Ranking walking simulators by how good the walking is

Walking simulators like Gone Home, Firewatch, and What Remains of Edith Finch are critically acclaimed emotional journeys of the soul. But can we really call them walking simulators, if we don't know how good their walking is????
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[@ashopal5811]

Me: Poly-mom, can I get a new Unraveled? Polygon: We have Unraveled at home. Unraveled at home: Me: Aw hell yeah, Clayton brand. Thanks mom.

[@polygon]

this is cute, actually

[@ashopal5811]

@@polygon :o

[@brodeynelson3547]

Perfect 👌

[@ashopal5811]

@@RDR911 Nah man I wasn't disappointed at all; I love seein everyone on the Polygon vid team doing their own deep-dives into very specific aspects of games

[@systemiclizard3101]

Clayton brand is one of my favorite brands!

[@Savroge]

4:49 “I can’t know for sure what kind of boots they are since I’m a noncorporeal ghost” She’s a lesbian, they’re Doc Martens.

[@birdeynamnam]

Savroge lol nice joke, sorry to “uhm actually...” but the one with the boots isn’t the lesbian 😅

[@eileen1020]

Savroge The character you control isn’t a lesbian, but the main character of the story (her sister) is.

[@Savroge]

birdeynamnam RIP THATS WHAT I GET FOR MAKING A JOKE WHEN I HAVENT PLAYED THE GAME

[@Savroge]

Eileen Oops my bad 😭

[@helenquinn6927]

@@Savroge i'm going to back you up by saying we don't know what genders the player character is into and their boots sound a lot like my very lesbian doc martens

[@Skohland]

1:15 I can't believe they're gaitkeeping the act of walking now

[@polygon]

STOP

[@Skohland]

@@polygon No u

[@wasabij]

Needs more love

[@rowan4684]

I hate this so much, good job

[@livemynd]

Excellent pun. Own, don't groan.

[@Rafmorna]

clayton being sneaky trying to make brian go exercise outside

[@shareefshabani756]

nobodyjack Brian needs to exercise for his role as Waluigi

[@lawrencescales9864]

nobodyjack he has to be ready for the Olympic tennis game he’ll be playing with Mario

[@TC-mp7vn]

What a good friend

[@IAmNotAWoodenDuck]

His voice and demeanor makes it seem like I'm watching a very important and educational documentary. And I am.

[@cathy6828]

Not gonna lie, you had me at the first part... 😅😂

[@TheMagneticChicken]

yes i feel very clever. i say what is walking to my friends and none can respond.

[@trishybear8029]

instructions unclear: *i've found myself without legs*

[@dinolandra]

Instructions unclear. My legs turned into a ceiling fan

[@dittmar104]

There you are Felix I found you.

[@adamd1383]

"But what is walking?" *Brian David Gilbert cameo*

[@AuntBibby]

Adam Desseyn but what is walking? BDG: it’s all in the hips, baby

[@bloomingallium]

BDG is gay dad god

[@Arrakiz666]

That short clip of him power-walking towards the camera is just

[@samforeman8796]

Honestly BDG demo'd more of strut (self-conscious gait) or swagger than a walk... Still recorded it and saved it as my desktop screensaver.

[@TheArachnoBot]

Vsauce cameo wouldve been cool :(

[@lilah9876]

"maybe the heavy boots infer something about her personality" yeah, shes a lesbian (this post made by gay combat boot gang)

[@commandrogyne]

theyre doc Martin's, obvi

[@smallbeanmusic2187]

Lesbian isn't a personality trait Because not all lesbians are the same

[@sylghouls]

Cosigned

[@kropotkinnie]

@@smallbeanmusic2187 I mean I'm not lesbian so I can't tell, but as a bisexual dude, gay def *also* qualifies for a personality trait by me, and it does in fact include me wearing doc 1914's to signify that i'm a switch to the other gays. gay might not be a personality trait, but "boot gay" sure is babey, how else am i supposed to find mates in the wilderness

[@vergil61]

I'm sorry but the character with the boots isn't the lesbian, is her sister.

[@Rafmorna]

i love clayton's vids, i love when he edits and how he pretty much manages all the overboards but i really love videos where we get clayton's views on different games. polygon, gimme more clayton talking about walking!

