Year Walk

Set in 19th-century Sweden, Year Walk follows a person undertaking a traditional winter vision quest to glimpse the future and learn whether a loved one will return their affection. The first-person adventure moves through a dark forest inhabited by supernatural figures from Swedish folklore.

Explore the woods, investigate locations, and solve cryptic puzzles using visual and listening clues. The game’s presentation shifts between two and three dimensions, and encounters with folklore creatures are accompanied by encyclopedia entries about their myths.

A map and hint system can help with navigation and puzzles. After completing the adventure, further material—including a researcher’s journal—adds context to the events and invites players to revisit what they have encountered.

Players often praise Year Walk’s wintry atmosphere, striking art, and soundtrack, along with its use of Swedish folklore and an eerie story that can linger after the short adventure ends. Some enjoy the puzzles and the extra context found in the encyclopedia and post-completion material. Others find the puzzle logic or forest navigation unclear, and feel that wandering, jump scares, or the way the story is explained detract from the experience.