Ah, the walking simulator.

Also known as “story rich” games, they’re my favorite form of storytelling and preferred video game genre. For quite a few of us, 2020 has entered the arena swinging. While I’m all for de-stressing with a violent video game  (Left For Dead 2 has gotten me through many deadlines), sometimes it’s better to escape into a good story. Walking simulators let us experience a story in first person POV, and their clearly defined check lists of objectives can take off some of the pressures of existence. Cue daily dose of existential dread. What follows are five of my favorite examples of story driven games, in no particular order. Now let’s get to it—these simulators were made for walking.