[@courtjester42069]

I religiously watch polygon videos despite never having played a video game and that just shows how good the content is

[@XachWasTaken]

I don't think polygon actually plays games too so ur all good chief

[@cathy6828]

@@XachWasTaken looooool

[@smallbeanmusic2187]

You've must've played at least one game in your whole life . Are you saying you haven't even played a mobile game

[@courtjester42069]

Small bean music I only play those puzzle games every other game has commercials for. So if those count then yes

[@sarahfinch1808]

me neither!

[@Apollo9898LP]

i'm really glad we've gotten to the point where everything put out on this youtube channel is weird and wonderful

[@sponge1234ify]

I'm really glad we've gotten _back_ to the point-*

[@FishHookEXE]

@@sponge1234ify for sure, there was a moment where polygon needed to re-find its specific brand of weird and I am SO god damn happy they have

[@ciara947]

Clayton is always giving us the content we didn't know we needed

[@cathy6828]

Ugh you're so right...

[@systemiclizard3101]

its the content we needed, but dont deserve

[@NicovonStackelberg]

I feel like that is somehow polygon‘s motto in general

[@Pablo360able]

it makes sense that there's a bdg cameo since this is basically an unraveled

[@rebeccasmith847]

Only Brian could somehow be so focal in SOMEONE ELSE'S VIDEO.... BY WALKING

[@ms.aelanwyr.ilaicos]

Absolutely fabulous man

[@TheJudoJoker]

He's polygon's Jon Bois

[@cubonefan3]

Stop mentioning Brian and let Clayton shine

[@lucianoschroeder9777]

I always imagine the Polygon cast in a meeting, pitching ideas like 1: "How about we make a video analyzing (example:) the effects of wind in videogames." 2: Why would anyone ever need to know that?. 1: Because... Um... 2: Greenlit

[@felixvelariusbos]

Also Polygon: 3: How about we make a video reviewing the latest game? 1 and 2: Why on earth would anybody want to watch that? Get back to ranking Kirby characters by bounciness!

[@taakotuesdays]

@@felixvelariusbos tbf I'd much rather hear bdg rank Kirby characters by bounciness

[@felixvelariusbos]

@@taakotuesdays Oh it would be a wonderful list. King DeDeDe? Surprisingly bouncy. Meta Knight? 3/10 not bouncy.

[@n00tles]

I love spreadsheets and locomotion so this appeals to all my interests

[@polygon]

you have a very specific set of interests

[@moshadj]

The set intersection is even more niche

[@IndigoGollum]

Do you use spreadsheets recreationally?

[@blob9638]

"any faster, and it's a jog!" Any slower, and it's a slog

[@VidGamer123]

Any wetter, and it's a bog.

[@NyanMango]

@@VidGamer123 Any harder, and it's a log

[@HighVoltageRat]

@@NyanMango Any higher, and it's a frog

[@HighVoltageRat]

@@NyanMango Any higher, and it's a frog

[@tmack729]

Any more than 3 shakes, and it's a wank

[@LucidProtean]

Death Stranding truly is the first AAA Walking Simulator. It makes walking a forefront mechanic of the gameplay experience rather than a realistic limitation of the medium. The first ever walking sim? Probably QWOP, but that game is about running and you hardly keep both feet on the ground. Buffalo

[@Feasco]

You feet leave the ground on vehicles, disqualified

[@LucidProtean]

@@Feasco only cowards use vehicles in Strand games

[@kadoferusuraimu]

Yes, to adapt terminology from racing genres, the games in this video are "arcade walkers", not "walking sims".

[@Optamizm]

It's not a walking simulator.

[@LucidProtean]

@@Optamizm The main mechanic from my understanding is carrying packages from one place to another, initially on foot. It's very pedantic of me to say that since the main gameplay loop for the first hours (until better modes of travel are available) is in fact a Simulation of Walking, but this video is intentionally pedantic about its definition of Walking Sim and so am I. It's at least a better descriptor than a "Strand-type game"

[@sarahwilliams8438]

"Jogging...don't like that" SAME CLAYTON

[@charlotte8041]

brian david gilbert... king of walking..

