Walden, a game
Release date: Mar 18, 2019
Developers: USC Game Innovation Lab
Publishers: USC Games
Genres: Adventure, Indie
Categories: Single-player, Steam Achievements, Partial Controller Support, Steam Cloud, Family Sharing
Supported languages: English

Take on Henry David Thoreau’s classic adventure in living simply in nature as you explore this epic open world game based on the story of Thoreau’s life in the woods alone at Walden Pond. Features a dynamic and changing natural environment filled with exquisite details, as well as a multi-faceted narrative following Thoreau’s quest for solitude and inspiration in the woods during a time of personal and social crises. Can you balance your basic needs for survival against your search for beauty and the sublime? Will you live life “deliberately”? Or will you live a life of “quiet desperation”? Find out in this critically acclaimed title that Smithsonian Magazine has called “the world’s most improbable video game.” Walden, a game was awarded Game of the Year and Most Significant Impact at Games for Change, Developers Choice at IndieCade, and nominated for the Unity Impact Award and the New York Game Critics Award for Best Indie Game.

Press reviews: “Summed up in a single word, it would be ‘beautiful.’” 5/5 – Common Sense Media “An introspective ‘Oregon Trail’” CNN “A remarkable experiment in translation. As contemplative as its source material, it forces an anti-reflexive pace and coddles at its center an appreciation of calm and quiet.” NPR: Reading the Game