Walden, a game

University of Southern California · May 15, 2018

Everyone

About

Take on Henry David Thoreau’s classic adventure in living simply in nature as you explore this epic open world game based on the story of Thoreau’s life in the woods alone at Walden Pond. Features a dynamic and changing natural environment filled with exquisite details, as well as a multi-faceted narrative following Thoreau’s quest for solitude and inspiration in the woods during a time of personal and social crises. Can you balance your basic needs for survival against your search for beauty and the sublime? Will you live life “deliberately”? Or will you live a life of “quiet desperation”? Find out in this critically acclaimed title that Smithsonian Magazine has called “the world’s most improbable video game.”

Trailers & screenshots

Critic reviews

TechRaptor
Lee Mehr · Jul 19, 2021
3.5
The further away I get from Walden, a game the more it reveals how lacking it is compared to the source material. From a consumerist perspective, you can pay the same amount for this game ($9.99) as the Penguin Classic paperback duo of “Civil Disobedience” & Walden; plus, you don't have to traipse around a simulated world for hours on end to collect a patchwork of Thoreau's great epigrams and deep-rooted values.
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Xbox Tavern
Jamie Collyer · Jul 18, 2021
7.8
The slow pace is kind of the point, and Walden, a Game uses it to force us to soak in some lovely sights and sounds. Thoreau’s writings are often insightful, helping build the world out nicely, and that we’re free to explore and complete tasks pretty much at our leisure means this is a perfect title to unwind with over the course of a few evenings.
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COGconnected
Haley Perry · May 29, 2018
6.0
Overall, Walden, a game turns a gorgeous piece of literary work into an interactive experience where the player can truly live out Thoreau’s vision and experiment. For those seeking excitement and thrill, this title will likely bore you. However, for educators or those looking for a short, calming episode that connects the player to the underappreciated beauty of nature (without actually having to leave the home), Walden is a great little option.
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TheXboxHub
James Birks · Jul 13, 2021
9.0
Despite the bulk of the storytelling being over within six hours, the opportunity to remain in Walden Pond is one that many will accept as they uncover everything this world has to offer. Sure, the survival aspects are a bit of distraction, however they aren’t massively detrimental to the adventure.
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VGChartz
Paul Broussard · May 17, 2018
3.0
Simply put, Walden does a good job of being like the book, and a very bad job of being a video game. If you’re absolutely desperate for the opportunity to live like Thoreau did without having to actually doing so, then you might extract some odd sense of enjoyment from this. For everyone else, I can’t recommend it. Read the book if you’re so inclined and save yourself a frustrating experience of tedious quick time events and tiny stamina bars.
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