[@todayjackdo7036]

Duke of jorts

[@farraiget4981]

Today Jack Do best title i lost my shit

[@edwardcekici1072]

I like how Clayton got me to ponder the hyper-focus of the video game industry on gameplay over story... by talking about walking.

[@Viking2575]

Polygon's premise is high tier shit-posting. And I love it.

[@johnnychopsocky]

My favorite walking you can do in gaming happens exclusively in character action games. There, it's not the default; it's a conscious choice. Any farther on the stick, and your character is hauling ass. But just nudge that stick forward just a bit, and your character's gait tells a story about how awesome they are and how absolutely hosed the demon/angel/soldier they're walking towards is.

[@varsoonhks3211]

My favorite thing about the first Dark Souls was using the dried knuckle and waiting in the Undead Burg cathedral as a level 20 Solaire cosplay character to hose invaders. They'd show up in my world expecting to grief some new player, only for me to slowly walk towards them and absolutely destroy them. By the same right, I enjoyed doing themed invasions as a Black Knight or other NPC and acting as if I was an element of the game rather than a human player. This is a large part of what built a mystifying experience for me when playing the game for the first time and I feel that sort of experience may be lost forever with every FROMsoft game since and even in Dark Souls itself as there are many, many more people cheating and new players avoiding the online components entirely.

[@Arrakiz666]

@@varsoonhks3211 Man, stories of people roleplaying in Dark Souls are just the best. I remember one time when I was doing multiplayer in DS 3 with friends and an Invader with the Ring of Deception named Miyazaki walked in. We all gathered around him and started bowing. We then safely escorted him to the end of the level where we sacrificed ourselves to him one by one along with the host in some kind of a weird ritual, it was great.

[@varsoonhks3211]

@@Arrakiz666 I love that kind of stuff. I used to invade low level players in Dark Souls as well with a character that had all the starting equipment sets. I'd use Chameleon and only move when they weren't facing me, making it seem like a Looney Tunes bit. When they finally hit me, it'd do no damage as it'd reveal that, while looking like a barrel, I equipped a full set of +10 starter armor so that I looked identical to them. I'd then follow them around, sort-of mockingly mirroring what they'd do--so if they attacked a Hollow, I'd run in and swing at them too. The best interaction is when casters would shoot a soul arrow at me, I'd side step it and go to shoot a spell of my own, but since I couldn't, I'd just do the fumble animation for not being able to actually cast the spell. If they started rolling, I'd comically roll around until I ran out of stamina. If they ran off a ledge, I'd jump to my death too. Those sorts of joke invasions were hilarious, but they also helped newer players avoid having to be invaded by anyone else, so in a way, I felt like I was helping people too. If they were having a hard time, I'd run ahead and set up to 'ambush' them in a real obvious way, which would signal there were actual ambushes ahead. I'd use gestures and change my equipment to try to show what enemies were up ahead (Balder Knights, Channeler, etc.) and help guide them. If they made it to the fog gate, I'd give them a big wave goodbye. It was fun times.

[@Arrakiz666]

@@varsoonhks3211 I was once invaded by a character named Peeping Tom. He would run around me constantly and hide behind barrels and then just equip Binoculars. He would do nothing else, just watch. When cornered, he would do Greirat's emote and plead for mercy and then run away. Dark Souls community is the best.

[@varsoonhks3211]

@@Arrakiz666 Beautiful I really hope games with that sort of online community can continue to exist

[@isadorabrown8146]

Thank you Brian for showing us how to walk

[@abbykleimola3775]

Brian is the only one qualified to teach us to walk

[@Atomsk359]

I am so tired of hearing that walking is full body when it is only most your body. e.g. you do not use teeth in walking and toothless people can enjoy a full walking experience.

[@cathy6828]

You clearly haven't seen me strut by... 😬

[@fgellert5623]

what the fuck do you mean you don't use your teeth when you walk

[@johnnychopsocky]

You haven't watched enough pro wrestling then. Just watch Stone Cold Steve Austin walk to the ring; that dude is getting some damn cardio in on that journey.

