To this point, 2025 feels like a year that’s been full of sneaky surprises and success stories in the world ofvideo games. Sure, there haven’t been a ton of memorable and transcendent AAA titles, butthe realm of the AA and indie game has been gracing us with constant bangersnearly nonstop.
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The latest addition to this same conversation isThe Midnight Walk, a title that’s as fundamentally different from theopen-world, map-clearing, hyper-realistic typical AAA experienceas you can possibly get. If you’re expecting anything from this game that you could also see in a blockbuster action movie, you’re probably in the wrong place.
Instead,The Midnight Walkthrives in the weird, the creepy, and the creative. It’s kind of an art piece in a way, but no more than you’d labelThe Nightmare Before Christmasas one. Still, this is not your traditional video game experience, especially when factoring in that it’s been made with virtual reality in mind, too.
Whether you have a modern VR headset to play this game on or not, it’s stillan absolute masterclass in ambiance, vibe, and emotionsall the same. If you’ve ever liked a Grimm fairy tale, been afraid of monsters under your bed, or have even just simply sculpted a weird creature with Play-Doh,The Midnight Walkis for you.
The Best Emotional Journey Since…Journey
The Midnight Walkfeels like a game we just don’t get anymore—and I mean that in the best way possible. There was a time when we were spoiled with bite-sized, creative,emotional video gamesthat wore their hearts on their sleeves and still got pushed to the top of the marketing piles to make their way in front of us.
Think of games likeJourney,The Unfinished Swan, andGone Home, and you’ll start to get a feel for whatThe Midnight Walkfits in best with.
Today, these titles still exist, but the digital marketplaces are so flooded with competition that many of them come and go without ever having a chance to make their mark on us. I must insist here, however, that we all stop to appreciate just how specialThe Midnight Walktruly is, particularly from a storytelling perspective.
Packed deep within this story that’s simple enough on the surface is a pseudo-children’s book that dares to dive all the way intothemes of death, pain, suffering, regret, shame, expectations, love, loss, labels, isolation, darkness, perseverance, and destiny. Trust me, I could even go beyond all of these examples, too.
Somehow,incredibly, all of this and more is masterfully layered into a game that doesn’t even top five hours, yet stilladdresses all of these topics in a beautiful way.
If all of this sounds like it could get kind of heavy, well… it does, at times. Even so, it’s also countered with such endearing characters and incredible lore that it all just… works. Yeah, you’re navigatingenough emotional subject matter to have an existential crisis, but it’s somehow spread out and softened just enough to never feel oppressivewhile still hitting you just as much as it needs to.
Apart from the more abstract narrative ideas,The Midnight Walkis really just about you and your goofy claymation buddy, Potboy, trekking to the top of Moon Mountain to find a use for his flame in a sunless world that’s become nearly completely devoid of light, strangely not unlikeDark Souls.
You simply need to experience this beautiful storytelling experience on your own.
This darkness has molded this world of clay into a place that’s hard to live in, but yetits residents have learned to move forward and adapt within it, accepting the darkness for what it is—as terrifying as it sometimes may be.
All the story is doled out when it needs to be by a storybook narrator and a unique cast of characters placed along the way, but it’s also present in descriptions of collectibles (like a FromSoftware game), or audio recordings you can pick up and listen to as you continue exploring the world (likeBioShock).
From here, I think you simply need to experience thisbeautiful storytelling adventureon your own, as sharing more may rob you ofa tale that genuinely made me more emotional by its conclusion than anything other game hassince my original, rewarding climb to the top of the mountain inJourney.
An Unmatched Vibe
A top-tier narrative experience is still really only as good as how it’s ultimately presented to you, andThe Midnight Walkonce again nails everything in this regard too. Take one look at a trailer or a screencap from this game, and it’s impossible not to think of your favorite claymation, stop-motion Tim Burton project, likeThe Nightmare Before Christmas,The Corpse Bride, orJames And The Giant Peach.
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The Midnight Walk, incredibly, is actual stop-motion claymation in video game form, and it’s a stunning example of the medium.Real-life clay models were recorded and scanned into the developer’s suite of creation tools, resulting in one of the most effective and unique visual styles in recent video game memory.
If you’ve played this team’s previous title,Lost In Random, much of that creepy yet charming fairy-tale vibe is alive and well inThe Midnight Walk, though surpassed in pretty much every metric imaginable. The swap to a first-person perspective was clearly correct from a VR standpoint, but even when played traditionally, the view really immerses you in just how wonderfully creepy and visually creative this game truly is.
More so than previous entries from this team,The Midnight Walkis scary. Of course, it’s not a high-octane, jump-scare-filled gorefest likeResident Evil, but it will definitely unsettle you a bit more than you might have anticipated, especially in virtual reality.
I really cannot accurately convey to you just how endearing everything is while still adding to the creepy, Halloween-y vibe.
Being chased by fever-dream-looking monsters is a wild experience in VR, but it’s equally as memorable to interact with all the game’s charming cast of supporting characters housed within this beautiful art style as well.
This crew includes severed heads, cranium-less bodies, two-headed soothsayers, mummified corpses, and even a traveling house on stilts, clearly inspired by Studio Ghibli while still being entirely its own thing. I really cannot accurately convey to you just how endearing everything is while still adding to the creepy, Halloween-y vibe present throughout everything else.
It’s been a good year for video game soundtracks, andThe Midnight Walkis a nice addition to this growing list as well. It’s a haunting mix of sparse yet effective string instrument pieces that evoke a James Newton Howard film score, or minimal but shockingly jazzy numbers highlighted by a saxophone, oboe, and piano.
