Quick Look: Year Walk

That callback Vinny did to the OoT3D Quick Look makes me want a Scandinavian Zelda style game.

Not sure 'bout the gameplay, but the artstyle gave me some (very positive) Samurai Jack vibes as well!

I find it weird how Brad pronounces "encompassing" @3:40. I remember him doing the same thing with the word "compass" during one of their Spelunky live streams.

No jump-scares my ass.

I played the room on my iphone and it worked out fine. Some bits were a little harder to touch, but it didn't get frustrating. It's the full version too: the first level is free and you pay for the rest in-game.

Or do you mean that you have an older ipod that it doesn't work on? I'd assume recent ipods are just like the iphone.

only works on iphone 4S and above.

Great QL. Thanks primarily to Brad for actually spending a little time with this game beforehand, while I always enjoy the QLs there have been a few frustrating moments of late where people are stuck on early things, so it was nice to see you whip those puzzle solutions out at the tree.

This game freaks my shit out. In a way I'm glad I don't have an iOS device, cause I'm not going to be tempted to play it that way.

I played through this game in a single 2-3 hour sitting and it was one of the best gaming experiences I have ever had. It's creepy, clever, beautiful, and occasionally terrifying. Playing it in the dark with headphones on is the way to go. I screamed out in fright about 5 times.

It's great to see Giant Bomb doing iOS quick looks as there is still a significant portion of the gaming community that acts like the platform doesn't have any games of note, which is just utterly wrong. Year Walk is just the latest example, and it uses multitouch in some clever ways in the puzzles, making this a game that would only really work on a touch device. If you have an iPad/iPhone you really do need to play this. It's already going on my shortlist for game of the year.

Oh, and the companion app is essential.

@haltiamreptar:

It might be an inside joke, but they say it almost every iOS QL.

Every time I glance at this Quick Look title while browsing the site the past few days, I keep reading: "Quick Look of The Year". I get all excited for half a second. :/

Game looks cool though.

Finished this over the weekend and thought about how this game would blow my mind if a child of '00s.

It's not quite there -- some puzzles are goofy or downright sucky, and it wants to be a puzzle game too hard -- but it's dedicated and smart, marking what "edutainment" could be in the best possible way. Having text to read to supplement the game is the smackbamfuck of Ipad games and should define the platform. What Ipad games now are quick sells and pay-to-play and the shitty joke of "first IOS Quick Look." When they finally marry the book with magic graphics....

Oh what Oregon Trail will someday be. Speaking as a child of the '80s

Going in to this quick look I was working a night shift in a 1920's era hotel that I am currently employed in as a front desk person. It was getting fairly creepy but I shit you not right around the 30 minute mark, right after the incredibly creepy witch bitch attacked, all the internet in the hotel went out. I was a little creeped out but this feeling was compounded to times about a billion after I had to go to the top floor of this old hotel and reset the internet in the dark. The feeling of dread was a little overwhelming so thanks guys. This game looks awesome I need an Ipad

@feetoffthesky: You should watch The Innkeepers (2011). A slightly better-than-average horror movie, but with your occupation might be just unsettling enough to keep you on your toes at work. For the next couple weeks, anyway.

I don't wanna say too much more about my opinion of it which would require me delving into the plot a little more, but yeah dude, check it out if you're into scaring yourself! :)

Vinny should try out professional voice acting.

I need this game... My Mother has an iPad. I think I am going to ask to borrow it for an evening or two and play this. The quick look of The Room had me tempted to do such a thing, but this looks like a genuinely astounding piece of art. I really need to play this...

Way into the vibe of this game. I'll probably never play it, but I'm glad it exists.

Also good jorb remembering that combination for so long.

That crazy tree lady scared the eff out of me O_O

pew... creepy.

I think this is technically their 4th iOS QL; they did one for Space Team, right? Or was that not a QL?

Vinny is a great voice actor! :D

Great QL. Great game. This, The Room, Sword and Sworcery and Little Inferno are some of the best experiences I've had over the last few years. To the doubters, please give iOS a chance, it's a fantastic platform, and games like this prove it!

Also, without trying to sound like a snob, I know the games mentioned above have iPhone versions, but please try and refrain from these versions and play it on the iPad. All four games were designed with the big screen in mind.

I hate most iOS games by their nature, but man is the screen flickering in this thing driving me NUTS.

Vinny saying "you shut up" at 1:12 is one of my favorite quotes on giantbomb, ever. Actually it's one of my favorite quotes ever, period.

you can tell that vinny didn't expect that dialogue to go anywhere near that long when he started with his ridiculous falsetto :]

anyways, as someone who's really into norse mythology and who doesn't care for mobile gaming, I hope this comes to pc at some point!

Ok after hearing this weeks podcast I decided to give this game a try and my good it has too be on the the best iOS games i have ever played and one of the best use of the midi game ever done. If you don't think you need too download the free companion app,that its is a stupid add on or codex ( although is a codex at first Glance)you my friend are wrong. The game play is good, the atmosphere is creepy and Beautiful, the puzzles are challenging but not Impossible ( I got most of them one the first try and I'm no Genius.) and the sound Design is amazing if that was all there was it would still be a good game but that companion app puts it too the next level from good too great. because going thought it after you do your first play though ,the companion app gives the game and the whole sad story more insight and Directly affects it. The only way too get the true ending is with the companion app. I will say no more I second everything Patrick and brad said about it this week on the podcast. I think this game the Beauty, the Terror ,the saddens and the hope will stay with me for a while.

really expanding your horizons there buddy.

If you want more games that use getting lost as a mechanic, try out The Path (Red Riding Hood adaptation).

And what nature is that?

A buttonless (and usually disposable) nature. IOS games strike me as a dumbing-down of the medium, where one jabs at their magical glowy screen like a caveman would.

I don't see how being buttonless = dumbing down of a medium? A bit hyperbolic and dismissive.

Point-and-click adventure games work great on iOS, like Broken Sword.

Auto runners like Canabalt, Bit Trip Runner or rail shooters like Sin and Punishment or Panzer Dragoon would also be great on that platform.

You act as if buttonless game design will infect games on other platforms.

By being buttonless one has to interfere with their vision of the experience. You also lose the ability to be precise, to have options, to input many things in rapid succession, etc.

So, yes, it's absolutely the dumbing-down of the medium, at least in the sense that I care about it. It might be an advancement in distribution models, or availability, or mobility, or mainstream penetration... but none of these things matter to me nor do they make games better. Pointing to lazy adventure games or even-lazier "runners" only proves my point further.

Every platform has its own strengths and weaknesses, it just so happens that mobile platforms offer not strengths in game design. They can all be done better elsewhere.

Just finished this game an hour ago, and the last thirty minutes are nuuuuuuuts!

If you are into horror and folklore, you gotta play this.

Thanks to Brad for the QL, and Patrick raving about it in the podcast. This would have sailed right by me otherwise.