[@lilyk3734]

Umm maybe YOU don't use your teeth

[@Atomsk359]

@@lilyk3734 my point exactly

[@boodles25]

4:56 gays walk fast, we all know this

[@MakeVarahHappen]

I think the thing I love the most about Clayton's vid is that the tone and comedy and pacing that Clayton usually brings in his camera work and editing is now put it in front of the camera for me to enjoy. It really feels harmonious between the typical Polygon video style and his narration. A match made in heaven.

[@Mr_Spaghetti]

while it’d probably be disqualified for some reason, I believe The Witness would score high. loved walking around that island

[@Mr_Spaghetti]

also i know he was goofing with the AAA title comment, but boy does Rockstar nail walking. Ever since LA Noire revamped how characters walk up or down stairs, they’ve done some of the best locomotion work in the industry. Now if only they could pay their employees properly and get rid of crunch...

[@theviniso]

If we are going there, then The Talos Principle deserves a shout out as well. It's a puzzle game, sure, but you do walk a lot.

[@felipimacedo]

disqualified because of BOAT

[@zander67]

I think your walking model is entirely too powerful

[@kabelmarder2760]

I never thought I would ever hear someone give spoiler warnings about *feet*

[@annatighe8629]

I don’t get the spoiler I can’t tell what’s weird about the feet lol

[@deet917]

@@annatighe8629 *spoilers.... They're not Edith Finch's feet but her sons. She was also taken by the family curse prior to the game.

[@chicharon8171]

@@deet917 Really? I thought the spoiler was that.. she was pregnant and you can see her belly by looking down. When did it become her son's feet?

[@DubiousDoom]

Brian out here having the time of his life demoing a walk.

[@olissm]

the music makes this feel like a video that plays before a semi-educational amusement park ride

[@seiretzym]

"I haven't been this excited about video game feet since Overwatch's Sigma" Oh my goddd

[@rachelladue1572]

idk why but at this moment Clayton really reminded me of Doubleca5t from the "what blank ship says about you" series

[@cupofcakee]

hell yeah I love walking

[@MisterAppleEsq]

Same!!!!

[@shlimon7667]

Bro I do it like every day

[@noahsark.cosplay]

This video has such a good vibe and I can really only compare how it makes me feel like this Brian: *breaks into my house at 3 am and yells at me about bowser for 30 minutes* Clayton: *gently holds me while he recounts the tales of his childhood to lull me to sleep* Both provide me w serotonin

[@elithebicycle760]

Walking Person | Brian David Gilbert i cackled

[@seiretzym]

"Let me see them feet" CLAYTON NO

[@immysnowden]

i love walking simulators! as someone with anxiety the ability to piece together a story and feel a range of emotions from the game without the constant terror of being hurt or murdered is literally the best

[@go-go-genevieve]

Even watching Edith Finch out of context my eyes just well up with tears... That game ruined me 🥺😢😭

[@joaquinglassmann62el.91]

Why are feet a spoiler? Is it a joke that I missed or are they actually? I HAVE TO KNOW

[@mixedstaples8030]

@@joaquinglassmann62el.91 It's not the feet

[@TheLightAesthetic]

Butterfly Slayer spoilers - the player character is pregnant, which isn’t explicitly called out until towards the end of the game.

[@joaquinglassmann62el.91]

@@TheLightAesthetic ohh, got it, thank you

[@somebitch1225]

Genevieve can you please explain why looking at her body is a spoiler?

[@zandermetrakos2637]

I love it when you can see your own body in first person video games. Wolfenstein 2 does it really well with your own body appearing in different outfits and your shadow adding to the atmospheric lighting

[@isaactfa]

"Moderate. Maybe even brisk." I don't know if I can handle these levels of excitement.