The main musical theme isexcellent, and it’s peppered into the big moments within the game to absolutely wonderful effect.You’ll have actual goosebumps whenever it kicks in during a particularly emotional scene.
Simple, Yet Surprising Gameplay
From the very beginning of the game,The Midnight Walkmakes it clear that it’s going to be a particularly unique and creative experience. Blind and deaf, you’ll stumble around in a first-person view before disturbingly retrieving your eyes and ears from other characters nearby and reattaching them back to your head to get your senses back.
…makes you feel like a genuine part of the game.
This is a tone-setter for many more mechanical surprises along the way. The coolest idea is something as simple as closing your eyes.Literally, if you’re in VR.
Certain symbols can be focused on, will glow blue, and then will vanish as you squeeze your eyes shut within your headset for a couple of seconds. This never gets old, andmakes you feel like a genuine part of the game. It’s like you actually have developed a cool superpower, and the feeling is unlike anything I’ve felt in a game before.
There’s also a heavy emphasis from the devs at the start of the game to wear headphones, and that’s becausethere are amazing uses of spatial audio throughout. You’ll have to close your eyes and listen for nearby useful objects, puzzle solutions, or even enemies, all the while paying attention to the direction these sounds come from and at what volume to pinpoint their location.
These unique mechanics all exist to really amplify a game that could otherwise be seen as a pretty basic and straightforward stealth-meets-puzzle-meets-walking simulator gameplay experience. It hits all of these genres in enough creative ways to be entertaining, but it does kind of boil down to sneaking around monsters and hiding in wardrobes while sending Potboy out with a button prompt to light candles, stand on pressure panels, or knock down a bridge.
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There’s alsono combat in the game whatsoever, so don’t go in expecting some kind of first-person, virtual reality, monster shootout. Still, I never once wishedThe Midnight Walktried to implement any more traditionally exciting video game mechanics to the formula. What’s here is all so well-thought-out and executed that you won’t wish the game was anything else.
The whole package of this simple gameplay, combined with the wildly creative ideas in the VR space that leverage your own eyes and ears into the mix, creates a game that feels incredible and immersive throughout.
I don’t want to divulge too much, but there are moments where you can squeeze your eyes shut inside your headset, as if you’re a child wishing away something you’re afraid to look at.It works, and it’s video game magic.
My only complaints from a gameplay design standpoint boil down to some minor inconveniences that do pop up if you’re playing in VR from a seated position.
Certain things you’ll need to interact with are simply too low or too high to realistically and comfortably manage from your chair. This makes standing the best way to play the game, but who really wants to do that for 5 hours in a game like this?
I adapted to these things as best I could, and nothing ever broke the game for me at all. Still, be aware that you may have to reach and stretchextrafar on occasion if playing while sitting down.
Headset Not Required, But Recommended
While I playedThe Midnight Walkon PSVR2 and would absolutely recommend you do the same if you’re able to,the game is still 100% playable on a standard TV screen as well. Start to finish, you’ll play through the exact same incredible journey, and it’s going to be a great time.
Still, I can’t help but believe that this game is simply better in VR, and was designed more with this platform in mind. The mechanics ofclosing your eyes to make objects in the world disappear are replicated outside of VR by holding a trigger buttonand waiting a couple of seconds as a static screen populates on your TV, simulating your eyes closing.
It all still works totally fine, but having to miss out on the extra level of immersion and wonder that VR brings to the table for something like this is a shame regardless.
The good news is that the world still looks amazing, and the narrative will still hit hard, but VR players will tell you that there is just something different about seeing a game from the inside of the headset, especially one so visually stunning, creepy, and moody.
…while I clearly think you need to find a way to playThe Midnight Walkin VR if you can, do not write it off if you’d have to settle for the regular TV screen experience.
A lot of the true horror ofThe Midnight Walktranslates better to being face-to-face with a monster as it rattles a wardrobe you’re hiding inside or a small cave you dove into for shelter. Physically striking a giant match to light a path-illuminating candle from the inside of monster-filled enclosures just isn’t going to hit quite the same if you’re staring at a TV screen.
All of these caveats aside, while I clearly think you need to find a way to playThe Midnight Walkin VR if you may,do not write it off if you’d have to settle for the regular TV screen experience.
While I played the whole thing start to finish in one incredible sitting on my PSVR2, we have another writer in-house who experienced the entirety of the game on his TV.
I asked him if the standard experience ever got old or felt stale without the novelty of it taking place in a VR headset, and his answer was still no. Really, his only negative takeaway was that the game felt too short, and he wanted more content to continue experiencing the creepy vibe, interesting story, and amazing music.
4 or 5 hours felt perfectly paced and adequate in my VR headset, but this length may leave you wanting more if you’re playingThe Midnight Walkwithout one.
Closing Comments:
The Midnight Walk is my favorite game on the PSVR2, and a true proof of concept for the platform if you still need one. Not since my first time playing Journey has a title struck as strong an emotional chord with my very soul. The claymation world is absolutely beautiful yet terrifying, the soundtrack is hauntingly gorgeous, and the gameplay is full of wildly unique and creative ideas that I’ve never experienced before. Most importantly, the narrative combines an approachable storybook style with very deep themes and symbolism that are sure to tug at your heartstrings by the game’s truly amazing conclusion. Each character and story beat has insane levels of charm. It’s a title you really should play in VR if you can, despite a couple of very minor design inconveniences. Still, outside of VR, the 4 or 5 hour runtime may feel short, but what’s here is amazing and worth experiencing regardless. Pardon me as I Google if the PSVR2 warranty covers tears shed within the headset.
