A walking simulator with a narrated story. Whilst it has elements of a survival game, those parts are frankly simple and very repetitive. The map is small but feels larger due to the speed your character moves. Graphics are nice with decent sound and music, the latter I suggest you lower but keep on (I normally turn off music).

If you are interested in Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology etc then you will probably find this game interesting. But if you are looking for a survival game then you will be very disappointed.

I dislike story type games but am finding this one actually enjoyable. I'm giving a positive review though in truth I don't feel that I can recommend this game but neither can I not recommend it. I'd suggest buying the game if you are interested and play it for an hour. If you enjoy it then keep it as what you experience in the first hour is what you will get in subsequent hours. Otherwise refund it. As for long term playability I'm in doubt there is any long term play here or playability. But I'm enjoying it.

Walden, a game isn't an action heavy game, neither a hardcore survival game.

If you like to wander around in a game, examine nature objects, animals or just chill out while fishing, all these in the form of a first-person RPG game while also solving some quests then you will probably enjoy Walden.

The survival elements of the game aren't serious. You can't die. No matter if you don't have food at all during the winter, you will still survive. Fulfilling your needs influence only your tiredness. If your needs fulfilled then you can run longer and you get tired slower. That's it.

The game based on historical events and humans. The protagonist, Henry David Thoreau shows up in Fallout4 as a reference too as this very same area visitable in that game.

Help the escape of runaway slaves by hiding resources for them, survey Walden Pond, work on your book and publish it, find hidden books and learn more about history. The game offers a good ~10hours playtime which is enough to complete all quests and explore the whole area.

I especially liked the color change of the game based on how inspired are you, as all going to be a bit grey if you uninspired while it is very colorful while you inspired.

Hey, I am an achievement hunter!

Perfection requires 2 walkthroughs and you need to keep playing one of it to farm 50 miles achievement. You can expect a 20-24h perfection time. If you want to know more about the unlock requirements feel free to check my achievement guide about this game:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1721090241

This review was created for Average Achievement Hunter curator

Follow my curator if you like to see achievement related information (completion time, difficulty to get all achievements) on the store page of the games.

https://store.steampowered.com/curator/30168383-Average-Achievement-Hunter/

The curator group doesn't mark any game as recommended so it shows useful information about achievements on the store page of the games without influencing the main store page of steam with recommendations + all games sorted to lists based on expected completion times. No point not to follow!:-)

This is a pleasant journey through nature and literature, ruined by its gaming mechanics. Clearly a lot of work has gone into building up the world and the story with objects you can inspect, notes, letters, books and people you meet.

There is a gentle pleasant aspect to the first couple of hours getting to know the woods and building your little camp. It's a peaceful world to explore, finding plants, birds, frogs, buildings and noting them down in your diary.

But the game quickly descends into a tedious exercise in balancing hunger, firewood gathering, and general maintenance of your shack and your clothing. The "tasks" you're given are mainly fetch quests, walking across large areas of the map you've covered before, getting out breath constantly in pretty much all activities you do, having no money, needing to eat loads of food constantly, needing to collect plants constantly, needing to chop firewood constantly, trying to fish and failing almost constantly.

The whole thing just becomes a massive chore and the beauty of the world fades away into frustration.

This is actually one of my favorite games of the year so far. It's relaxing and very easy to waste time just walking around and taking notes about nature and the animals you see while you walk. You can build onto your cabin if you like or chop wood for your fire. You can go fishing or look for berries. There are even some mild farming elements. It really does feel as if you were Henry David Thoreau in the time he spent at Walden Pond. You can visit your friend - Ralph Waldo Emerson and have conversations, look for books he's lost, or do chores for money. You can visit the town of Concord and shop at the store or visit your parents house.

It's definitely not a game for everyone. Despite the many interactive elements, I would recommend it mostly to fans of walking simulators. There might be quite a lot to do in this game but a lot of your time with it will be spent walking around and taking notes about nature so if that doesn't sound like something you would like then this might not be the game for you. I've enjoyed playing this off and on between the other games I have going right now because it's very nice and mellow compared to the stuff I usually play. I definitely recommend it if that sounds interesting to you.

