PlayStation 5 played
MoonHood Studio was founded in 2023, but its employees have been working in the gaming industry for a long time — The Midnight Walk was worked on by the creators of Fe and Lost in Random. Although their new project is not similar to the previous ones either in graphics or the themes raised in it, they are all united by the authors’ desire to offer atmospheric adventures that can easily be called real works of art. Interesting images, touching stories, a unique visual style in each project — these are games that leave a mark on the soul, and The Midnight Walk is no exception.
⇡#Puppet show
Like Lost in Random, The Midnight Walk is visually very reminiscent of Tim Burton films, and the atmosphere is reminiscent of Little Nightmares. The main character, The Burnt One, finds himself in a mysterious world where there is no sun or any light sources. The locals give us their eyes and ears so that we can see and hear, and we go to the top of the Moon Mountain – they say that there you can find out where the sun disappeared to and whether it can be returned.
The pot will not immediately, but very quickly become our friend.
Our assistant is Potboy, whose appearance fully corresponds to his nickname. But you won’t have to cook anything in him — the inside of Potboy quickly catches fire, and he himself likes to eat coals. He turns out to be something like a walking lamp, spitting fire at our command — with his help we will light candles and other objects to advance through the story. Although sometimes you come across monsters that devour light, they don’t touch Potboy — our companion is immortal and can run in front of opponents, they don’t even notice him.
From the very first minutes it becomes clear that The Midnight Walk is one big metaphor for the fact that even in pitch darkness you can find a spark of hope. The main character rises from the ashes, the Pot that accompanies him does not go out even in difficult times, and each of the five chapters tells about different stages of life – from birth and the fight against internal demons and fears to redemption and self-acceptance. Although there are many brilliantly voiced dialogues, all the aforementioned themes are revealed through metaphors and symbolism, and the understanding of the essence of some episodes comes after their completion. And even the opportunity to make a decision at the end (the only one in the entire game) does not seem inappropriate, although the choice, in my opinion, is obvious.
There is also a hut on chicken legs here
The narrative is very well combined with an unusual visual style. Each element of the environment was molded from clay, then digitized and transferred to the virtual world – much like the creation of Harold Halibut, our recent Game of the Year. Thanks to this, The Midnight Walk seems both creepy and cozy – the scary inhabitants of this world and the frightening monsters trying to devour the hero look like living toys against the background of sloppy hand-made decorations. As the creators said, they did not try to do everything as neatly as possible – if the glue leaked somewhere or something did not hold well, they left it as is. The funniest thing is the creatures – first you see their large animated versions, and then collect collectibles, among which are exactly the same, but smaller dolls.
⇡#For matches
While the narrative and visual style are nothing short of ravishing, the gameplay is less than ideal, as is the case with all games from these developers. We travel in first-person view through locations that are mostly linear and solve very simple puzzles. The Midnight Walk is best played with a VR headset, but there are clear attempts to make the game equally engaging in both regular and virtual reality modes. There are no mechanics unique to VR, although some gameplay elements will clearly seem more exciting with a headset. For example, the character is often asked to close his eyes, either to change the reality around him or to navigate by sounds. With regular gamepad controls, you just hold down the button – that’s fine, but the effect is not the same.
Over time, you get a gun that shoots matches, but you can’t defeat monsters with it.
What’s equally boring, both with and without the helmet, are the stealth sequences. Having to sneak through levels is annoying in many games, but usually because you’re quickly caught and forced to return to a checkpoint. Here, it’s the opposite – the stealth moments are so simple that they seem completely unnecessary. These sequences are always very short, and you can only chase away or distract the monster with one action – always obvious. Better than dragging out the time with constant reboots, but it’s still hard to shake the feeling that you’re wasting time sitting in a closet or hiding in the shadows from a creature that runs towards a lit candle at the first opportunity.
Otherwise, the gameplay does not cause any serious complaints, but it cannot surprise you with anything either. The main mechanics, which is used throughout the game, are connected with matches – there are boxes with them on every corner: we take a match, strike it and can use it for a few seconds. Sometimes you need to hurry and light several objects with one match, sometimes there is enough time and you can return to the box many times. The mechanics of lighting matches and closing your eyes remain the same throughout the game, but they have come up with enough diverse episodes, so they do not get boring. One of the most interesting ones is connected with monsters that change appearance every time you blink.
These figurines urgently need to be put into mass production!
So the game doesn’t have time to get boring by the end – we run away from someone, then hide, then try to figure out in what order to press the buttons or where to send the Pot so that it sets something on fire. The puzzles are mostly very easy, but there are some fascinating ones among them – like the one where you need to make up a story by arranging sentences in order (knowledge of English is highly desirable). Despite the linearity, there was even room for dozens of collectibles – among them are both the funny figurines mentioned above, and fragments of the story that better reveal the history of the world and the reason for the disappearance of the sun.
***
The creators of The Midnight Walk are unlikely to ever release a loud hit that will be talked about at every corner. It seems like they make games primarily for themselves – although the plot is based on ancient fables and poems, it is noticeable that it partially reflects the personal experiences of the authors. Even if the gameplay is not very impressive (both in VR and without it), in terms of narrative and graphics, this is an unforgettable journey through a frightening and at the same time charming world. And do not be fooled by the cold palette – there is a lot of warmth hidden in this world. You just need to light a spark that will illuminate it.
Advantages:
- A story full of metaphors and symbolism that will stay in your memory for a long time;
- Nice visual style thanks to hand-sculpted characters and objects;
- Simple, but interesting and varied puzzles;
- The project was created for VR, but it is not necessary to play in a helmet.
Disadvantages:
- Elementary and boring stealth episodes, and almost always the same.
Graphic arts
Real handcrafted work – characters sculpted from clay look like living dolls.
Sound
The characters are superbly voiced and the music is mysterious – sometimes compositions that seem to have been taken from Tim Burton films, sometimes jazz melodies that perfectly complement the atmosphere.
Single player game
The story (or rather, several stories) will be interesting to both fans of philosophical subtexts and those who prefer a straightforward narrative. The puzzles are mostly successful, but the stealth episodes are so-so.
Estimated time of completion
Six o’clock.
Collective game
Not foreseen.
General impression
A touching, albeit creepy, story about how a ray of light in a dark kingdom can really change everything if you find the right use for it.
Rating: 8.0 / 10
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