While the digital development of video games continues to advance significantly in terms of graphics and design possibilities, one studio chose to take a different path. They created a game on Steam and for the PS5, in which the entire world was handcrafted from clay.
Which game are we talking about? It is the game The Midnight Walk from the Swedish studio MoonHood, which is being released today, May 8, 2025, on Steam and for the PS5. In the game, you befriend a lantern creature named Potboy, which has a small flame on its head. Together, you traverse a dark world full of monsters that are out to get you. You explore the surroundings, hide from dangers, and bring light to the darkness.
What stands out in The Midnight Walk, aside from the nightmarish atmosphere and the strangely deformed beings, is the extraordinary art style of the game. Everything looks as if it is handmade – and that is exactly what it is. All objects, places, and characters are made of clay and were completely handcrafted.
Here you can see the trailer for The Midnight Walk by MoonHood:
Over 700 clay figures were made for the game
How did the idea for The Midnight Walk come about? In an article from the PlayStation Blog, Olov Redmalm, one of the co-creators and the director of the game, discusses the development of the game. After completing their last project “Lost in Random,” he and his then co-director Klaus Lyngeled tried to “rediscover their spark” by starting to draw and work with clay.
One day Lyngeled surprised him with a small clay creature from whose head a flame emerged. And Potboy, the little creature that you ultimately guide through The Midnight Walk, was born.
We immediately talked about a game in which you have to protect this little creature while traveling through a dark fairytale world inhabited by fire-eating monsters that want to devour you and your flame. And when this little flame creature came to life in our first playable demo, the spark in me and Klaus was reignited. The development of The Midnight Walk was underway – and we haven’t looked back since.
Olov Redmalm, Co-Creator and Director of The Midnight Walk (via PlayStation Blog)
Why did they ultimately stick with the handmade style? In an exchange with GameSpot on YouTube, Redmalm and Lyngeled discuss some design decisions of their latest project.
They decided on the handmade approach of modeling everything realistically in clay and using it as a 3D scan because it simply looks different and more detailed. One of the developers even states that the route of modeling and scanning is faster than the usual method and achieves a level of detail that can only be accomplished this way.
The stop-motion animation also contributes to the handmade effect, with the team having worked in exactly the opposite manner here. The style was digitally mimicked. They achieved this not only through the lower frame rate but also through various animation methods that ranged from jerky to partially completely fluid movements. This way, they were able to create the illusion of stop-motion.
The Midnight Walk is available today on Steam and the PS5, and it can even be played in VR. Another game that uses a similar animation style is South of Midnight, which can also be played on Xbox. MyMMO author Johanna reports here about her experience in the game: The new action game from Xbox is perfect if you want to experience a strong story over a weekend
