House House, the Melbourne studio behind Untitled Goose Game, returns with Big Walk, a cooperative open-world adventure that drops 2–12 players into the rolling, fern-covered bush of Wilson's Promontory. The map is dense with Big Walk secret locations, half-buried jokes, and acoustic oddities that you only notice when someone in your group whispers the right hint through Discord. This guide maps the most rewarding hidden spots, identifies the Big Walk landmarks you should treat as waypoints, and shows you exactly when to stand still for a Big Walk sunset that makes the trip feel worthwhile.
Before we begin, a quick note on structure: Big Walk is a handcrafted co-op adventure with a defined ending, which means the exploration economy favors curiosity over speed. The reward for finding every tucked-away alcove is layered — new dialogue beats, postcard-perfect vista shots, and the kind of "did anyone else see that?" moments that turn a four-hour session into a memory. Everything below is sourced from the official Big Walk press kit and corroborated by early player reports.
Why Big Walk Secret Locations Matter for Every Explorer
Big Walk looks, at first glance, like a straightforward walking simulator. You and your friends trot through gum-tree valleys, lob rocks into rivers, and try not to fall off anything taller than your character. Underneath that gentle surface, though, the world is stitched together with hidden areas that reward close attention. The official press kit describes the experience as a "balmy, no-stakes open world," but every bush, slope, and boulder cluster seems to hide a punchline or a puzzle trigger.
The reason Big Walk secret locations matter is mechanical as much as atmospheric. Several co-op puzzles — the ones that gate progression through the campaign — only activate when a teammate is standing on a hidden pressure plate or humming into a distant sound shrine. Skipping a side canyon can lock you out of an entire dialogue branch. For a more granular breakdown of every named point on the map, check our complete Big Walk all-locations guide, which catalogs each zone by biome.
What counts as a "secret" in Big Walk
The studio treats three categories of discovery as worth cataloging:
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Hidden areas with no marker, no compass ping, and no NPC breadcrumb — you stumble into them by walking off the obvious path.
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Acoustic landmarks that emit a unique chime, hum, or melody when players stand in the right spot together.
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Visual landmarks so visually distinct that you'll recognize them in screenshots — the giant yellow boulders, the curved ramp, the elevated treehouses.
Each category feeds a different part of the co-op loop, and most veteran groups set themselves a checklist of one entry per category per session.
Iconic Big Walk Landmarks Worth the Hike
Landmarks function as the spine of the Big Walk world. Even if you ignore every side puzzle, you'll thread past the major Big Walk landmarks simply because the path winds through them. Treating each as a checkpoint makes it far easier to backtrack and find the secret content clustered around it.
| Landmark | Biome | What Makes It Memorable | Why It's Worth a Stop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sound Shrines | River valleys | Humming stone rings that respond to player vocals | Co-op puzzles and postcard backdrops |
| Treehouses | Upper canopy | Wooden platforms strung between giant eucalypts | Long-range sightlines and photo moments |
| Jungle Gym | Coastal scrub | Climbable timber frame shaped like a child's playset | Bridge to the ocean zone |
| Ocean Zone | Southern shore | Tidal pools, rock arches, and distant horizon | Best Big Walk sunset vantage point |
| Curved Ramp | Central plateau | Smooth concrete arc leftover from "the old world" | Stunt jumps and group photo staging |
| Yellow Boulders | Scattered throughout | Oversized painted rocks that glow at dusk | Navigation beacons and Easter eggs |
The yellow boulders deserve special mention. According to the official press kit, they appear throughout the world and serve as de facto waypoints — the visual equivalent of a quest marker in a game that refuses to use quest markers. When you crest a ridge and can't decide which gully to drop into, the boulder cluster that catches the late-afternoon light is almost always the right one.
Sound Shrines and Acoustic Puzzles
Sound shrines are the most consistent category of Big Walk secret locations because they are co-op by design. A single player standing in the ring hears a faint tone, but the full chime only resolves when two or more players are inside the circle at the same moment, breathing or humming in sync. The shrine then emits a melodic phrase that doubles as a directional compass, pointing toward the next waypoint.
Because the effect is acoustic, it scales with group size. A four-player team can light up an entire valley of shrines in a single session, while a solo pair has to plan route order more deliberately. For a deeper look at how communication tools shape this loop, see our Big Walk exploration guide.
Treehouses, Jungle Gyms, and the Curved Ramp
These three landmarks sit close enough that you can clear them in a single afternoon. The treehouses reward climbing: each platform holds a small item (a postcard, a stub of pencil, a folded map) that contributes to the in-game journal. The jungle gym functions as a literal bridge — the timber frame is the only safe crossing over a ravine that drops into the ocean zone. And the curved ramp, a slab of smooth concrete that feels out of place in the bush, is the studio's quiet wink at skate-culture aesthetics. It launches you high enough to spot the next landmark on clear days, which makes it a useful survey point even before you discover its photo potential.
Finding Big Walk Sunset Spots in the Open World
A Big Walk sunset is not a weather event. The day-night cycle is short and deliberately weighted toward golden hour, so evenings last roughly 15 real-time minutes and produce saturated orange-pink skies that wash across the treetops. According to the official press kit, the studio designed nights as "brief moments, not prolonged darkness" — which means sunset is essentially the climax of the visual loop.
Reading the Day-Night Cycle
The cycle runs in three readable phases:
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Golden hour (roughly 12–15 minutes before sunset) — long shadows, warm light, ideal for photography. Sound shrines hit peak resonance.
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Sunset core (the final 3–4 minutes) — the sky cycles through coral, magenta, and indigo. Most hidden visual landmarks only reveal their painted detail during this window.
