The idea behind the TouchArcade Game of the Week is that every Friday afternoon we post the one game that came out this week that we think is worth giving a special nod to. Now, before anyone goes over-thinking this, it doesn’t necessarily mean our Game of the Week pick is the highest scoring game in a review, the game with the best graphics, or really any other quantifiable “best" thing. Instead, it’s more just us picking out the single game out of the week’s releases that we think is the most noteworthy, surprising, interesting, or really any other hard to describe quality that makes it worth having if you were just going to pick up one.
These picks might be controversial, and that’s OK. If you disagree with what we’ve chosen, let’s try to use the comments of these articles to have conversations about what game is your game of the week and why.
Without further ado…
Walk Master
As you may or may not know, “wacky walking simulators" are a thing. I don’t know when the first one officially launched, but I do know that Bennet Foddy’s 2008 QWOP was one of the first to become a viral sensation. On mobile I’ve long been a fan of Set Snail’s Daddy Long Legs, or Part Time Monkey’s Silly Walks, or the incredibly unique Don’t Trip from Jooon and Noodlecake. Heck, even Foddy’s somewhat spiritual successor to QWOP, Getting Over It, could be considered a wacky walking simulator of sorts. So yeah, we are spoilt for options when it comes to trying to perform one of the most basic human actions in digital form on our mobile devices, and this week I can add one more enjoyable walking experience to my list of favorites with Two Men and a Dog’s Walk Master (Free).
In Walk Master, you play as a variety of different animals and other odd characters walking through numerous tricky environments on a set of stilts. The controls are very well done here as you’ll simply slide your finger or thumb across the screen to move one stilt, and then once it’s planted you’ll lift your thumb up to switch to the second stilt which you’ll then drag to take a step. Put one stilt in front of the other and buddy, you’re walking! Of course it doesn’t just end there as each level is filled with all sorts of obstacles that would make normal walking difficult, let alone walking on a set of stilts. Moving platforms, see saws, piranhas jumping out of the water, tiny volcanoes… these are all very normal occurrences in the weird world of Walk Master.
The core mechanics are very satisfying and Walk Master offers up a nice challenge across levels that are lengthy enough to be interesting but short enough to suit mobile play perfectly. It also can be played in either portrait or landscape and switches on the fly, and I really enjoy this as a one-hand-one-thumb experience. Besides just beating the regular levels, you can also unlock special Challenge levels which typically have a specific theme and a unique type of challenge. You can also use coins that you’ll pick up during play to unlock a HUGE selection of characters, hats and accessories for those characters, and special types of stilts.
Walk Master is free to play with ads, but offers a one-time $2.99 IAP to remove the interstitial video ads. Opt-in ads remain for anyone who wants to earn some additional coins, or you can buy more coins as IAP, but so far I’ve felt like I’ve been earning enough coins to unlock stuff at a decent clip so I don’t feel like buying extra coins is especially necessary. This is the type of game that you play first and foremost because it’s fun and silly, and earning coins and occasionally unlocking new items is just a nice bonus. If you’re looking for a way to entertain yourself this weekend and have a laugh or two while you’re at it, Walk Master is worth your time.
