Walk & Talk Games I've Played

Walk & Talk games are categorized by a primary gameplay loop of advancing dialogue or exploring without danger. I've played 63 games in this genre so far.

You can also go back to all genres.

poster for The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales

The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales

Charming concept. Decent if simple puzzles. Tacked on combat, but didn't really get in the way. They could have streamlined it a bit, but I liked the story a lot.

poster for The Big Con

The Big Con

Charming and surprisingly intricate little exploration game where you steal your way across the country. The writing carries a decent story and the 90s vibe grounds the world nicely.

poster for Pentiment

Pentiment

An enthralling tale of a man's place in a small town and the murders that happen there. But it's not about the mystery, really. More about the people and their lives. It's great to learn about everyone and see how your choices impact the story of this village. It's a bit slow at times, but it's cool to see the scope of it all.

poster for Gone Home

Gone Home

Short but sweet walking simulator. Exploring the house is cool and it's neat how the story unfolds at your own pace. There's not really much gameplay, but it's a contained enough game that it didn't bother me.

poster for Frog Detective 3: Corruption at Cowboy County

Frog Detective 3: Corruption at Cowboy County

A lovely end to an extremely cute trilogy. Tied it up perfectly, no notes.

poster for Frog Detective 2: The Case of the Invisible Wizard

Frog Detective 2: The Case of the Invisible Wizard

Similarly charming with marginally more gameplay this time around (but not really). Still a fun world and story though.

poster for Frog Detective 1: The Haunted Island

Frog Detective 1: The Haunted Island

What it lacks it gameplay, it makes up for in charm!

poster for 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

Interesting and dense story, if overly complex. I like the intermingling of the plots, but it does make it a little hard to follow. Combat provides a good respite and is simplistic without being boring. There's great QoL features for the visual novel part and gorgeous art, as always. It's an ambitious game, but it sticks the landing.

poster for Venba

Venba

A bittersweet story about family, food, and culture. Nice little 1-sitting game, and surprisingly touching.

poster for Adios

Adios

Somber, slow, contemplative game. A story about loss and regret, told interestingly.

poster for Trash the Planet

Trash the Planet

Doesn't shy from the political, but presents it in a fun, light way. Great theming, varied gameplay, good music, and doesn't overstay its welcome. The complete package.

poster for Wide Ocean Big Jacket

Wide Ocean Big Jacket

Touching, small story. Nice art, chill vibe. Great dialogue and writing. No real gameplay, but the walking around and choosing who says the next line made it much more dynamic, somehow, than a movie.

poster for Paradise Killer

Paradise Killer

Super interesting game. I like the open-ended exploration and the fact that it was sort of a secret platformer. There's a lot of overlapping storylines, and I liked how well they executed on the V I B E. The biggest knock was that you're not really _solving_ the case so much as you can talk to everyone as much as you want and explore. There's not much logic to it. But, it was good for what it was.

poster for Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Justice for All

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Justice for All

Better story than I remembered. Good investigation. Goofy cast, as always.

poster for The Stanley Parable

The Stanley Parable

Great follow-up. Looks as good as I remember. New endings are great and the bucket adds a lot of depth to the original game. Still a stone-cold classic.

poster for A Way Out

A Way Out

Great game. Good story, great presentation / cinematography. Gameplay itself was light, but that was really the style. Didn't bother me at all. Action was engaging and experience was gripping.

poster for Deliver Us The Moon

Deliver Us The Moon

Very atmospheric. Cool story that we get to experience and find. Puzzles were fine and didn't get in the way. Low-g was cool. Interactivity was great. All around very enjoyable! Didn't overstay its welcome, either.

poster for GRIS

GRIS

Astoundingly beautiful. Light on the "game", but great visuals, color, and sound work.

poster for Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist

Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist

Short and sweet. Cute little walking simulator, very Stanley Parable. Fun spin on what happens behind the scenes of a game.

poster for Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

It was fun! Writing was better than I remember and the cases had good twists. Characters were eccentric and animated. Some of the evidence presentations were a little obtuse, but nothing too bad.

poster for A Short Hike

A Short Hike

Cute, relaxing game. Similar to Celeste almost, where the oveall goal is to summit a mountain. Great music, design. Fun flying mechanics. Light, doesn't overstay its welcome.

poster for Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator

Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator

Very cute writing, interesting enough characters. Not a ton of gameplay, but it's a VN, so that's about what there is. Lots of reading, but not too burdensome.

