The Longest Walk
Released Sep 2022
The Longest Walk is a deeply personal biographical walking-simulator game about my father's experience of living with depression.
95% positive · 415 reviews
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Where to get it
Free on Steam
Evaluation
The Longest Walk is a free, short (~9.5 minute) walking simulator created by a solo developer as part of PhD research at Abertay University. The store description makes clear this is a self-contained biographical experience built from a single recorded interview — there is no structural reason to expect ongoing content additions.
The game launched on September 9, 2022 as a finished, fixed-length narrative piece. The only post-launch update was a quality-of-life patch on July 21, 2024 (V2.0), which added Steam Deck support, subtitle improvements, a main menu, a pause menu, and performance optimizations — none of which constitute new narrative content. The developer has made no announcements about additional episodes, expansions, or further development work.
While the store description notes this game is "part of a series of documentary-inspired biographical game prototypes," this refers to the developer's broader PhD research output, not to planned additions to this specific game. No sequels or follow-up prototypes have been announced on this game's store page.
The game is complete as originally released — it shipped as a finished, bounded experience and the V2.0 update simply polished it without expanding its content.
Evidence
Game described as a fixed ~9.5-minute experience built from a single 54-minute interview, created for the developer's PhD research. No mention of planned additions or future episodes.
V2.0 update added quality-of-life improvements: Steam Deck support, dynamic subtitles, main menu, pause menu, and performance fixes. No new narrative content; developer expressed gratitude for community reception but announced no future updates.
Media
Details
Developer
Publisher
Somewhat Unsettling
Achievements
—
Platform
Windows
Controller
full support
Steam Deck
Not rated
Players
Single-player
About this game
The Longest Walk is a deeply personal biographical walking simulator game about my father's experience of living with depression and suicidal thoughts. The game was created using audio recorded from a 54-minute-long interview that I conducted with my dad, which was then edited into this approximately 9-and-a-half minute long playable experience.
The aim for this game is to help reduce feelings of isolation and encourage those who are struggling with depression or experiencing suicidal thoughts to reach out for help. Through my father's sharing of his personal experience in an open and frank manner, this game seeks to raise awareness of and provide an insight into what it is like living with depression in order to provoke discussion and help tackle the stigma about opening-up about mental health issues.
Whilst my father's experience and the locations depicted in the game are specific to him, the thoughts, feelings, and message conveyed through his recollection of lived experience are universal.
The Longest Walk is now playable on Steam Deck! Please use the following settings for best performance and subtitle readability:
- Subtitles: Standard
- Graphics: Optimised
Players using a gamepad or Steam Deck can invert the Y-Axis by holding LB (L1) and tapping RB (R1) on the gamepad.
This free game is part of a series of documentary-inspired biographical game prototypes that I am developing for my PhD at Abertay University - Funded by The Northwood Charitable Trust - and was inspired by games such as Dear Esther (The Chinese Room), Actual Sunlight (WZOGI), and That Dragon, Cancer (Numinous Games). This game is published under the Abertay Game Lab practice-based research group by Somewhat Unsettling.
Are these done yet?
Last evaluated Jun 21, 2026
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