Will: Follow the Light

The type of games we tend to lump together as "walking simulators" can vary quite considerably, but I would argue that there is one thing they often have in common: they require patience from the player. They are often quite slow-paced, and unsurprisingly, require you to enjoy exploring environments. In recent years, we've seen a number of titles that all manage to offer excellent entertainment. Among the newer ones, we have, for example, Still Wakes The Deep and Herdling, and among the slightly older and also very popular ones, there are Firewatch and What Remains Of Edith Finch. If you want to stretch the boundaries a bit, you could also argue that the Death Stranding series falls into this category, although I personally think that's taking the comparison a bit too far.

Will: Follow The Light is, in any case, as much of a walking simulator as it really can be, although we don't just walk, but actually travel by sailing boat just as much. But we'll wait a bit before talking about that specifically. The most important thing here, at any rate, is to announce that the indie studio TomorrowHead has created a tranquil adventure where you journey forward and solve puzzles to progress.

In the shoes of the title character, Will, you set out on a journey to find your son. It all begins on a small island where you work as a lighthouse keeper. A storm is rapidly approaching, and you're abruptly torn away from your workday by the news that your hometown has been struck by a disaster. From this starting point, Will's search for his son begins. It's a rather uneven narrative that quickly highlights what is perhaps the game's biggest problem, namely, that it is disjointed and unpolished. Still, beneath the somewhat rough, yet still charming, surface, there is actually quite a lot to enjoy.

Unreal Engine 5 renders, albeit somewhat flat, environments that are at least occasionally truly beautiful to navigate through. It's a visual style that admittedly lacks quite a bit of character, but for a game where you move forward through various environments, it does manage to impress at times. Elements such as water, weather effects, and some indoor environments are fantastically stylish, whilst much of it feels very contrived. It becomes very anonymous, and the feeling that it's more of a tech demo creeps in at many moments. When something in the environment moves, for example, it feels more as though the animation is a cutscene that feels completely disconnected from the rest. Similarly, the characters you encounter are as stiff as dolls and you simply have to accept that it's really more like a backdrop you're walking through. Yet there are still plenty of moments that look quite visually striking.

Aside from the storytelling, which unfortunately, is lacking and rather uninteresting, there are plenty of puzzles on offer. I would probably go so far as to say that it is at least as much a puzzle game as it is a walking simulator. Unfortunately, there is also an overall feeling here that things haven't quite been polished enough. On console, the controller works downright poorly at times when you have to pick up pieces to put something together. Some puzzles do feel quite clever, but most are also very quickly solved. There are also some puzzles that involve simply trying things out until you've figured out the right sequence to solve them. So, it's not exactly the genre's best puzzles on offer, but at the same time, there's a lovely variety in that you're not just travelling through environments but actually get to puzzle things out every now and then.

I mentioned that, as well as walking, you also get around by sailing. These two modes of transport aren't actually the only two in the game, but I'll let you discover the third one for yourself in a short sequence. You spend quite a lot of time aboard your boat, Molly, which is what takes you between most of the journey's more remote locations. I actually quite like the sequences on board the boat, mainly because there's a bit of excitement and pace to them. You can even go down into the little cabin, where among other things, you can have a look at collectables - including small model boats - that can be found throughout the game's chapters. It's a simple way to stretch out the playtime a little if you so wish.

The game is only a few hours long, yet it manages to pack a surprising amount into that time. It simply feels just the right length, and you get to experience quite a lot, so the game certainly doesn't drag its heels.

Despite its somewhat mediocre rating, I must still point out that Will: Follow The Light is actually a good experience. At the same time, it's a bit too unpolished in several areas and has a few other issues that prevent it from truly justifying a higher score. It's essentially an okay game where a few technical glitches, uninspired puzzles, and an anonymous narrative partly overshadow the otherwise entertaining journey you embark on. There are moments that feel very cinematic, where the atmosphere is thick and the journey truly feels entertaining, but there are a few too many things that get in the way of its lofty ambitions. As mentioned earlier, it also feels a bit too often like an at times flashy tech demo, but on the other hand, that can also be quite a significant advantage in a linear experience like this.

So, if you've already played through the big names - or simply love this type of game and are keen for something new - it's still quite easy for us, as fans of this kind of experience, to recommend Will: Follow the Light. It offers really lovely weather effects and the chance to sail, and those things alone actually make it an adventure worth settling in for during the hours it takes to complete.