2 years later than planned, Arctic Awakening arrives to pull the walking simulator out of its Edith Finch-shaped grave
The walking simulator really died on its arse circa 2018, didn't it? It's like What Remains of Edith Finch released and everyone went "Well, we're not going to do better than that!" before hanging up their hiking boots once and for all. Even Giant Sparrow, the creator of What Remains of Edith Finch, hasn't released a game since.
While I can't exactly say I've missed walking sims—there's been no shortage of other games to keep me occupied in the meantime—I certainly wouldn't mind a luscious, whimsical first-person narrative adventure to saunter around for a few hours. Fortunately, after years wandering through the wilderness, the walking sim has decided to pay us a visit. And it's all thanks to Arctic Awakening, a new and exceedingly pretty sci-fi narrative thriller developed by GoldFire Studios.
Set in the near-future, Arctic Awakening sees you play as Kai, a bush pilot en-route on a supply run to a remote Alaskan town when his plane is downed by a sudden, violent storm. Dragging himself from the wreckage, Kai embarks upon a mission to find his missing copilot Donovan, braving harsh weather and exploring weird sci-fi structures in the process.
Kai is accompanied on his adventure by Alfie, a "court-mandated therapy bot." This phrase immediately reminded me of Iain Banks' concept of being "slap-droned," where criminal offenders within Banks' sci-fi society of the Culture were assigned a surveillance drone to ensure they didn't repeat the offence. Alfie's presence is as much for medical reasons as legal ones though, offering reassurance and advice to Kai (which may or may not be welcome) as he searches for his friend.
Arctic Awakening is split into five individual chapters, each of which GoldFire says is about two hours in length. While the experience is story-centric, there is a touch more interaction to it than most walking sims judging by its trailer, while it also features some element of branching narrative too. According to Arctic Awakening's Steam page, it features "story-centric choices that shape the narrative, relationships and world around you."
Arctic Awakening has been in development for a while. We last reported on it way back in 2022, and at the time GoldFire was aiming for a 2023 release. Clearly things didn't go to plan, but whatever bumps in the road the studio hit, Arctic Awakening is out now. The developers are running a 10% launch discount until September 25, bringing the price down slightly to $22.50 (£19).
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