Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked)
Now fully aware of fire-hungry crawling monsters lurking in the shadows, I jump out of my skin at scuttling sounds behind me. I swing around and breathe a sigh of relief. It is just my house, which has sprouted legs and is dutifully following me on my odyssey to Moon Mountain.
First released on PS5 and PC in May 2025, The Midnight Walk can easily be compared to the work of Tim Burton. Its mix of stop-motion horror and heartfelt charm recalls The Nightmare Before Christmas and Frankenweenie. Developers Klaus Lyngeled and Olov Redmaln have fostered this style over multiple titles, most recently 2021’s dice-based adventure game Lost In Random. With this beautifully grotesque walking simulator, the MoonHood co-founders deliver a fascinating, sweet, and often terrifying journey through a bizarre world.
A melting pot of Nordic folklore, religious ideology, and the original creations of its developers, A Midnight Walk puts you in the charred body of the Burnt One. A gruff narrator tells their tale as if it’s already unfolded, an epic and doomladen narrative that starts off mysterious and only gets more complex as you push through this dark fairy tale. Crackling voice notes are stored in rusty snail shells that litter your path, building the world and slowly expositing the purpose of your journey.
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld/Undocked)
Early on you meet Potboy, the one (literal and metaphorical) source of light in your trek. This little guy follows you through the world, lighting the way, opening doors and solving puzzles. He is an adorable presence and, while he is never in much peril, you feel like protecting him is integral to your quest.
There are other characters littered along the road, like the mysterious soothsayers that give you purpose by sending you to Moon Mountain. The Soulfisher sits by campfires and imparts sage wisdom. Best of all is Housy, your humble abode. Inside lies a warm hearth and all of your collectibles, outside the shack skitters around on spider legs and is almost as cute as Potboy.
Not all characters are benevolent, however. This isn’t a walking simulator where you are never under threat. The Burnt One spends a good portion of their journey to Moon Mountain hiding from crawling beasts that crave your fire.
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld/Undocked)
Evading monsters involves sneaking around, hiding in closets, and using fire to distract them. Getting through these sections is never particularly taxing, and the puzzle mechanics shift often enough to keep things fresh across this eight hour experience. Despite how easy it can be to shake these beasties off, they are always terrifying. In The Midnight Walk, everything around you conveys menace. When the threat is not real, it is implied. Most characters do not seem to want you around, and even the friendly ones only have grim portents to share.
Yet through all the gloom all is Potboy, your helpful little adopted child. He scrambles around, igniting things to help you on your way. You’ll occasionally come across coal that can be fed to him, which elicits a squeak and a merry little dance. He remains a positive presence throughout this bleak and oppressive tale.
For such a dark and abstract world, this game is certainly a looker. Every step of your five(ish)-hour journey is filled with elaborate nightmares and dreamscapes, creating a living world that feels aware of your presence and reacts accordingly. The stretches between monster evasion are just as nerve shattering, when everything around you feels alive it’s difficult to know what wants to eat you.
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld/Undocked)
Characters move in jerky, stop-motion animation, while the environments constantly shift, growing and receding as you pass through them. All these assets began as real clay models before being 3D scanned. This tactile creative choice shines through as a unique and engaging aesthetic.
The game performs well on both large and small screens, though playing undocked reduces the atmosphere considerably, and also the sense of dread.
What remains effective in both modes is the audio design. A VR version of The Midnight Walk was developed in parallel and the directional audio carries over surprisingly well. A key mechanic is the ability to close the Burnt One’s eyes and listen for activity around you, sometimes while being pursued by something that wants to gobble you up. This is yet another way that the game pulls you into its world, whether you want to be there or not.
Conclusion
The Midnight Walk is an intoxicating journey through a beautifully twisted nightmare world. The Burnt One’s quest to Moon Mountain is an atmospheric, bleak, and surprisingly sweet story that’s worth experiencing.
