a little white glowing mark at the top or bottom of the screen indicates when you can go up or down. A mysterious woman in a Windmill, an eerie, haunting sensation and creepy flashes of horror will be intriguing enough to have you hooked on figuring out this story.



BAJO

At first, I was in danger of becoming a little frustrated with this and putting it down, because after my first few encounters, I found myself going in circles and losing patience a little bit. But once you settle into that puzzle mind frame you realise that you really do need to be honing in on all those little details. And the more you do, the darker this story gets.



HEX

In addition to the game, you can download the free companion app. But it doesn't initially appear to do a whole lot to help you, apart from provide extra lore linked to the symbols you see and the characters you meet. But then there is a locked section that requires a pass code and I knew I couldn't put this down until I knew what that was all about!



BAJO

You'll actually find yourself locked out at every turn, locked gates, strange locked boxes. So you set about the task of finding the keys and codes required to access these secrets. And through this, you'll piece together the haunting fragments of these Scandinavian mythical tales.



HEX

Mm, and all of a sudden the information in your companion app becomes a little more relevant. And yet nothing is glaringly obvious which is good. As well as keeping notes on what you see, I also found it helpful to record my path through the

forest, because, while you can use certain landmarks to help guide your way, it's so easy to get lost and turned around.



BAJO

You can imagine that Year Walking would be just like that, though, wandering around a forest in a confused mess! I think there's a wonderful subtly about this game. It gives you just enough to pique your interest and make you wonder, but then makes it quite tricky for you to get to its core.



HEX

The art and sound design are both appropriately chilling, too, aren't they? And I just love a developer that uses a game as a medium to share a story like this. I had no idea what 'Year Walking' was, but what an excellent medium to learn about a culture's mythology. In the end I found the idea of having the companion app quite clever. It's kind of like having an adventurer's notebook with you, but with secrets to unlock of its own.



BAJO

This game does require a bit of patience and it's not for everyone. But I like how different it is. I'm giving it 7.



HEX

It reminded me a bit of that PC game we reviewed called 'Anna', it had that sort of spooky, Pagan theme to it. This, as you say is much shorter, but a really interesting and unique experience, perfect for a tablet. So, I'm giving it 7.5.



iOS

14.5 out of 20 Rubber Chickens