I've started a series for this game on Youtube. If you like, you can check those out and decide for yourselves if this is something you might be interested in:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFRCfwcfcjI&list=PL08FwntTpxPBnSd_AKBkgn_PVrV5hxRFX

I will start this off by emphasizing how underrated this game is.. A true hidden gem for walking sim fans!
I will also second that by noting that this is more of an experience than a game. If you are looking for a game, in the traditional sense of the word, then look elsewhere or you will probably die of boredom with this one.

You take on the shoes of Henry Thoreau. A poet, a philosopher and a few other things. One day, you move out to live in the woods.. In a complete solitude in search of meaning, beauty and peace. You wander around in awe, occasionally noting down your remarks of nature.. And if a chance arises, compose some poems on the spot as well.. And even writing books on contemporary issues like slavery (It is the 19th century America). That's your ultimate goal. Living a sublime life while trying to do what you love and value the most.

However, living as a hermit has a cost.. A heavy one that is. You will have to gather your own food, maintain your own shelter, mending your clothes.. Things that we have taken for granted for so long are no longer there. So in a sense, this is a survival game as well. Survival aspect is basic and casual.. Yet very annoying in my opinion. That is, if you truly get into the character's shoes and get immersed in observing nature, debating issues of interest and living through poems.. Chopping off some wood for your fireplace is the very last thing you want to do.. Not to mention that such "basic needs" interrupt you very often.. Deeming them annoying, in my opinion... But you may find them part of your "journey" or "experience" as someone who took the path of a hermit.
Beside your basic needs, you also have to maintain your "inspiration". A very critical mechanism of the game. Inspiration is pretty much what drives this game forward, making your progress a lot smoother and as you should. Maintaining it is not that difficult, but can be tricky at times. You have to contemplate, listen to birds sing, observe or even read books. These are abundant resources in the game so you should be okay, for the most part.

The story is decent enough. The environment is not that bad that actually changes with every season. There is a variety of stuff to do from living your life to making a living through multiple jobs or doing an old friend a favor. Game is not that long.. Can be finished within 10 hours or less.

I would strongly recommend this to people who are into walking sims and are genuinely into living an intellectual journey of a sort more than an actual game (Think of this as more of "Everything.. A game on steam" than your traditional walking sim).

This game is very interesting and nice. When you first get in you have the feeling "what a nice place to be".
But the survival aspects completely ruin it. You don't have time to explore, you don't have time to enjoy. All you do is constantly looking for food. When you finally find some you have to tab x over a 100! times to fill one food jar. This jar will only last very short. By the time you find something interesting you just don't want to look at it anymore. The survival part is tedious, annoying and ultra stupid. Such a shame.
If this game will ever get an option to get rid of this I am more than willing to go back to it but for now it's an uninstall before I throw my pc out of the window thing.

I really enjoyed my time at Walden Pond. However it's not for everyone, it's not really even a game in the classic sense. Initially I found it frustrating, but once I got use to the game mechanics and let go of the idea that it was 'game' say like The Long Dark, I enjoyed it. I know I will probably play through it again. It's a good, chilled experience, strolling through the woods, seeing the seasons change. Spotting a few little creatures running about, chopping a bit of wood, sitting by a fire, fishing , hoeing beans etc.

I think mostly it is an educational tool, and to be honest I think most people would be disappointed if they are expecting a survival game,(it really is NOT a survival game) and a part from fishing there is no killing. But I think that is great, makes a nice change.
I'm not American, so I don't know if Thoreau is on the curriculum in the States but if he is I reckon this would be great for students studying his works.

It is perhaps overpriced for the amount of hours most people seem to play. But I'm very glad I have it, the achievements are fun to work through too!

I finished the book almost a month prior to discovering this game, imagine my excitement! so with the source material relatively fresh in mind I had high hopes. All round I was very satisfied with this game. In particular I was pleasantly surprised with the attention to detail. To hear recitation of a section of the book I recalled due to it's curiousness (the ants!) only to discover it played out and brought to life in detail before my eyes. These unique cutscenes really add to the value of this game. The decade it took to make this game was time well spent on what is a stunning and immersive environment.

