The Midnight Walk Review

It’s probably no surprise, but The Midnight Walk isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea. It’s weird, it’s emotional, and the argument could certainly be made that at times it barely qualifies as a traditional game. But after spending six hours wandering through this clay-sculpted nightmare with my PSVR2 headset on, I can’t stop thinking about it.

The Burnt One

You play as “The Burnt One”, a character who literally starts the game by picking up eyeballs and ears from the ground and sticking them back onto your head. Yeah, it’s that kind of experience. Your companion is Potboy(no, not Alexander), this adorable little lantern creature who follows you around like a loyal puppy. Together, you’re walking to Moon Mountain to reignite the sun in a world that’s been consumed by darkness. You know, just another day.

The Midnight Walk Review

8.5Great

PlatformsPC, PlayStation 5, PSVR2

Release DateMay 8, 2025

DeveloperMoonHood

PublisherFast Travel Games

The whole thing feels like someone took A Nightmare Before Christmas, mixed it with a philosophical storybook, and then decided to make you cry about it. Every single thing you see, from the twisted trees to the grotesque monsters, was first sculpted in clay and then 3D scanned into the game. And the effort certainly shows. The visual style of The Midnight Walk is absolutely unique and genuinely stunning to behold, even in VR.

The VR magic (Play this way if you can)

I played through the entire game in two sittings on my PSVR2, and honestly, that’s how this game is meant to be experienced. Realistically, probably one sitting, if you have 5-6 hours to do so. (Kids forced an extra sitting for me.)

The eye-tracking feature is what makes this special. When the game asks you to close your eyes, you literally close your eyes. The headset knows. It’s not just a gimmick either. You’ll use this mechanic to solve puzzles, find hidden objects, and even defeat certain enemies throughout the journey of The Burnt One.

There’s this moment early on where you’re being chased by a pretty horrifying creature, and the only way to make it go away is to close your eyes just as it’s about to reach you. You hear its screeches getting closer and closer, and then… silence. When you open your eyes, it’s gone. That kind of interaction just doesn’t work the same way on a flat screen, where you have to hold a button to close your eyes and wait for a static overlay. This is what makes The Midnight Walk truly one of a kind. It’s not as much of a game as it is a memorable experience, and in more ways than one.

The audio design deserves special mention here. Do yourself a favor and put on some decent headphones. For real, don’t use the PSVR2’s built-in audio for this one. There are puzzles where you need to close your eyes and listen for sounds to figure out which drawer contains a key, or which direction to go. The 3D audio is incredible, and it makes you feel like you’re actually developing some kind of supernatural hearing ability. I even made my kiddos check out this feature because I can’t think of a game that has pulled it off as well as the team at MoonHood has with The Midnight Walk.

Come for the story

The Midnight Walk is structured around five different tales that you uncover during your journey. These aren’t just random side stories; they’re the heart of the game. You’ll meet a town of people who decapitated themselves because they thought their bodies were making them violent. You’ll come across a mining community that threw a child into a furnace for wasting matches. You’ll meet a craftsman who keeps making replacement daughters because his real one left him. To say The Midnight Walk makes use of its limited time and its hard the entire way would be an understatement.

If it sounds dark as hell, that’s because it is. But there’s something beautiful about how these stories are told. The voice acting and narration are fantastic, with this gravelly storyteller voice that makes everything feel like you’re listening to old folk tales around a campfire. By the end, you realize these aren’t just random horror stories. Instead, they’re all connected, and they’re all about grief, loss, and what it means to let go. Something I think we all could do to learn more about.

Stay for the gameplay(ish)

Of course, The Midnight Walk is a game, so let’s talk about what you actually do. To be fair, “gameplay” is a generous term, but it really does fit. This is very much a walking simulator with light puzzle elements. You’ll spend most of your time:

• Commanding Potboy to light candles and torches
• Hiding in wardrobes when monsters show up
• Closing your eyes to make certain symbols disappear
• Collecting figurines and other items scattered around

The puzzles are pretty simple. I never had any real “eureka” moments or felt particularly challenged, other than being in awe after learning how a new feature like the sound context clues worked. The stealth sections are pretty basic and involve mostly just hiding behind objects or in closets until something passes by. If you’re looking for complex gameplay mechanics or challenging encounters, this isn’t it.

But here’s the thing…that’s kind of the point. This isn’t trying to be Half-Life Alyx or anything action-packed. It’s more like an interactive art piece that happens to have some gameplay elements that are used more to help make the narrative more immersive.

I’m glad I dusted off my PSVR2

Back to the VR aspect, playing this on PSVR2 has some definite advantages and a few frustrations. The eye-tracking really does add something special to the experience that you can’t get from playing in standard formats. Being surrounded by this claymation world in full 360 degrees is genuinely amazing, and I’m happy I broke the PSVR2 out to experience The Midnight Walk.

But there are some issues. The resolution is noticeably low at times. Everything looks a bit blurry and washed out. Text can be hard to read in certain segments, and I’d periodically encounter control issues where my character would drift slightly to the left while moving, forcing me to reload the game to fix it.

At times, the game also takes control of your camera view during cutscenes, which can be quite jarring in VR. Sometimes it’ll tilt the horizon or sweep your view across large areas, which might make some people uncomfortable. It didn’t bother me too much, but if you’re sensitive to motion in VR, this is worth noting.

One thing I really appreciated is that you can only interact with objects that matter. Some VR games let you grab everything, which can be more distracting than fun. In The Midnight Walk, if you can touch it, it’s important.

The lantern life

The Midnight Walk is for people who want to experience something genuinely different. If you loved games like Journey or Inside, if you enjoy Tim Burton movies, if you’re okay with prioritizing atmosphere and emotion over traditional gameplay, then this is the game for you.

It’s not for people who want action, complex puzzles, or traditional gaming challenges. It’s also not great if you’re looking for something to play in short bursts – this really works best as a single, focused experience. And once again, that’s what this is. An experience.

The game took me about six hours to complete, though that includes passing the headset around a few times for others to see, and really, that feels perfect for a VR experience. I was emotionally exhausted by the end, but in a (mostly) good way. Still, I’m sure the argument can be made that, especially if not playing in VR, the $40 price tag may seem steep for the short but sweet experience. But having done so in VR, I think if it were any longer, the emotional weight would become overwhelming. Any shorter and the stories wouldn’t have had time to develop properly. This is one of those times that short and sweet was executed effectively.

Seriously, who’s cutting onions?

It’s safe to say that The Midnight Walk is my favorite PSVR2 experience. Honestly, it’s the only game I’m actually glad I put the headset on for. Yes, the resolution could be better. Yes, the gameplay is simple. Yes, it’s expensive for the length. But I haven’t had a game affect me emotionally like this in a long time.

The clay art style is unlike anything else in gaming. And the way MoonHood uses VR-specific features like eye-tracking feels genuinely innovative rather than gimmicky, an issue that typically plagues VR games. The stories told here stick with you long after you take off the headset.

If you own a PSVR2 and you’re curious about what the medium can do beyond action games and traditional genres, The Midnight Walk is essential. Just go in knowing it’s more like interactive art than a traditional game, and prepare yourself for something that’s going to make you think about light, darkness, and what it means to let go.

Fair warning, though: have some tissues on hand.