[@jannecapelle_art]

"walking involves moving the whole body in subtle ways" *shows bdg moving his body extremely unsubtly*

[@ello-olle]

Janne Capelle that’s the subtlest bdg can go, sorry

[@gemstonegynoid7475]

Reminds me of the Good Mythical Morning episode on muggable vs unmuggable walking. Where the walking that looks like someone whod be mugged walks like this

[@sylghouls]

clayton this is a hilarious premise for a video thank you so much

[@Mochi-vh2vi]

"am I out of touch? No it's the games that are wrong" -clayton, and also those "no politics in muh bideo gamez" dudes

[@Shinigami13133]

Overtly political games tend to age poorly and are groan worthy, I'd prefer to keep that out of my medium (and really, all artistic mediums) so it can grow and mature

[@Tallia3]

jarrod nash hate to tell you this, dude, but all art is political whether you realize it or not

[@ktglick]

jarrod nash totally that’s why books like Animal Farm and 1984 aged so poorly

[@Pepperdove]

Also: a simpsons reference

[@ravenfrancis1476]

@@Shinigami13133 The first two Fallout games (and New Vegas), every game in the Metal Gear Solid series, Bioshock, and Final Fantasy 7 all contain overt political messages (to the point where in cases like MGS 80% of the content in the games are the characters lecturing their preferred political philosophy at one another and in cases like Bioshock are specifically made exclusively to deconstruct real world political ideologies) and they're some of the most critically acclaimed well remembered games ever.

[@FreakingIzzy]

Clayton has just been waiting, honing his editing skills, watching what the people want, just so he could take over polygon. Clayton you are the prodigal son of polygon comedy

[@KyosBlog]

"Dear Esther" is set in Scotland, so your door size estimation doesn't really add up, as the sizes here are somewhere around 2'4" to 2'6", so you walk a lot slower.

[@lawrencescales9864]

Kyo555 so would it be more like 2 mph? Or a little under three, since his building would be 24 ish feet and not 23.

[@RandomBrick13]

2:02 The sheer _danger_ I feel in this sequence got my heart pumping

[@riverfare2847]

Clayton has one of my favorite types of humor which is the kind that absolutely refuses to let you know through tone that they're joking.

[@roisinrowan1341]

"am i so out of touch? no. it is the games that are wrong." god i love when polygon use memes i also use. it makes me feel Validated

[@scoobysnax]

"I can't one for sure what type of boots they are," they're obviously Doc Martens, c'mon. 😏

[@llybian8102]

When Brian broke into a full-on model strut I snorted so hard I had to get a tissue.

[@blundungus]

Clayton: Jogging automatically disqualifies Firewatch. Also Clayton: I will be completely ignoring the “sprint” function.

[@monserratbarahona8603]

CLAYTON CONTENT!!! this was hilarious ajdjsjjs thank you Polygon for your excellent brand of humor and weird yet informative videos. I have learned much about the art of walking today

[@idioticmanbaby7815]

I saw this in my inbox and perambulated as fast as possible to my phone

[@Quroe_]

"This is a story about a man named Stanley. Stanley worked for a company in a big building where he was Employee #427. Employee #427's job was simple: he sat at his desk in Room 427 and he pushed buttons on a keyboard. Orders came to him through a monitor on his desk telling him what buttons to push, how long to push them, and in what order. This is what Employee #427 did every day of every month of every year, and although others may have considered it soul rending, Stanley relished every moment that the orders came in, as though he had been made exactly for this job. And Stanley was happy." *-The Stanley Parable*

[@djhakase]

Garbage comment. Not enough Raphael.

[@clairecohen3178]

I never knew I needed this, but what an absolute delight of a video! Thanks Clayton!

[@edwardnygma8533]

The fact that the walking and the body of the main character were spoilers is wild to me. Whatever it is, I've got to play this game now.

[@manwhat7156]

i don't really think it's a spoiler; mostly it just creates a suspicion that's confirmed halfway in real good walkin sim though

[@edwardnygma8533]

@@manwhat7156 I mean I may have to rewatch this video but I was under the impression that we concluded that this WASN'T a good walking simulator.

[@freindmaker4473]

@@edwardnygma8533 its an insanely great story

[@sylghouls]

6:27 me in every gym class I ever took

[@alsobununu8402]

How did you do a walking simulator video without the Stanley parable?

[@bloomingallium]

The entire Polygon team is such a blessing on this earth

[@imperialguard451]

8:23 my thoughts were just “i see nothing wrong why would you need a spoiler warning... oh wait yeah ok.”

[@czardeaner7713]

Do me a solid and explain the spoilers to a game that I'll never play. I'm dying of curiousity; is it the wedding ring?

