Big Walk review: 2026’s best multiplayer game tested all of us
Polygon's review team put Big Walk, a new co-operative exploration game from Untitled Goose Game developer House House, through its paces to see whether it lives up to billing as a standout multiplayer title. Rather than relying on the shared frustration that drives many recent co-op hits, the game aims for a relaxed, communication-focused experience, tasking players with navigating an open world and solving gentle puzzles together. Three Polygon staff members, Giovanni Colantonio, Julia Lee and Johnny Yu, played through the early stages as a trio, documenting their impressions in a shared log.
The reviewers found themselves as oddly designed, colourful creatures exploring a naturalistic open world dotted with brightly coloured, playground-like structures, which helped them plan routes and identify meeting points. A short-range proximity chat system deliberately limits how far players can hear one another, pushing them to communicate through physical gestures such as waving, flailing or stomping instead. Early puzzles required teamwork, including boosting one player up to reach a switch and freeing a mysterious segmented object the group nicknamed a "baby", alongside further challenges involving hidden symbols, a heavy ball requiring relay-style teamwork, and a basketball-style activity, all reinforcing the game's emphasis on close cooperation.
- Polygon reviewed Big Walk, a new co-op game by House House.
- Three staff explored an open world with gentle, communication-based puzzles.
- Short-range proximity chat forces players to use gestures to communicate.
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Big Walk is a new video game reviewed by the gaming website Polygon. It is a co-operative title, meaning it is designed to be played by several people working together rather than competing against each other, and it comes from House House, the Australian studio best known for Untitled Goose Game. Three Polygon writers, Giovanni Colantonio, Julia Lee and Johnny Yu, tested it together and wrote up their experience.
The game puts players in control of odd, colourful creatures who explore an open world together, solving simple puzzles that require teamwork, such as boosting one another up to reach switches. A notable design choice is its limited-range chat system, which only lets players hear each other when close by, encouraging them to communicate through physical gestures instead of talking. This sets it apart from many recent multiplayer games, which often build their appeal around players getting frustrated together, since Big Walk instead aims for a calmer, more co-operative feel.
The review matters because it offers an early, hands-on assessment of whether a high-profile new release lives up to its promotion as a major multiplayer game of the year, from a studio with a strong reputation following its previous hit.