I understand why walking sims aren’t really a thing any more. Some of the earliest big names like Gone Home, Dear Esther, and arguably The Stanley Parable all came at a time where indie games were growing in popularity, but were still predominantly 2D. Something simple like a walking sim is obviously quite resourceful compared to contemporary AAA games, but now the indie scene has blown up to the point where mechanics-first genres like roguelikes are dominating. Except I like walking sims! So when a game like nophenia, a walking sim where you’re a wolfgirl with a flip phone exploring different dream worlds, shows up, I’m going to pay attention.
There is a real boldness to nophenia’s very simple Steam page. “There is… no game,” the about section explains. “You walk around and explore brutalist but also dream-like environments.” Aside from that, it explains that there are dedicated “sit” and “howl” buttons because “wolfgirls are super cool” (wolfgirls are super cool), and lists out the controls. Mysterious…
Luckily, there’s a (very short, I should note) demo to try out. It really is as simple as it describes, you can walk or run around, jump, but primarily you’re taking in the sights. And these sights are quite lonely. There’s no one else around, apart from in one dream where there is an infinitely passing train. In another dream, umbrellas strewn across a flooded road imply passersby. You let out a howl, only for it to not be reciprocated. All you can do is press forward, more so figuratively, moving from one dream to the next, taking all the time you want in each of them, unable to return to the previous one.
I like the flip phone pause menu too. There’s a quality of longing in the demo for some kind of quiet, a sense of digital escape. It doesn’t feel like an accident that you start in a messy bedroom with a boarded up door, the main source of light coming from a computer, the current source of all evil in this world. There’s a photo mode too, and while aesthetically you’re not using your flip phone, that’s obviously the vibe, with the screenshots it produces outputting at a measly but nostalgic 640x480p.
Everything nophenia has going for it makes a strong argument for the value of walking sims. They’re a genre that forces us to take our time, slow down a little, stay with our thoughts, and that seems to come through thematically here as well.
What other dreams nophenia might hold, I look forward to seeing whenever it arrives in early 2026. In the meantime, you can wishlist it on Steam here.