poster for Detroit: Become Human

Detroit: Become Human

Really impressive scope of choices and outcomes. Gorgeous game. A little heavy handed sometimes, but overall very good. They made the flowchart hard to navigate and replaying levels can't be sped up, so I'm not sure it's possible to go see all the other options in any reasonable amount of time.

poster for What Remains of Edith Finch

What Remains of Edith Finch

An interesting story beautifully told. A little weird at times, but enjoyable!

poster for Firewatch

Firewatch

Finished in one sitting. Mostly just walking, but a great environment and some good tension. Never really dragged, so I appreciate that. Worth a play! Finished the campaign initially in 4 hours. also had a great audio tour mode that really went into depth about how games are made, which I enjoyed.

poster for Florence

Florence

Short and very cute

poster for Murder by Numbers

Murder by Numbers

Has dialogue and emotional beats that punches way above its weight. Characters + art are cute and the story is decent if predictable. The gameplay is _only_ nonogram puzzles, which are fun but very one-note. I could have used... anything else. But I had a good time with it. It also had a great hint system which keeps you moving through the puzzles, which I appreciated.

poster for Erica

Erica

Very cool presentation & tech. Creepy story that doesn't really resolve much, but is pretty gripping throughout.

poster for South Scrimshaw

South Scrimshaw

Odd little story, with nice art and music. Narration was also good (and AI generated!). It's only a part 1, so we're excited to see where the rest of the story goes.

poster for Democratic Socialism Simulator

Democratic Socialism Simulator

Neat concept, but heavy handed with its politics. Also, waters down some of the decisonmaking in a way that's not realistic or helpful.

poster for Alba: A Wildlife Adventure

Alba: A Wildlife Adventure

Cute little game. Fun to explore the world, and it's ineresting being so short. The gameplay was light and there wasn't much gameplay in hunting for animals, but it's fun to stumble across them. Story was decent though, and the music was nice.

poster for Grim Fandango Remastered

Grim Fandango Remastered

Great atmosphere and characters, but the gameplay felt especially dated. I can see why it's a cult classic, but the puzzles would have been _really_ frustrating to do without a guide.

poster for Immortality

Immortality

Very interesting. An FMV game, told totally non-linearly. An ok story overall, but it _was_ interesting digging into the lives of these people over time. I sort of liked the core match/cut mechanic, but it felt to random to be satisfying. We weren't so much discovering how to excel at the game as much as clicking through interesting looking things constantly. Glad to have played it and was engaged enough to stick with it, but definitely dragged. Pretty good UI though.

poster for Disco Elysium

Disco Elysium

Very interesting. Neat skill system. Quests were pretty good and the depth of characters and voice acting was great. It was a little heady with the political alignment stuff, and there's a _lot_ of text. The actual plot was... ok? It sort of set the backdrop for everything else, but it would have been more satisfying to actually have been able to solve anything. Controls were ok. Interesting enough to explore and the art was nice, but, it was sort of an odd duck overall.

poster for Over the Alps

Over the Alps

Great vibe, decent story, ok interactivity. Glad we played it, but there was inconsistent quality between the episodes.

poster for Norco

Norco

Good interface, puzzles, and vibe. Got a little creepy/nonsensical for me, but I enjoyed the ride well enough. Writing was good and minigames were generally enjoyable.

poster for ABZÛ

ABZÛ

Very pretty. Not much plot, but there was a bit of narrative. Not an overwhelming amount of gameplay, but the vibe was cool. Mostly just go play Journey, but there was a lot of cool oceanic life in here.

poster for The Artful Escape

The Artful Escape

Incredibly stylish, but lacking anything remotely complex in terms of gameplay. Sort of a cool ride through a music video, but not unenjoyable. Charming, in its way. Doesn't overstay itself (too much) either.

poster for Night in the Woods

Night in the Woods

Very interesting game. Light on gameplay, but the writing and story cycled between "interesting" and "good". Odd plot, but the whole thing was poignant in a way that earns it its 3.

poster for SOMA

SOMA

Interesting story, good atmosphere. I enjoyed playing it on easy mode, but without any challenge, there was only the puzzles (light) and walking around. But, I'm glad I played it safe, since being challenged sneaking around wasn't what I was in the mood for. Worth a play.

poster for Observation

Observation

Interesting. Controls and atmosphere were great (but maybe a little too much distortion). More of a interactive cinematic experience instead of a game (there were no failure states, really). Neat enough, but not enough explanation to be really satisfying.

