If you need to go for a walk … why not wander around a video game? - MW

With the pandemic keeping everyone indoors as spring brings good weather and longer days, many of us who are gone simply wander outside. Fortunately, there are video games that offer a breathtaking view where you can immerse yourself in (virtual) nature. You work well if you do it - as film and media professor Alenda Chang points out in her book, Play Nature: Words For many people, the number of hours spent in the gaming environment far exceeds that of people living in Wilderness, even without a public health crisis.

Replaying favorite games for added comfort is a trend these days, and some are examining recent open world adventures, such as Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Horizon Zero Dawn, and even Far Cry 5 with the pistols has been deleted. But these successful action games tend to highlight the ideal enemy if all you want is peaceful hustle and bustle around a beautiful place.

Fortunately, there is a category of video games called walking simulators, in which the goal is to simply walk in an unknown space. Most of the most famous walking simulations take place in tight indoor spaces (if you haven't already done so, you should try Gone Home, Stanley's Parable and What Remains by Edith Finch), but there has a lot of wide natural landscapes. Great to explore (Firewatch, Abzû and Everybody's Gone to the Rapture are good examples and great worlds to explore). For some recent and certainly comfortable virtual hikes - all user-friendly for the first time - try one of them.

A short walk

You are an adorable teenage bird who visits Aunt May in her seaside village. But cell phone reception is not available, so you're going up a mountain to try to find one. At your own pace, you can chat with your neighbors, collect shiny objects and walk, swim and fly to the top of Hawk. The hiking trails in play make this place a perfect outdoor escape from being swept indoors.

Eastshade

The gloomy atmosphere of the Eastshade sparkles, beckoning you to villages filled with warm joy. You are a tourist artist of the rose who takes you to all corners of the island: cliffs covered with windmills, balloons on horseback towards snow-capped peaks, ancient forest paths leading to the beach. There is the golden light of Japan, a solar eclipse of supernatural beauty once a day and low pressure missions assigned by nice humanoid creatures. Playing Eastshade is like the most adorable getaway for anyone who dreams of traveling to a distant land to drink tea and pursue a creative passion.

Lost Ember

You are a lost soul residing in the body of another animal, crossing a post-human world long after the disappearance of these residents. You were one of them. Sometimes when you come across the shadow of your family and friends, your past fragments come back to you. As the story progresses, the most interesting thing is to gasp against the magnificent landscape and convert the sight of the majestic wolf to the dart fish into a beautiful uterus. Each animal's ability shows you new ways to explore thriving ecosystems that you will never want to leave.


The Longing

This new inactive / adventure game has a somber tone but the deep concept and comfortable execution are worth it. Far below the surface, a king intends to sleep for 400 days - the real days, which will pass whether you play or not. In an overly worried plea, the whole king asks you to wait and never leave these caves. With this, Shadow, your goblin-like character, begins to pay attention to loneliness, walking along the vast underground network in search of little treasures. Time becomes a landscape and awaits your discovery tool, because days and weeks of real time must pass before you can continue some excursions. As it passes, Shadow begins to feel like your friend, as little steps crouch in a background window on your computer. They can really use a friend to kill time with - people who can't.

Walden, a game

Go the woods and play in this contemplative adaptation of Henry David Thoreau’s masterpiece. You can perform basic tasks – observe all kinds of plants and animals, journal about solitude and many other peaceful activities – but above all, you can walk around the glorious Walden pond and find inspiration from these thoughtful transcendentalist concepts in video game form.

MW