Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 80 | 106 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 93% | 87 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 91% | 85 | 1897 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Jun 3, 2025) · 300 reviews sampled · 1897 total reviews in window · weighted 176.5 up / 10.1 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (55)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 60
“The Midnight Walk is an ambitious adventure with a crazy design of everything, which is maximized by VR headsets. However, the usual option for simple monitors turns the game into a pumpkin.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“A touching and eerie story about how a ray of light in the dark can truly change everything if used correctly.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“It’s a constraint of the ambitious graphical approach that makes the game a sumptuous but brief shot of bedtime-story vibes.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“The Midnight Walk is an intoxicating journey through a beautifully twisted nightmare world. The Burnt One's quest to Moon Mountain is an atmospheric, bleak, and surprisingly sweet story that's worth experiencing.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Although The Midnight Walk’s interactive elements can’t match the artistry of its hand-molded clay figures, that doesn’t dampen how impressive this audiovisual journey is at its best.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“There is a piece of advice that often follows those who write about video games: “Never become too attached to a game, otherwise you may lose the ability to judge it objectively.” It is a principle built on good intentions. Criticism requires distance, the willingness to acknowledge flaws even in works we admire, and the discipline to separate personal affection from critical evaluation. Yet there is another danger, one that is perhaps easier to overlook: becoming so accustomed to breaking games down into mechanics, systems, technical performance, and design choices that we lose sight of the reason we fell in love with this medium in the first place. Before we were critics, we were players. We were the people who stood in awe before impossible landscapes, who formed genuine connections with fictional characters, and who found comfort, inspiration, or even moments of personal reflection within stories experienced through a screen. Beneath all the discussions surrounding resolution, frame rates, level design, and mechanical depth lies the fundamental quality that has always defined video games at their best: their ability to make us feel something. The Midnight Walk is a reminder of that simple, yet often forgotten truth. It would be easy to conclude this review by focusing exclusively on what MoonHood has achieved: a handcrafted world sculpted from hundreds of pieces of clay, an artistic identity unlike anything else in the current landscape, a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack, and an extraordinary level of care that can be felt in every frame. All of that would be true. It would also be fair to acknowledge that the game’s intentionally restrained approach to gameplay comes with limitations. Its mechanics are deliberately simple, and while this minimalism perfectly supports the atmosphere and philosophy of the experience, certain systems and encounters could have benefited from greater depth, variety, and refinement. But reducing The Midnight Walk to a collection of strengths and weaknesses would only reveal a fraction of what makes it special. Some games are remembered because of what they offer: the number of mechanics they introduce, the size of their worlds, or the complexity of their systems. Others remain with us because of something far more difficult to quantify, the feeling they leave behind once everything has ended. That moment after the credits, when the screen fades and there is no immediate desire to move on to the next experience. When instead, there is a quiet pause. A moment spent remembering the journey, the characters, the places visited, and the emotions that accompanied every step. That is where the difference between a game that simply entertains and one that genuinely resonates becomes clear. During the journey alongside Potboy, The Midnight Walk repeatedly encourages players to slow down. Not through artificial restrictions, but through the natural pull of its world. There are moments when the player stops simply to observe the way a small flame illuminates the cracks of an unfinished clay surface, to listen to the silence of a world that has lost its sun, or to reconsider creatures that would have been instinctively labelled as monsters elsewhere. And perhaps this is MoonHood’s greatest achievement: not making players believe that this world is real, but making them care enough to see it differently. Throughout its entire adventure, The Midnight Walk quietly asks a question that extends far beyond its own narrative: what happens when we stop seeing darkness as something to fear? For generations, stories have taught us to associate darkness with danger, evil, and the unknown. It is something to overcome, something to illuminate, something from which we must protect ourselves. MoonHood chooses a far more thoughtful path. Here, darkness is not presented as an absence of hope, but as an essential part of existence itself. Because without darkness, light would have no meaning. And once our perception of darkness changes, so does the way we perceive those who live within it. The creatures encountered throughout the journey are not simply enemies waiting to be defeated. They are beings shaped by loneliness, grief, hunger, and the desperate search for warmth. They are not manifestations of evil, but reflections of a world that has forgotten how important compassion and understanding can be. This is where The Midnight Walk’s metaphor becomes truly powerful. Beneath its handcrafted surfaces and gothic fairy-tale aesthetic lies a deeply human observation: how often do we choose judgment before understanding? How often do we fear what is different before taking the time to listen? MoonHood does not suggest that darkness can simply disappear. Instead, it offers a more meaningful idea: not everything that exists within the darkness deserves to be feared. The brightest light is not always the one that reveals the path ahead. Sometimes, it is the one that allows us to see others more clearly. When the journey finally comes to an end, what remains is not only the memory of a remarkable artistic achievement, a world painstakingly crafted from clay, or a soundscape capable of transforming silence into emotion. What remains is something much harder to define. A small flame. A fragile source of warmth that continues to burn even when everything around it has fallen into darkness. And perhaps that is the true beauty of The Midnight Walk. MoonHood has created a game that understands creativity is at its most powerful when it is used to explore something deeply human. Because the most memorable games are not always the ones that overwhelm us with their scale or ambition. Sometimes, they are the ones that quietly change the way we look at the world. The Midnight Walk is one of those rare experiences. Not a flawless game, but an honest and deeply heartfelt one. A journey that does not pretend to have every answer, but possesses the courage to ask the questions that truly matter. And sometimes, the right question can be more powerful than any answer.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Incredible visual presentation, an arresting atmosphere, and a charming travel partner make it worth taking a trip down The Midnight Walk.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“The Midnight Walk is by far one of the best experiences released in recent years in the indie scene. Its dark atmosphere, its intrinsic message and the company of the little Potboy, will keep you company for a few hours in an experience absolutely not to be missed.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“As we rolled credits on The Midnight Walk, any issues we had technically or otherwise had long since faded away. Instead, what stood out to us was the game's haunting world filled with pensive storylines, impactful visuals, and an emotionally weighty score.If you're expecting an engaging survival horror gameplay experience, you won't find it here. That may have been what we were looking for as we first played the game - especially considering the VR format. But what we got instead was memorable, moving, and evocatively melancholic. The Midnight Walk is not a game we'll forget anytime soon.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“I've been keeping my eye on The Midnight Walk for a while now and was not disappointed in the final presentation. It's gross, and disfigured in all the best ways, and does amazing work with mixing animation, claymation, and film media to craft something truly special. This game is an accomplishment and one of the best arguments for games as an art form this year.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“The Midnight Walk is a simple and morbidly cozy walking simulator that owes a lot to the works of Tim Burton and Henry Selick. It's cute, slight, and mostly a demo for a VR system few play anymore.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“The Midnight Walk is undeniably a big stab at both a moody experience and a satisfying puzzler. MoonHood's debut stumbles a bit at the latter, running into some lacklustre puzzle design and monotony with how scarcely it mixes this up, but it makes up for it in setting. There are a lot of cool, eerie horrors that await on the mountain hike, depicted and animated to unbelievable detail, all the more striking than the last. Backed by enthralling 3D sound design that has you dreading every little footstep of those creepy crawlies, it's a fairy tale horror adventure that is more than the sum of its parts.”
read full review ↗
GameMAG
3DNews
Slant Magazine
Nintendo Life
Paste Magazine
Indie Games Devel
The A.V. Club
Gamesource Italia
Push Square
NintendoWorldReport
KonsoliFIN
Checkpoint Gaming…and 43 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Hotfix!Jun 13, 2025
- New improvements on Steam!Jun 3, 2025significant · resets scoring window