In the independent game A walk with Yiayia, The player takes his grandmother for a walk after a frightening fall, working to rebuild his confidence, while learning new things on himself. The Solo Trent Garlipp developer skillfully rocks between occasional conversation and deep introspection, precisely reflecting the type of conversations that really occur with families.
It’s a short game, not much longer that a long real step would take, and it is better to play in one session. For all those who love sentimental games (but not depressing!) A walk with Yiayia is an intentional and peaceful break. Perfect for all those who say, overloaded during the end of the year and who are missing their grandmother.
Breathe
I am surprised to see how Garlipp integrates into an an hour game and how natural he felt of an experience. Although it can be short, there is no lack of depth. Throughout A walk with YiayiaI felt that Garlipp had a clear meaning of the scope and what he wanted to achieve with the project. There were a lot of moments that I found myself letting out a breathing that I had held, or to whisper: “Oh!”
Unlike other super short visual novels, A walk with Yiayia know what it is here to do and knock on landing. Because it is such a short experience, I don’t want to spoil anything, but all I would say is that it is not only a walk in the block. There are, for lack of better words, mini-games and secondary quests, and all these activities seem natural and surprising.
The heart of the game lies in its conversations, which are all overvalued with a Beautiful piano score. Players choose between different conversation paths with Yiayia, which means that there is replayability to find out more and take a silent break together. The player’s character is vulnerable with his grandmother, and there is just the right amount of encouraging advice.
There is a moment when the young mask nameless protagonist can teach something to grandmother – a meditative meditative breathing. This resonated with me, as a person who often tries to teach family members and mindfulness to family. It was not the only message to hit home.
A walk with grandmother
Content warning: Loss, but happyly. If you want to ignore this personal reflection, scroll to the place where you see Revue Steam 🙂 Review screenshots
I used to drive my other grandmother’s car to recover my Debbie grandmother. She liked to go out, but tried to drive less. Grandmother Debbie and I shared a favorite place in southern California – the beach. It is a small town on the outskirts of Los Angeles which was previously for hippies and fishermen who quickly became dominated by the rich Uber because its property of the beach was recognized. But for the most part, the charm was still there – it simply meant that, with kitsch t -shirts, we could also shop on shops that also sold expensive linen shirts and hand -carried candles.
We used to walk throughout the walk and come back. We stop and look at the seals, visions the monument to the sailors who had perished or losses in the storms, say hello to the fishermen and caress the dogs of other peoples. We would get ice cream horn too much at Coldstone Creamery, omelettes with a hangover and slats at the Bogart’s Coffee Shop (which I had discovered with my grandfather on the other side). However, she never really wanted to go on the sand, unstable on her feet and uncertain of the ocean.
Over time, however, it has stopped walking much further than the daycare on the walk. She had a bad fall. In recent years, she has paused on the first bench, holding a hand on a walker to stabilize, while I highlighted surfers and birds. And later, we often did not get out of the car at all, and I was driving it from top to bottom on the Pacific Coast Highway. We could stop for coffee, or we may not do it. However, she let me go and pick us up of mats of ice cream in cups.
My grandmother died too early from COVID-19, before the vaccine was released. I couldn’t take him to the last walks, but I still remember the ones we took, and I cherished them.
A walk with Yiayia Reminds us to be present with those we love, while we are with them and to take joy in memories.
Very positive
It’s weird to put a revision score on what is clearly a very personal and insightful game made by a person, but hey, the figures pass the world, so I will do two things: 1) I will share what “Others said on Steam (where he is at Very positive With 68 critics), and 2) I will indeed give it a score.
The only complaint I have is that there are no creations integrated in the Nintendo Switch version, although there are probably on Steam. I really liked the little microquests and I wanted to know if I “obtained them”! But then again, it may be on me-should I not try to gamify (too much) a walk with Yiayia?
Just in time for the big feelings season
Solo Trent Garlipp developer released A walk with Yiayia Two years ago on Steam, but the title just made its debut in Nintendo Switch earlier this month (it is 15% reduction until Monday, November 25!). He plays perfectly on the switch, and it is difficult to imagine this title on a computer (where it is also available). The pixelated artistic style seems to recall the titles Old Game Boy, and the orders – by tending ZL to hold the grandmother’s hand, for example – developing natural. The joysticks are more fun to walk than, let’s say, simply holding an arrow key. It is one of the many independent games that greatly benefit from the search for the right platform, and most often, this platform is the switch.
I was, and I am so impressed by this little game. While I was playing, I kept having moments of How cool that a person did that! And then, Can I do things? I did additional research, I saw that the publisher is the Rochester Institute of Technology Magic Spell Studios, and I noticed that Garlipp had done the game in part to Rit’s Annual de Rit Roc Game Fest. In credits, there are recognitions for the creative assets of the municipalities of the commons it has used. He also presented it later during the presentations of Whole Sain Games 2021 and 2022. That’s all … I think it’s cool to see how people do things. This shows a kind of gratitude, and it makes sense, since the game is dedicated to the grandmother of Trent in memory of her grandfather.
Trent contacted our team with this code after seeing a colleague punished Backlog Writer List of Allison McDaniel Independent games outing on Switch in October 2024And I’m glad he did it. Thank you, Trent – I am grateful to have had the chance to walk with Yiayia, and for every time I was able to walk with my grandmother too. When I accepted the criticism, I feared that I bread all the time – but above all, I smiled, remembered and appreciated.
A walk with Yiayia is not a game for everyone (and certainly no one has beef with interactive novels), but it is a game for all those who have had a deep affection for an elder and who wants to sit with that For a little while. The winter holiday season is a time when Memories and new experiences often collide, and if you need an hour to treat this, then A walk with Yiayia worth your time.
Score: 8.9 / 10
A walk with Yiayia, Developed by Trent Garlipp, is now available on Nintendo Switch, Windows, Mac and Linux. PDSF $ 7.99.
Warning: An examination code was provided by the developer.