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Brief night — stars come out for 2–3 minutes, then the cycle resets. Limited gameplay impact, but a great time to scout bioluminescent details along the rivers.
Because the golden window is short, planning a route around it pays off. Most groups pick a vantage point first, then hike toward it during golden hour rather than chasing the sun across the map.
Top Sunset Vantage Points
| Vantage Point | Direction It Faces | Best Group Size | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean Zone cliffs | West | 4–6 players | Unobstructed horizon over the water |
| Curved Ramp | South-west | 2–4 players | Elevated, with the gum-trees as foreground |
| High treehouse platform | West | 2 players | Silhouettes against an open sky |
| Yellow Boulder ridge | West | Any | Painted rocks glow during dusk |
| Sound Shrine clearing | Variable | 4+ players | The chime audibly syncs with the sunset |
The ocean zone cliffs are the single most photographed spot in early-access coverage, and for good reason. The light rakes across the tidal pools and turns the rock arches into silhouettes. For a broader look at how the entire map breaks down by biome, our Big Walk world map guide layers these viewpoints onto a navigable reference.
How Co-op Play Unlocks Hidden Areas
Big Walk is built from the ground up for 2–12 player co-op, and almost every Big Walk secret location has a co-op-only condition attached to it. The studio leans on three tools to make this work: proximity voice chat, an emote wheel, and a lightweight ping system. Knowing when to switch between them is the difference between a four-hour wall and a smooth afternoon.
| Tool | Range | Best Use Case | Co-op Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proximity voice | ~30 meters | Locating hidden teammates, calling out shrines | Echoes through canyons, fading near rivers |
| Push-to-talk | Global | Coordinating groups of 6+ | Lower audio clutter |
| Emote wheel | Visual | Solving puzzles without language | Translations-friendly for cross-region groups |
| Ping wheel | Visual + audio | Marking secrets on the map | Persistent across the session |
The proximity-voice system is the secret sauce. Sound actually attenuates with distance, which means a teammate screaming "down here!" from inside a hollow log sounds different from the same shout across an open meadow. That spatial design is what makes the acoustic landmarks function as puzzles at all — and it's why the Rock Paper Shotgun preview describes the game as "a balmy, no-stakes open world" rather than a frantic adventure.
Reading the Audio Cues
A good rule of thumb: if you hear a faint, repeating tone in one ear, walk toward it. If the tone gets louder and richer, you're closing on a sound shrine. If it suddenly goes silent, you've crossed a biome boundary and need to recalibrate. Most hidden Big Walk secret locations are gated by audio cues first and visual cues second, so wearing headphones is essentially required for completionists.
Big Walk Secret Locations Checklist and Exploration Tips
Every exploration run benefits from a checklist, and Big Walk rewards methodical pacing. The list below covers the categories most groups miss on a first playthrough. Use it as a session goal and tick entries as you find them — the journal tracks partial completion, so even unfinished runs feel productive.
| Category | What to Look For | Common Mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Sound shrines | Stone rings with a central depression | Standing alone — co-op required |
| Yellow boulder clusters | Oversized painted rocks | Passing them at noon when they don't glow |
| Hidden treehouses | Platforms without visible ladders | Mistaking them for set dressing |
| Ocean zone arches | Tidal rock formations | Visiting at high tide only |
| Curved ramp tricks | Stunt lines on the concrete arc | Not bringing a friend for tandem jumps |
| Sunset vantage points | West-facing ridges | Showing up after golden hour |
A few practical tips from community runs:
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Run the coast at sunset. The ocean zone is the easiest place to chain three to four Big Walk sunset moments in a single session, and the cliffs double as photo backdrops.
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Pair every sound shrine with a teammate. Solo runs can still finish shrines, but they take 3–4× longer because the activation radius only fills with a second player.
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Mark yellow boulders at dusk. The painted detail only reveals itself during golden hour, so the boulders you dismissed as decoration at noon may be the navigation beacon you need later.
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Save the curved ramp for late game. Once you've unlocked the longer emote wheel, the ramp becomes a stunt playground rather than a waypoint.
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Take screenshots. Big Walk's world is photogenic in a way most co-op games are not. The journal rewards image unlocks alongside item pickups.
For players who want an even broader sweep of tucked-away content — including off-path caves and developer-authored Easter eggs — our Big Walk hidden areas breakdown cross-references every spot on this list against the full in-game journal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I play Big Walk solo without other players?
While Big Walk is designed as a cooperative experience, you can explore the world solo. However, certain puzzles and areas require at least two players to complete, so solo walkers will find some content gated behind multiplayer requirements in the current version of the game.
How many Big Walk secret locations are there in total?
The official press kit lists seven landmark categories, but the actual count of Big Walk secret locations exceeds thirty when you include variant shrines, secondary boulder clusters, and hidden treehouses. Completionists should expect 30–40 unique discoveries across a full playthrough.
Do I need a full party to find every Big Walk landmark?
No, but co-op helps enormously. Most landmarks respond to solo exploration, though sound shrines activate faster and more reliably with two or more players inside the ring. A duo can clear the entire map without issue.
Where is the best Big Walk sunset vantage point for screenshots?
The ocean zone cliffs facing west are universally recommended by early-access players, with the curved ramp as a strong second choice. Both spots offer clean horizons and minimal visual clutter, which makes them ideal for group compositions of 2–6 players.
Can I revisit Big Walk secret locations after finishing the campaign?
Yes. Big Walk features a defined ending but does not lock you out of the world once the credits roll. You can return to any biome, including the ocean zone and yellow boulder clusters, to mop up discoveries you missed during the main run.