What can you expect from this game? To explore Walden Pond, the surrounding woods and a small part of the village of Concord. Collect arrowheads to hear extracts from the book. Document details about local plants, tree's, and animals in the Walden pond area. Build you house and then complete tasks for individuals who write to you. Chop wood, fish, gather or grow your own food. Sell surplus food you grow in the local store and purchase other essentials. These elements of gameplay are simplistic and are perhaps better executed elsewhere. But are intended to accompany the philosophical content within. They add add a mild “survival” element to gameplay that is unobtrusive and enjoyable.

For anyone using questionable hardware I use a old Mac with integrated graphics (yes, I regret that decision very much), that tends to make everything look terrible. But despite some mild flickering when looking at the sky, I was pleasantly surprised to discover the game runs very well on my low end hardware. Suffice to say I hope to be able to run it on something a little more powerful than my shiny potato, one day, to take advantage of it's full beauty.

My only gripe is that the game emphasises delay and enjoyment of the surroundings of Walden pond. I walk by the lake and it encourages me to spend time with the books I find strewn around. Homer, Confucius these are not easy texts, in which to dabble. Sadly opening a book does not stop the clock and before I'm halfway through the clock chimes and I must surrender to night.

Time simply passes too fast in this game. Day cycles are rapid, about 10 minutes in all and this does affect the experience. I frantically rush through areas where I could otherwise wander taking in the scenery around me. Were developers to include an options for “exploration” or “free play” mode both during the day and at night without tasks I believe the game would be perfect. Alternatively an option to set the length of in game days in the options menu would be a welcome way to control and pace your experience. Faster for those that need it slower for others who wish to tarry.

That said I would highly recommend this game for those that enjoy walking simulators. It offers far more than others (Think Firewatch or Kona with the landscapes of Dear Esther and the depth of the Talos Principle). I can see this being something I return to time and again as life becomes challenging and I need to remind myself of the value of simply looking around me.

There is something curious in Thoreau that reawakens in me the love of stillness, the transience of nature and the beautiful complexity of the things we take for granted. This game captures its and serves it with the poetic landscape it deserves and for this I am very thankful.

I usually hold a "less is more" view when it comes to games, but for especially this game a minimalistic approach should have been obvious, given that it is one of the main themes in the book. Instead this game showers the player under constant disruptions right from the beginning. It's not that the content of the game is inappropriate - Thoreau did indeed fish, farm, sleep and read letters in the book - but the problem is mainly with pacing at which the content is introduced. From playing it I got the impression that the game was mainly meant as a demo of sorts - to be tried out for 5 minutes, perhaps in a museum. There is indeed an "exhibition mode"; perhaps the developers were torn between creating a kind of an exhibit, and an actual immersive, tranquil experience.

What do I mean by problematic pacing? The tempo at which you need to refill your resources is completely antithetical to Thoreau's writing about his poetic life in the woods: in this game you need to be working nearly all the time, the fact which is made worse by the mind numbing simplicity of the chores. Similar fast-paced atmosphere is induced by the frantic day/night cycle, which is faster than in a grand theft auto game. As a stand-out example of a ridiculously bad design choice, for some reason Thoreau of this game doesn't at all get to decide to gaze at the nightly lake at his soul's content; instead there is an ironical sound of a clock which will force you to sleep, wish it or not.

I do find value in the game's visual portrayal of the lakeside environment and the town of Concord, as well as the letters and other background information not present in the book. I think it wouldn't take too much work to make the game a much more enjoyable experience, and also better in line with the spirit of the book.

Have you ever wondered what it feels like being so weak you get tired after hammering down THREE nails? Me neither. Yet here we find ourselves in this game experiencing exactly that kinda weakness. But wait, there's more: the character literally passes out after the fourth nail! Seeing that wuss of a man protagonist faint down after doing a tiny bit of labor (four nails to be exact) makes you feel like the Hulk. But even though this game is ridiculous at some points, I give this a thumbs up, because it's so relaxing and calm. And at this tense point in my life it's exactly what I needed.