Few indie games release to instant critical acclaim and earn a spot among the year’s best titles. And yet Big Walk’s success is even more noteworthy given the unfortunate genre label attached to it.
Created by House House, the same small Australian studio behind the hilarious Untitled Goose Game, Big Walk tasks players with, well, going on a Big Walk. A strictly co-op game, it’s set in a photorealistic world reminiscent of the Wilsons Promontory National Park that developers know so well. Each player takes on the role of an unnamed, cartoonish character as they work in groups of between two and 12 to solve challenges while exploring their surroundings.
A host of items are available to help players solve the puzzles, including walkie-talkies that help with vital player-to-player communication. Big Walk has garnered plenty of praise for its slow pace through the island, clever puzzles and innovative proximity chat functions.
Best enjoyed with a group of friends, Big Walk has sold more than a million copies since launching on August 4. However, it has also found itself labelled in the unfortunately named ‘friendslop’ genre.
Coined to describe co-operative or party videogames that rely on chaos, the term is derived from the negative term to explain mass-produced generic content, particularly when done using AI.
But House House has now spoken out on how they feel about the label since Big Walk’s release. Since launch, it has found its way among some of the highest-rated games of 2026 on Metacritic.
House House developers respond to ‘friendslop’ label
During an Ask Me Anything session on Reddit, House House’s developers addressed the term ‘friendslop’ when they were asked by a fan: “How do you feel about the term “friend slop?”
One of the studio’s four members, Nico Disseldorp, replied: “We thought we might get asked this! I love that there is a word out there to help people categorize games that are good for groups of friends to play together, and that it recognizes that the friends are the important part! It’s a useful concept imo.
“Personally I’d prefer the second word wasn’t “slop” because it’s a term with so much baggage (like AI slop) and I think these games are so thoughtfully made. But artists always hate the genre names used to describe their work, so it’s nothing new.”
Nico and the team also offered a host of other insights, such as the decision to use cartoon characters in a photorealistic environment. Stuart Gillespie-Cook said: “This is probably a (very fortunate) combination of “what felt interesting to us to explore at the time” and “what visual design works well for a game that’s simultaneously about real-world navigation skills and also being very playful.”
“There was also a formative early sketch of the characters drawn over a photo background that really spoke to us all, and convinced us it was worth leaning into.”
The game is available on PS5, PC and Nintendo Switch 2, and works across all platforms. However, when asked if there were plans for it to arrive on Xbox, House House simply stated “We see this question. Sorry, we don’t have anything to say about this today.”
