Year Walk
Year Walk | |
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Developer(s) | Simogo |
Publisher(s) | Simogo |
Writer(s) | Jonas Tarestad |
Composer(s) | Daniel Olsén, Jonathan Eng |
Platform(s) | iOS, OS X, Windows |
Release | 21 February 2013 (iOS)[1] 6 March 2014 (PC) 3 April 2014 (Mac) |
Genre(s) | Adventure, Puzzle, Survival Horror |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Year Walk is a Template:Vgy survival horror adventure video game developed and published by Swedish mobile game developer Simogo for iOS devices.[2] The game is based on an old Swedish tradition, in Swedish "årsgång", that is "Year walk" or "Annual walk".[3]
Plot
Year Walk begins with the unnamed protagonist visiting his lover, Stina, who hints that she has been proposed to, and warns the player about the dangers of year walking, saying that her cousin had died while engaging in the activity. The player then returns home, and awakens at night to begin his walk. Throughout his walk, the player will encounter and overcome supernatural beings, overcoming them through the completion of puzzles. At the end of his walk, the Player is given a glimpse into his future, with the words "I don't love you anymore" flashing on screen before the screen cuts to the body of Stina, who dies from a knife wound before the credits roll.
If the player uses the hints given after the credits to access the Journal component of the PC Game/iOS companion app, the full story is revealed: that the protagonist, now given the name Daniel, was actually the one to murder Stina after she took another man's hand in marriage. The journal, written by a modern-day man obsessed with Swedish folklore, investigates the meaning behind the year walk, before the journal alludes to him having done the year walk himself. The player can then replay the game, using new clues given by images in the journal, to solve a previously unsolvable puzzle that is revealed to have been left by the author of the journal, who successfully went back in time to attempt to prevent Daniel murdering Stina, left the box for Daniel, containing a newspaper clipping regarding Daniel's execution for his crime of murdering Stina, as well as a letter telling him that "you know what to do", before the player is shown an image of a knife that the author had also left, before the ending card is shown. Daniel's actions remain unknown.
Reception
Year Walk has received highly positive reviews from critics. According to review aggregating website Metacritic, the game got an average review score of 87 out of 100, based on 32 reviews.[4] 148 Apps gave it a highly positive review, praising nearly every aspect of the game. They gave it a score of 5 out of 5, and said that "Year Walk is a haunting adventure game from Simogo that blends a dark world and involved mythology together to create an absolutely amazing experience."[5]
At the 2013 Unity Awards Year Walk won the award for Best 2D Artistic Experience.[6] Year Walk was included in Pocket Gamer's "top 10 best iPhone and iPad games of the year - 2013 edition" list.[7]
The game sold 200,000 copies in 2013.[8]
References
- ^ http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/Year+Walk/news.asp?c=48608
- ^ http://indiestatik.com/2013/02/15/year-walk-bringing-the-supernatural-to-ios-devices-on-february-21st/
- ^ http://www.quadrapheme.com/year-walkmyths-and-monsters/
- ^ http://www.metacritic.com/game/ios/year-walk
- ^ http://www.148apps.com/reviews/year-walk-review/
- ^ Corriea, Alexa Ray (30 August 2013). "The Room, Endless Space take home 2013 Unity Awards". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
- ^ "PG's top 10 best iPhone and iPad games of the year - 2013 edition". Pocket Gamer. Steel Media. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
- ^ "2014 + 200 000 + More". Simogo. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2014.