poster for Death Stranding

Death Stranding

What a weird game. The core gameplay of buliding improvements into the world to make your tasks (delivery) easier is good. It's certainly relaxed and repetitive, but that's nice sometimes. The story and characters are both confusing and dreadful. Sort of can't believe they started with a blank slate and ended up here. That said, I did play it for a ton of hours (more than most other games I've ever played). ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Like I said, the core loop is decent. I built all the roads and a bunch of ziplines. The mini stories were sort of good. I'd honestly rather see this as a little indie game rather than the over-long monstrosity that it turned into. Finished the campaign in ~50 hours (which included some road-building and other side quests).

poster for Superflight

Superflight

Neat, concise little game. Fun to zoom around. Probably very cool in VR. Everything is simple, almost too a fault. Semi-relaxing to zoom around in and worth a look, especially at a super cheap price point.

poster for Her Story

Her Story

Very cool frame. A little bit open ended on how the "game" part actually worked, but I liked the story. I think we got the big twist too fast, but that was just lucky. That's sort of the risk you take with these. Overall, neat little thing.

poster for Rime

Rime

Pretty good. Decent interactive storytelling. Very pretty game. Puzzles were light. There’s the sense that you can explore, but it actually ends up being pretty linear. Lots of flash, not a lot of bang. I’d probably play journey instead of this, but it does a lot of things nicely.

poster for The Beginner's Guide

The Beginner's Guide

A little weird and very surreal, but there is some narrative there. Definitely a walking simulator, but not a wholly unenjoyable one.

poster for Doki Doki Literature Club

Doki Doki Literature Club

I like how it broke the 4th wall and the character interactions happened. That said, there was a lot of build up. Even tongue in cheek, it took a while. Played it on Ryan's steam account.

poster for The Magic Circle

The Magic Circle

Really neat concept, but the game felt pretty short. Thematically sort of all over the place.

poster for Stories Untold

Stories Untold

An interesting concept, but the gameplay itself left something to be desired. I liked the vibe of the text-based exploration, but it was more frustrating than fun. The story was interesting enough, and told interestingly, certainly.

poster for SAI

SAI

A hint of a story, boring combat, nice enough, if bland, environments. Cool glowing deer. But, really not much there.

poster for Jenny LeClue: Detectivu

Jenny LeClue: Detectivu

Decent writing, but very slow gameplay. Didn't feel like it respected our time. Also, no real ending? It just stops without resolution. Mystery without resolution is just pointless.

poster for Mind Scanners

Mind Scanners

Sort of interesting premise, but the time limit, dialogue, and vague puzzles don't really gel w/ me. It's mostly a worse "Papers, Please". Too bad, because I liked the UI.

poster for Where Cards Fall

Where Cards Fall

Neat idea with a nothingburger story.

poster for OPUS: The Day We Found Earth

OPUS: The Day We Found Earth

Cute idea, but execution falls a little flat. The main gameplay is navigating around a 2d star map, which could be really cool! But I feel like you don't get quite enough of your bearings to feel like you're really excelling. There's a bit of story and a bit of extra exploration, but it's not particularly satisfying. In post-game, there are harder side quests which were a little more interesting? They took a bit of actual logic and hunting to solve. But, there's just not enough there.

poster for Orwell

Orwell

Definitely an interesting game. It's interesting to see how, depending on what data is entered into the system, the story changes. I wish that had been made more clear though. It's basically a (slightly) interactive novel, which is interesting enough. Interesting commentary on modern surveillance states. Biggest points against it were inconsistent writing and the "game" not really being that good. The frame is great, but the actual experience of playing it is only ok.

poster for Oxenfree

Oxenfree

Didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would. Good art and dialogue, but didn't really live up to its premise. Lots of setup, no satisfying ending.

poster for Ico

Ico

I like the idea and the amount of storytelling they could squeeze into an atmospheric game. That said, the controls feel clunky and the enviroments are very bland. I appreciate what they were going for, but this one isn't for me.

poster for Far from Noise

Far from Noise

This stretches the definition of "game"- it's more of a guided meditation with dialogue choices. Unfortunately, not something I'm looking for...

poster for The World Begins With You

The World Begins With You

Some nice art, but bad puzzles, platforming, and no story. I think pretending there's a story is worse than not having one. They're clearly inspired by Journey, but captured none of what made it enjoyable.

poster for TIMEframe

TIMEframe

Tiemframe _really_ stretches the "games as art" and "how much gameplay does a walking simulator need to be considered a game". There are a small number of text logs that let you piece together a bit of "story", but there's not enough there to be compelling. It also doesn't really use its "slow motion" theme in any meaningful way. Overall, just a miss.