In the crowded landscape of subscription gaming, where titles often arrive and vanish without ceremony, a cooperative game called Big Walk has done something rarer: it has made critics stop and pay attention. Released as part of PlayStation Plus's monthly offerings in 2026, the game has earned comparisons to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — a benchmark that speaks not merely to quality, but to a kind of design philosophy that respects the player. Its reception raises an older question the industry keeps circling: what does it mean to build something genuinely worth sharing?
PS Plus Game 'Big Walk' Emerges as Year's Highest-Rated Co-Op Title
a game designed from the ground up for two people to share
Mark
What makes a co-op game actually work? Most feel like they're just two people doing the same thing in parallel.
Mimi
Big Walk seems to have solved that by building the world around cooperation itself. When reviewers compare it to Breath of the Wild, they're not just saying it's good—they're saying it trusts players to figure things out together, which is harder than it sounds.
Mark
Why does it matter that this came through PlayStation Plus specifically?
Mimi
Because subscription services usually feel like a dumping ground for older or lesser games. When something genuinely excellent shows up there, it changes how people perceive the whole service. Suddenly it's not just a catalog—it's a place where real discoveries happen.
Mark
The Breath of the Wild comparison keeps coming up. Is that fair, or are critics just reaching for a reference point?
Mimi
It's fair in a specific way. Both games seem to prioritize player freedom and emergent problem-solving. In Big Walk, that philosophy extends to two people working together, which is actually a harder design problem than a single player facing it alone.
Mark
Do you think this changes how studios approach co-op going forward?
Mimi
It might. For years, co-op felt like an afterthought—something bolted onto a single-player game. Big Walk suggests there's real commercial and critical value in designing from the ground up for two people. That's a lesson worth learning.
Mark
What happens to Big Walk now? Does it stay relevant?
Mimi
That depends on whether the game keeps drawing people in. Critical praise gets you noticed. Actual engagement—people still playing months later, talking about it—that's what makes something last.
The Pulse
- Big Walk arrived quietly through PlayStation Plus but exploded into critical conversation, with major outlets including The Verge, Game Informer, GameSpot, and Push Square all issuing strong endorsements within a short window.
- The comparison to Breath of the Wild is not casual praise — it signals that reviewers believe Big Walk has redefined expectations for how cooperative play can feel organic, creative, and player-driven rather than mechanically forced.
- Game Informer's claim that it ranks among the finest co-op games ever made puts Big Walk in direct conversation with genre-defining titles across decades, raising the stakes of its cultural moment considerably.
- The game's availability on Nintendo Switch 2 alongside PlayStation expands its reach beyond a single platform, suggesting its impact may ripple across the broader gaming ecosystem rather than remaining a PlayStation story alone.
- For PS Plus subscribers, Big Walk shifts the service's value proposition — transforming a passive library accumulation habit into an active reason to subscribe, play, and evangelize to friends.
- The central tension now is whether this critical momentum translates into lasting cultural relevance, or whether the relentless pace of new releases will quietly absorb Big Walk into the archive of well-reviewed curiosities.
In the crowded landscape of subscription gaming, where titles often arrive and vanish without ceremony, a cooperative game called Big Walk has done something rarer: it has made critics stop and pay attention. Released as part of PlayStation Plus's monthly offerings in 2026, the game has earned comparisons to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — a benchmark that speaks not merely to quality, but to a kind of design philosophy that respects the player. Its reception raises an older question the industry keeps circling: what does it mean to build something genuinely worth sharing?
A cooperative game called Big Walk has emerged as one of 2026's most celebrated titles, earning widespread critical praise after arriving as part of PlayStation Plus's monthly lineup. What began as a subscription addition has transcended that modest entry point — critics at The Verge, Game Informer, GameSpot, and Push Square have all positioned it among the year's finest multiplayer experiences.
The praise centers on how Big Walk handles cooperative play. Multiple reviewers have drawn comparisons to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the 2017 landmark that reshaped thinking around open-world design and player freedom. That comparison carries real weight in gaming criticism — it implies Big Walk has solved something many studios struggle with, making shared adventure feel natural rather than mechanically appended. Game Informer went so far as to place it among the greatest co-op games ever made, while The Verge's subtitle, "A Walk To Remember," suggested the experience lingers well after the controller is set down.
For PlayStation Plus subscribers, the game represents the kind of value that justifies a service's existence. Monthly additions frequently fade into digital libraries, downloaded and forgotten. A title commanding this level of attention changes that calculus — it becomes a reason to subscribe, to engage, and to tell others.
Big Walk's success also points toward something broader. As studios chase single-player blockbusters and live-service models, the game's reception suggests genuine appetite remains for cooperative experiences built from the ground up for two people to share. Whether other developers take note — and whether PlayStation leverages this momentum before attention shifts — will determine if Big Walk becomes a lasting landmark or a well-reviewed moment that the industry quietly moves past.
A game called Big Walk has quietly become one of the year's most celebrated titles, earning widespread praise from major gaming outlets for what it accomplishes in co-op play. The title arrived as part of PlayStation Plus's monthly offerings, but its reception has transcended the typical lifecycle of a subscription service game—critics across The Verge, Game Informer, GameSpot, and Push Square have all weighed in with strong endorsements, placing it among the year's best multiplayer experiences.
What makes Big Walk noteworthy is how it approaches cooperative gameplay. Multiple reviewers have drawn comparisons to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the 2017 Nintendo game that fundamentally changed how people think about open-world design and player freedom. That comparison carries weight in gaming criticism. It suggests Big Walk isn't simply a competent co-op title, but one that brings genuine innovation to how two players can explore and solve problems together. The game appears to have cracked something that many studios struggle with: making a shared adventure feel natural rather than bolted-on.
The critical consensus has been remarkably consistent. Push Square called it a standout entry in the PS Plus library. The Verge's review carried the subtitle "A Walk To Remember," suggesting the experience lingers with players after the controller is set down. Game Informer went further, positioning Big Walk among the finest co-op games ever made—a claim that places it in conversation with titles that have defined the genre over decades. GameSpot reviewed the game across platforms, including the Nintendo Switch 2, indicating its reach extends beyond PlayStation.
For PlayStation Plus subscribers, the arrival of Big Walk represents the kind of value proposition that justifies the service's existence. Monthly game additions often fade into obscurity, downloaded and forgotten within weeks. A title that commands this level of critical attention and player engagement changes the calculus. It becomes a reason to maintain a subscription, to tell friends about the service, to actually spend time with what's being offered rather than simply accumulating it in a digital library.
The game's performance also signals something broader about where gaming is heading. As studios continue to chase single-player blockbusters and live-service models, Big Walk's success suggests there remains genuine appetite for carefully crafted cooperative experiences—games designed from the ground up for two people to share, not retrofitted with multiplayer modes. The comparison to Breath of the Wild matters because it implies the game respects player agency and creativity, qualities that translate powerfully into shared play.
With Big Walk now established as one of 2026's defining titles, the question becomes what happens next. Will other developers take note of what this game accomplished? Will PlayStation leverage this success in its marketing? The strong critical reception has already created momentum, but sustaining that attention—keeping players engaged beyond the initial rush—will determine whether Big Walk becomes a lasting landmark or a well-reviewed curiosity that fades as new releases arrive.
Notable Quotes
One of the best co-op games ever made— Game Informer
A Walk To Remember— The Verge review subtitle
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