[@FeaturingLil]

@@czardeaner7713 i think the spoiler is that she has a baby bump - its revealed at the end shes pregnant :)

[@TestSubjectNerd]

im half way through but i had to pause to say i think clayton is the funniest goddamn person at polygon sent TWEET

[@smallbeanmusic2187]

Brian's unravels are the best

[@TestSubjectNerd]

@@smallbeanmusic2187 I'm saying this as someone who has been pretty much consistently consuming all of brian's content for the past month: I said what I said.

[@smallbeanmusic2187]

Katie Volker Brian > Clayton = true

[@jellyjeffrey7350]

I don’t mean to be a stickler, but in Gone Home, the player character Katie’s sexuality is never revealed. Her sister, Lonnie, is explicitly a lesbian. I assume the boots have something to do with the backpacking trip through Europe she had just completed upon the game’s opening and not her sexuality. But, hey, I don’t know. Katie could be a lesbian too.

[@personperson1604]

i love how serious and matter of fact this video about walking simulators is

[@charlieh4607]

i adore how unabashedly in-depth this video is. thank u clayton for doing it again

[@moleculegirl]

Hmm I need a simulation of stretching my leg muscles

[@NOTABOT2KChann]

Death Stranding

[@NickC_222]

5:42 head-bobbing is absolutely not a part of immersion! In real life one of the things your brain (specifically the pulvinar nuclei of the thalamus) does is filter out your own head bobbing. If you watch other people walk, you'll see that their heads bob much more obviously than your own vision would have you guess. So, honestly, leaving head-bobbing _on_ is for people who hate immersion lol.

[@rachelladue1572]

alternatively, some of us just naturally bob up and down a lot as we walk so we like characters to do it too. also i like never play these games but i imagine even the natural perception we have of ourselves bobbing up and down is a little more than the absolute zero percent bobbing of a video game character, like the bobbing might be too much but no bobbing is probably too mechanical. so im saying there should be a head bobbing scale

[@Asiliea]

The pulvinar nuclei doesn't filter it out entirely. It reduces the perception of it. If you exaggerate your walk, you will likely notice some head bob as it hasn't developed to reduce _that_ much perception. Your brain can also reduce the perception of headbob through many other mechanisms, some of which can apply to visual media. As Rachel said, it should be a scale so you can adjust for your own gait, as ghost-gliding absolutely feels unnatural and immersion-breaking... to a point, until you adapt to that as well, just like a game with extreme bobbing.

[@SionTheSh33p]

Loved everything about this, please can we get more of this sweet Clayton Content soon please!

[@Abigail-hu5wf]

Clayton, never stop making videos :) I love your take on stuff, it's amazing!

[@elisabethjane3083]

"Let me see them feet." -Clayton, 2020

[@labramusic]

This was such an elaborate and sick burn, I love it.

[@Garralover44]

Great video!!! Polygon had suddenly turned into one of my favorite channels on KZbin! ❤❤

[@golden_starlight_]

i am so happy to have both Clayton studying how to walk in videogames and Brian demonstrateting. it's just so chaotic

[@ethanveach8451]

"Walking is just calculated falling." Abraham Lincoln

[@blinkfilms1]

The teens is the greatest name for the decade

[@felixvelariusbos]

I love it, too. It implies 2010-2020 we were going through puberty as a world, which I feel is very accurate. It also implies 2000-2010 were pre-teens, which also feels very very accurate (and is better to say than the "aughts" or whatever else people come up with).

[@rachelladue1572]

I just say the twenty tens because thats how we generally refer to decades, and the teens implies only 2013-2019. The real problem is that we have to say the 2000s to mean 2000-2009 because people don't know what you mean when you say the aughts. Hopefully by the time 2100 comes around the English language will have established a better word to describe this period bc i think saying the twenty-one hundreds will be even worse

[@thornprick2645]

This is a really good video. I saved it onto both my "Good" and "Fun" KZbin playlists. Because it's both of those things and I want to watch it again sometime.

[@artleitch]

2:00 Me, walking into work

[@Leah-xh1rc]

Polygon: low key foot kink channel, games.

[@yayababatoto]

The 2010s. There.

