Updated
Updated · Eurogamer.net · Aug 17
Eurogamer Author Hosts Big Walk for 12 Strangers to Tackle Loneliness
Updated
Updated · Eurogamer.net · Aug 17

Eurogamer Author Hosts Big Walk for 12 Strangers to Tackle Loneliness

2 articles · Updated · Eurogamer.net · Aug 17

Summary

  • Twelve players joined a Eurogamer-organized Big Walk session after the author set up the experiment for people who lacked regular gaming groups.
  • Loneliness drove the event: comments on Eurogamer’s five-star review thread showed interest in the game, but many readers said they had no friends available to play it with.
  • Big Walk’s design first turned the full group into chaos, then pushed it into smaller teams as players solved puzzles, used walkie-talkies and shared isolated, local moments.
  • Discord messages after the session showed strangers identifying one another, recalling shared adventures and describing the evening as a warm, memorable social experience.
  • The piece argues that Big Walk’s real strength is not complexity but the space it creates for connection, making online play feel accessible to people otherwise left out.

Insights

What happens when a video game forces twelve strangers to awkwardly solve puzzles designed for only four?
Can a simple, anonymous virtual forest walk genuinely replace traditional social networks for forging new friendships?
Could stripping away player identities and names be the ultimate secret to curing toxic multiplayer gaming?