At the stroke of midnight on the very first day of the New Year, I set out on a long, fear-inducing walk through the Swedish wood in a courageous attempt to see into the future I was destined to face. I didn’t have any food or human contact for an entire 24-hour period, not to mention it was the dead of winter, but felt ready to confront whatever was out there waiting for me.
Through the ancient Swedish tradition of Årsgång, or Year Walking, I faced intricate supernatural friends and foes, each with unique distinctive features of their own that made them a challenging feat. Though the journey was long and the puzzling conflicts were tough, I made it through in a mere matter of hours and was able to cross out this off-the-wall activity from my summer bucket list.
It may be important to mention that my name is Daniel Svensson, and I embarked on a Year Walk against the better advice of my unrequited love, Stina, whom I should have listened to. I was terrified of losing her to another man, and felt this might be my only choice. Though I faced many horrors that lead me to an unhappy conclusion, I would still recommend this venture to anyone with a curious heart. I should probably also let on to the fact that I accomplished all of this as an 18-year-old girl with a couple of extra bucks in my pocket in the comfort of my very own living room.
Year Walk is both a phone app and PC game released by popular game developer, Simogo. Complete with an amazing and bone-chilling soundtrack by Daniel Olsén and thrilling features that will make you jump more than a couple of times, this history-based horror game consumed my brain more than any other. The sounds of the game add an incredible amount of realism, especially when played with headphones. I would by no means consider myself a “gamer girl” and, typically, don’t get any more adventurous than Candy Crush, but there I sat for hours, putting my effort into figuring out the puzzles that would lead me through this unique game.
The characters, such as the alluring Huldra, guardian of the forest, or the haunting mylings, the ghosts of babies who were victims of infanticide, are very realistic portrayals of actual characters of Scandinavian folklore. I would know this because I spent hours in a local coffee shop with my boyfriend, reading library books on folklore from various Scandinavian countries and making connections to the game. That is what normal couples do on Sunday afternoons, right? The things we found were creepy, but incredibly intriguing, and we were really sad that we weren't able to find more on the subject. There just aren't enough people in the world that dedicate their lives to the research of Scandinavian folklore and mythology, for reasons unbeknownst to me. The best reads featured the character of the Brook Horse, a water animal who spends time hoping for children to ride on its back, and is closely associated to the mylings.
If you want to know more about this game and these characters, I would strongly suggest checking it out for yourself rather than reading brief descriptions from me. Despite how nerdy this actually sounds, it sparked my interest more than most Netflix marathons or classic “teen girl” books I’ve had my face glued to this summer. It caused me to put my interest into something I never thought I would, and step outside of the norm when it comes to typical summer pastimes.
While I do highly support the downloading and playing of this game, I mostly just want to encourage readers to step outside of the box this summer, and try something you never thought you would enjoy. Not only will it be another thing to add to your repertoire of summer experiences, you may find you can broaden your horizons with the things that interest you, engage in conversation with new people and experience unique adventures that take you away to somewhere else. Because in the end, that’s what summer is all about, right?
Until next time, happy Årsgång!
