Während Serious Games wie das Flüchtlingsspiel North aufgrund unserer politisch brisanten Lage wie Pilze aus dem Boden schießen, bleibt das Educational Game eher auf der Strecke. Schön also, dass Walden – A Game der University of Southern California umso tiefer in seine nerdig-nischige Materie eintaucht. Basierend auf Henry David Thoreaus weltberühmter Aussteigerbibel, spielt Ihr sein Ein-Jahr-in-der-Natur-Experiment von 1854 nun als Pseudo-Survival-Walking-Simulator selbst nach. In der Ego-Perspektive baut Ihr als junger Thoreau am Walden Point Eure eigene Hütte, pflanzt Bohnen, geht angeln oder durchstöbert den Briefverkehr des bekannten Schriftstellers und Philosophen. Spielerisch geht das nie übers bloße Knöpfchendrücken hinaus, dafür transportieren die simple, aber schöne Grafik und die von Into the Wild-Darsteller Emile Hirsch meditativ-vertonten Monologe Thoreaus transzendentale Weltsicht und seine Faszination von der Wildnis adäquat. Das ist für einige wahrscheinlich furchtbar langweilig, für andere womöglich perfekte Entspannung mit Tiefgang. Nur Thoreau selbst hätte uns natürlich vom Sofa weg und nach draußen in die Natur gescheucht.

Walden, A Game A bit boring, but a bit relaxing too. Walden a game is based on Henry David Thoreau’s life in the woods alone at Walden Pond. And this is a game about really just trying to enjoy nature.. You can go through multiple years, the seasons change, youll get letters, theres a light survival aspect here as youll have to collect food, mend your clothes, gather fuel and wood for your home.. but I say light because these things hardly matter… if you let them go nothing happens except youll faint of exhaustion.. but this takes a long time to happen.. other than that.. its just explore and soak in the surroundings.. this game having early ps3 graphics though make this a bit hard.. but eventually I lost myself in the world, collecting books for inspiration, finding animals and plants to take notes of, collecting arrow heads and listening to henry ramble on about the area you found yourself in… it’s a really relaxing game.. though this is about it.. explore the foods of the pond, a woods that isn’t all that thrilling to explore… I feel like this is a hard game to recommend if you havnt read the book and thought it would be kind of cool to live it out… I personally though aside from the brief moments of relaxation didn’t really enjoy it… I didn’t find the dialog to be interesting.. I didn’t care for the letters or fishing for cash to buy items from town I had the most fun going on the book hunts my homeboy in cabins that teleports from fire to fire would send me on… but after I found them all, I was pretty over the game. I give Walden, a game a 5/10

Not a bad game but very repetitive. Very relaxing actually. If your a history buff or if you read the book then you will probably enjoy this.