Just a few minutes into exploring The Midnight Walk, I caught myself thinking, "Hang on, is this the actual game or just a cutscene?" What I was witnessing appeared to be a stunning stop-motion animated film. But to my surprise, this was, in fact, the real-time game footage presented by MoonHood Studios.
The Midnight Walk carries a striking resemblance to stop-motion classics like Phil Tippett’s Mad God or those vintage Tool music videos. This likeness is partly because the game’s characters, monsters, and settings are crafted from tangible materials. As explained by Klaus Lyngeled from MoonHood, the team meticulously sculpted around 700 objects, 3D-scanned them, and then transformed them into polygonal models. The figures move with that charming stop-motion jitter, and the camera’s shallow depth of field rounds out the aesthetic.
Klaus Lyngeled, teaming up with writer Olov Redmalm, describes their creation as a first-person, story-driven puzzle game that’s branded as a "cozy horror adventure." It’s teeming with quirky characters and amiable monsters. Across its various fairy-tale-like chapters, one finds a recurring theme—bringing warmth and light back to a gloomy world.
The narrative kicks off with our protagonist, the Burnt One, clawing their way out of a grave, piecing themselves together, and embarking on an adventure along the Midnight Walk highway. Alongside them is an endearing little sidekick, Potboy, who has a cleverly designed brazier atop its head. Using Potboy’s flame and some handy matches, players can light torches that illuminate the Midnight Walk and fend off foes.
Throughout the game, expect to engage in some puzzle-solving and stealth sequences. There’s even a unique mechanic allowing players to close their eyes to immerse in the surroundings through sound, accentuated by MoonHood’s recommendation to use headphones for the binaural audio experience. Not to mention, there’s a bit of "gunplay" tossed in—players get their hands on a weapon that shoots lit matches, extending their reach against adversaries and aiding in puzzles.
Despite its cozy vibe, primarily thanks to the delightful Potboy, The Midnight Walk doesn’t shy away from eerie elements. The monsters and bosses are each odd in their own right: you’ve got scuttling, monocular mutants, gargantuan spider-like creatures, creepy beings with stitched-shut eyes, and slithering slug entities that seem perpetually agitated.
The game’s influences, from Over the Garden Wall and The Nightmare Before Christmas to David Lynch and Half-Life 2, are evident in its design. Still, it’s the unique blend of these inspirations that makes The Midnight Walk stand out from its predecessors. As someone who wasn’t particularly aware of MoonHood’s latest project before last week, I must say, it has certainly piqued my interest.
And the best part? We don’t have much longer to wait. The Midnight Walk is set to launch on PlayStation 5, complete with PlayStation VR2 support, and on Windows PC via Steam on May 8.
