I wasn’t sure what to expect going into The Midnight Walk. I hadn’t played anything by Moonhood before, and I’d seen people call it everything from a “claymation horror story” to an “interactive fairy tale.” After finishing it, I’d say both descriptions are fair but they don’t quite capture what makes the experience stick with you.
You play as a strange, burned figure traveling to Moon Mountain in a sunless world. With you is Potboy, a small torch-carrying companion who lights the way both literally and emotionally. It’s a short game, about five to six hours long, but it manages to pack in more atmosphere, heart, and creativity than most longer games I’ve played this year.
Visually, it grabbed me right away. The handcrafted claymation look feels like it was ripped straight out of a Tim Burton film. It’s full of crooked buildings, twitchy creatures, and environments that look fragile and forgotten. The music and sound design add a lot, too, pulling you into the world before you even realize how heavy some of the story beats are going to get.
The Midnight Walk can also be played in VR on PSVR2 and PC headsets, but I experienced it on a regular screen and still found it memorable and emotionally affecting.
A Story Told in Shadows
The story in The Midnight Walk doesn’t explain much up front, but that worked for me. You’re simply dropped into a world that’s lost its sun, playing as a burned figure called The Burnt One. Potboy is your only companion, and together, you’re heading for Moon Mountain to find a purpose for his flame. That setup is enough to get going, but it’s what happens along the way that really stuck with me.
Each chapter tells its own short story. Some are sad, others are strange, and most are a mix of both. You meet a town full of disembodied heads, a two-headed prophet, and a walking house that feels like it has a history of its own. None of it is explained too directly, but everything feels like it has meaning. That made me pay closer attention than I usually do.
I didn’t expect The Midnight Walk to get emotional, but it did. There’s a story about a craftsman forcing his daughter to lead when all she wants to do is dance, and it hit harder than I expected. The writing is subtle, and the narrator’s old-school voiceover style helps sell the mood without overdoing it.
Even the breaks between chapters, the actual ‘midnight walk,’ add something. They’re quiet, safe stretches that gave me time to reflect on what I’d just seen. It’s rare for a game to slow down like that in a way that feels earned.
This isn’t a story filled with twists or huge revelations. It’s more about quiet sadness, little moments of connection, and strange beauty. It won’t be for everyone, but if that kind of storytelling speaks to you, it’s easy to get pulled in.
Light Puzzles and Quiet Tension
The Midnight Walk isn’t about complex gameplay or action-heavy set pieces. Most of your time is spent sneaking past twisted creatures, solving light environmental puzzles, and guiding Potboy to light candles or activate switches. There’s no combat, and almost every challenge is built around staying out of sight and using timing to slip through.
The game introduces a few mechanics early on, like closing your eyes to make certain symbols disappear or listen for nearby sounds, but they’re used sparingly. There’s no real difficulty curve to speak of. You’re meant to move through the story, not get stuck in it.
There’s a chapter where you’re sneaking through a ruined village while avoiding a creature called the Molgrim. You’re ducking behind ruined walls, listening for its dragging footsteps, and waiting for the right time to move. It wasn’t hard, but it was just tense enough to make me hesitate. There’s no rush, no fail screen, just the quiet pressure of trying not to be seen. It worked.
The puzzles are mostly about observation and timing. Sometimes it’s as simple as figuring out the right order to light torches. Other times, you’re using Potboy to distract enemies or trigger distant switches while you hide. These sections are basic but feel purposeful. They’re there to support the world, not distract from it.
If you’re expecting challenge or variety, you won’t find much. But if you’re open to slower, simpler gameplay that’s more about atmosphere than mechanics, it gets the job done.
Clay, Shadows, and Sound
The Midnight Walk doesn’t look like anything else I’ve played recently. Its entire world is made of scanned clay models, giving everything a rough, handmade quality that fits the game’s mood perfectly. The stop-motion style makes every movement feel slightly off in a good way. Characters twitch just enough to make you uneasy, even when they’re supposed to be friendly.
The environments are just as distinct. You move through crooked towns, crumbling ruins, and dim caves that all look like they could fall apart at any second. It’s detailed without being busy, and the visual design supports the storytelling at every turn. One chapter even includes a silent film sequence, and the way it’s presented, complete with an actual scanned projector, adds another layer of personality.
The sound design is just as strong. From the narrator’s gravelly delivery to the quiet background hum of unsettling noises, everything feels carefully placed. The soundtrack uses quiet strings and piano, with louder moments kicking in when things get more intense. It knows when to stay quiet and when to push forward, and it carries a lot of the game’s emotional weight.
There were a couple of spots where performance dipped slightly, usually just a quick frame stutter between areas, but nothing that broke the mood. The visuals and sound stay focused and never get in the way of what the game’s trying to do.
Even without VR, the world feels alive in its own eerie way. The presentation sells the atmosphere better than any jump scare could, and it sticks with you long after you finish.
A Storybook Journey Through the Dark
The Midnight Walk won’t be for everyone. It’s slow, strange, and more about atmosphere than gameplay. But if you’re in the right headspace, it offers something really special, a storybook journey through a sad and beautiful world, told in a way that’s quiet but confident.
What surprised me most wasn’t the visuals, even though they’re some of the most distinctive I’ve seen in a long time. It was how much the game made me think after I was done. There’s no big twist or dramatic payoff. It’s just a series of small, emotional stories that add up to something larger. The way those moments are paced and delivered gives you time to sit with them, which is something more games could learn from.
Even without VR, the experience feels personal. You’re alone in the dark, relying on sound and shadows to find your way, with Potboy’s little flame as your guide. That image sticks with me. It’s a game about keeping a spark alive when everything else feels lost, and that message comes through clearly, even if it never says it out loud.
Some sections felt a bit lighter, especially early on, with simpler stealth and puzzles that eased me into the experience. But the game knows what it’s trying to be, and it doesn’t try to do more than it should. That kind of honesty stuck with me.
If you’re looking for something quiet, creative, and a little sad, The Midnight Walk is a journey worth going on.
The Midnight Walk
Summary
The Midnight Walk tells a quiet, emotional story through claymation visuals, detailed sound design, and light stealth gameplay. Its chapter-based structure, subtle writing, and thoughtful pacing create a narrative that lingers after it ends. While the gameplay is simple, the world and characters make the journey worth taking.
As always, remember to follow us on our social media (e.g., Threads, X (Twitter), Bluesky, YouTube and Facebook) to keep up with the latest news.
Sounds like exactly a game that I’d love to play! Sometimes it’s nice to have an emotional story added with some light gameplay mechanics. I can’t wait to try it!