Review of The Midnight Walk rating **** 1/2
This VR game won the award for best VR game of 2025. Being a VR enthusiast, I wondered how it was that I had not heard anything about this game until after it had won an award. What it tells me is that the Steam recommendation algorithm needs improvement. Another missing link is the lack of reviews outside the Steam ecosystem. People learn about books and films from reviews. The same should be true for VR games.
I have to say that my very first impression with this game was negative. That’s only because I wasn’t able to play it after the initial download. For some unknown reason, I had the misunderstanding that I needed a gamepad to play it. So, I moved on to another game before returning to this one. In the meantime, I ponied up $50 to buy an Xbox gamepad.
With my new gamepad in hand, I relaunched The Midnight Walk and tried to set up my controls. That made me even more pissed off at the game because I couldn’t get the gamepad to work properly. I was about to give up when I tried using my controllers (Pimax Crystal Light). I discovered that my controllers worked perfectly. I don’t know if they updated the game to accept controllers or if I just missed the memo, but now I was off and running.
This VR game is built entirely with stop-motion animation using clay figures. I read one review where they described it as if you were dropped into a Tim Burton film, and that is an accurate comparison. The characters and environments are unique and ethereal. If you’re looking to escape to another world, this game will do the trick.
For the most part, this is strictly a VR puzzle game. There are a few monsters and goblins that you have to dispatch to move forward, but solving puzzles is the primary goal. When it comes to puzzle games, I like games that set up their puzzles in varying environments. My brain needs a rest every now and then. Give me a puzzle, let me figure it out, reward me by putting me in a different place with a new puzzle. That way I can take a break while I explore my new surroundings. I spent a lot of time admiring the craftsmanship that went into creating this game.
I hate to admit it, but I got stuck almost at the very beginning. I could not figure out what I was supposed to do with the match like items I came across. I don’t giveaway spoilers. All I will say is that I figured it out by accident. Other than that one hiccup, I only had to go online for an answer once. As it turned out, I had the solution, but I just wasn’t quick enough with the controllers. Even knowing exactly what I had to do, it took me several more attempts to make it through a particular gauntlet.
While I don’t give away spoilers, I do offer tips. One tip I wish I knew beforehand was that items you pick up during the game I stored in, what I will call a pouch, on your left hip. You cycle through the items with your controller. The part I didn’t know was that you retrieve items from your inventory by removing them with your free hand.
One more reason I knocked off a half of a star in my review is that there is one section of the game that did not seem to have as much importance as you might expect, and that is the whole Housey section. I spent a lot of time in and out of Housey, and I can’t say that it helped me solve a single puzzle.
As much as I enjoyed the game, there were two other games that were also nominated for best VR game of 2025 – Ghost Town and Alien: Rogue Incursion. I give the edge to those two games with Alien: Rogue Incursion being my pick for best game of 2025.