Big Walk First Impressions: Untitled Goose Game Devs Return with a Co-Op Adventure Worth Taking

Seven years after a certain mischievous goose became an internet phenomenon Melbourne studio House House has returned with something completely different and somehow even more delightful. Big Walk is a cooperative online adventure that trades solo trolling for shared exploration, silly physics and the simple joy of getting lost with friends.

Released yesterday (August 4, 2026) on PC, Mac, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 this game has already rocketed to the top of Metacritic’s 2026 charts with a score hovering around 93–94. Here’s why critics and early players are calling it one of the best co-op experiences in years.

What Is Big Walk?

At its core Big Walk is a 2-to-12 player co-op “walker-talker.” You and your friends drop into a sprawling open-world island inspired by Wilsons Promontory National Park on Australia’s southeast coast. The landscape mixes real-feeling bushland—spiky grasses, yellow boulders, quiet rivers with brightly colored almost playground-plastic structures that house clever multiplayer puzzles.

You play as expressive, goofy bird-like creatures: bulbous bodies, noodly limbs, big round eyes and noses that wiggle when you talk. Independent arm controls let you point, wave or flail wildly. There is no combat, no death and almost no traditional UI. The entire experience is built around proximity voice chat, physical comedy and need to actually communicate with people you’re playing with.

Gameplay First Impressions

The magic of Big Walk starts the moment you leave colorful gymnasium tutorial area. The world doesn’t shout at you with objective markers. Instead, distant unusual buildings, mechanisms and odd landmarks pull you forward. Puzzles are scattered across the island and almost always require more than one person.

Common scenarios include:

• One player reading symbols from inside a sealed room while teammates outside sort through tiles.
• Forming a living ladder by stacking on each other’s shoulders to reach a high button.
• Relaying information through distance-limited or muffled voice chat.
• Carrying one essential item at a time and figuring out creative ways to transport or display it.

Because voice chat is proximity-based, voices fade with distance, muffle through walls and crackle over walkie-talkies. Getting separated is inevitable and part of the fun. Tools like flares, laser pointers, binoculars, megaphones and occasional cowbell help you reconvene. When talking isn’t an option expressive arm gestures and body language take over.

Puzzles scale depending on group size (variants exist for two, three or four-plus players), and host keeps save so people can drop in and out. The result feels less like a traditional game and more like a shared outdoor adventure that happens to involve excellent physics and clever design.

Why It Stands Out from the “Friendslop” Crowd

The genre of chaotic co-op games has exploded in recent years. Many lean into stress, failure or capitalist parody. Big Walk deliberately ignores those trends. There are no quotas, no runs and no real failure state. The comedy comes from physics, communication gaps and pure silliness of your characters rather than from punishing mechanics.

House House has said idea grew out of Melbourne’s COVID lockdowns—a desire to create a virtual space where friends could simply go for a walk together. That origin shows. This game is patient. It leaves room for sitting on a hill watching sunset, stealing someone’s binoculars and kicking them into ocean or just wandering off and realizing you’ve been talking to yourself for last five minutes.

Critical Reception

At launch Big Walk sits at approximately 93–94 on Metacritic, placing it among the highest-rated new releases of 2026. Multiple outlets awarded perfect scores. GameSpot called it “one of the best co-op games ever.” Eurogamer praised its combination of knockabout fun and surprisingly big ideas. Polygon described it as an unforgettable hang-out experience that strengthens friendships.

Reviewers consistently highlight inventive puzzle design the way game forces genuine communication, beautiful and slightly surreal world and a final act that many found unexpectedly moving. A few notes of caution appear around performance on Switch 2 and fact that experience can vary significantly depending on who you play with and how large group is but those caveats rarely dampen overall enthusiasm.

Platforms, Price & Practical Details

• Platforms: Steam (PC & Mac), PlayStation 5 (day-one on PS Plus Essential), Nintendo Switch 2
• Players: 2–12 with full cross-play
• Price: Approximately $19.99 USD (launch discount available on Steam)
• Playtime: Roughly 12–20 hours for a group to reach the ending

The Verdict

Big Walk is not a spiritual sequel to Untitled Goose Game. It is something rarer: a game that understands quiet pleasure of spending time with people you like in a beautiful, slightly strange place and then builds thoughtful systems around that feeling.

If your friends are available and you enjoy collaborative puzzle-solving mixed with low-stakes silliness then this is an easy recommendation. Gather a small group, turn on mics, and go for a walk. You might solve some puzzles. You will almost certainly laugh and you may come away with a few stories you’ll still be retelling weeks later.

Hang out and get lost with close friends in a big world. —House House’s own tagline says it best.