[@d0gbug]

Clunky and to long

[@zachc1164]

@@d0gbug it's 2 words?

[@sharkofjoy]

I am one minute thirty seconds into what I already know is one of my favorite videos from Polygon because I have thought about this exact thing in this exact way many times. Thank you for doing the hard work of breaking this down and researching with citations.

[@willberman1562]

I need more Clayton content, his videos are so calming

[@thepeacefish]

"Let's get Brian to do the walking demonstration" You knew what we needed

[@TheArborTree]

I wish you’d said “unshod” instead of “noneshoes”. Only chance you will ever get to use such a lovely jargon word in a video about walking.

[@shippnets5758]

Glad I'm not the only one who gets overly excited when ever my character has feet.

[@fortwas]

This video was legit so good. This is my kind of content, and I love Clayton 💕

[@Fry_Guy]

Don't walk past this delightful video!

[@churroboy4610]

5:22 made me audibly yell "STOP"

[@LurkerPlus]

Thankyou for handling that spoiler well - it was nice to know exactly when to come back to watching the video, as well as knowing that I hadn't missed out on spoken details that were non-spoilery during that period. :-) (Now, to install the Edith Finch game!)

[@Irenethemeanbean]

Thank you for this sweet, sweet Brian cameo with Clayton being excellent as always.

[@gomjabbar6246]

How could Clayton forget that with AR games, we can play the most accurate simulation of all: actually walking

[@kindoflinc]

Clayton be my middle school science teacher challenge

[@leavemealone930]

Clayton jumping from talking about the beautiful composition of Journey's music to yelling what the fuck as your character starts floating is what I live for

[@bk44228]

The writing and delivery of the humour in this video is excellent

[@neufelb]

This video taught me how to stand still

[@3possumsinatrenchcoat]

Oh how quickly we forget the TRUE walking simulators: QWOP and Manual Samuel

[@TheOneKidInTheCorner]

This is exactly the sort of video game rankings the world needs right now. Thanks, Polygon.

[@joli1320]

I love when we get to see Clayton's face! I wasn't expecting to listen to him talk about The Art of Walking for 13 minutes but I'm certainly not complaining.

[@josepholiveira2873]

4:02 Gamers getting angry about a gay main character in 2013? Boy, I'm glad things have gotten better in the intervening 7 years! ...Eep.

[@ChesireHeart]

i remember getting in an argument with a friend of mine when Walking Sims started to show up. It felt stupid cuz he was one of the ppl who went "if you cant kill someone with a gun, whats the point?" these game are filled with stories, theyre interesting. Night In The Woods specifically connected with me and so many others in such a huge way. just not in the way some gamer dude can jerk off to their killing fantasies

[@rowan4684]

It's so wild that people are like 'this genre of game is bad!!' like no, it's just not to your taste. PVP games make me anxious but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy fortnite u dingus

[@habama1077]

I'm of the opinion that while walking sims are a digital art form, they aren't games. I don't consider tech demos games either, but they are very similar. They have every artistic aspect of a game (story, a visual style, an environment, effects, music, sound design, etc.) But they lack the one thing that makes a game... well, a game, requiring minimal interaction between the player and the environment. Doesn't lower their value in my eyes as they are what they are. I'm really just arguing semantics here, but still, I don't think they are game games. Edit: of course I only mean this for the ones that don't really offer anything besides exploration and looking at things in terms of gameplay.

[@ravenfrancis1476]

@@habama1077 The thing is though a lot of walking sims offer way more than just walking through an environment. Some are about puzzle solving, some are about surviving, some are about collecting items to learn more about the world. Besides, I'd consider walking around in the world interaction with it.

[@habama1077]

@@ravenfrancis1476 if there are legitimate puzzles and other things (not reading a note at point A and going to point B) in it it's not a walking sim anymore. It's a puzzle game after that. Walking is an interaction, but it is the most basic form of it imaginable.

[@ravenfrancis1476]

Bálint Habzda Nah, picking up an item still counts as gameplay

[@katiem3252]

Finally the walking content I’ve always wanted from Polygon

[@saucyplebeian7901]

Very funny and cheeky! Thanks for showing neat games, I honestly hadn't heard of any of these