Big Walk’s settings are shallow but load-bearing — several of them are the documented fix for problems that look like something else, and one of them (the host’s Render Scale) affects everyone in the session rather than just the person changing it.
Everything on this page comes from paths House House state directly. Options that exist in the game but have never been described in official material are not listed, because guessing at a menu tree helps nobody.
| Path | What it does |
|---|---|
| Settings > Rebinding | Rebind all controls |
| Settings > General > Motion Reduction Overlays | Several overlays intended to reduce motion sickness |
| Settings > Graphics > Field of View | Higher shows more of the world |
| Settings > Graphics > Render Scale | Lower reduces GPU load |
| Settings > Graphics > Quality | Lower reduces CPU and GPU load |
| Settings > Audio > Volume | Master volume |
| Settings > Audio > Microphone Activity | Meter confirming the game hears your mic |
| Settings > Audio > Mute Mode | “Hold” means push-to-talk |
| In-game menu > Session Details | Join code and session password |
| Accessibility menu (at session start, host only) | Enables challenge skipping for the group |
Also confirmed as available, without a published path: multiple crosshair styles, and hold-vs-toggle options for some controls.
Graphics and performance
Three settings matter and the order you touch them in is documented. House House’s stated sequence for a machine running Big Walk badly:
- Lower Render Scale (Settings > Graphics). Reduces GPU load.
- Lower Quality (Settings > Graphics). Reduces CPU and GPU load.
- Raise Render Scale back up gradually.
The reason for that shape is balancing the two rather than blanket-lowering everything — their own explanation is that it “will help balance your CPU with your GPU.”
Field of View lives in the same menu but is a comfort setting rather than a performance one. A higher number shows more of the world and, per House House, “may make you feel less claustrophobic, and less motion sick.”
One rule that is easy to miss: if you are the host, your graphics settings are a group concern. The official troubleshooting notes state that the host running at a low frame rate can cause network problems for everyone in the session.
Audio and microphone
Volume is the first thing to check when there is no sound at all — House House’s own checklist starts by confirming other applications play audio, then goes to Settings > Audio and confirming Volume is up.
Microphone Activity is a live meter. If it does not bounce when you talk, the game is not receiving input, and the fault is upstream: test the mic in another program, confirm it is fully plugged in, and check the physical mute switch on the device or headset.
Mute Mode is the setting that most often looks like a broken microphone. If it is set to “hold”, you must hold a button to transmit. Someone who has never touched this setting and suddenly cannot be heard should check it before troubleshooting hardware.
There is also a moderation menu with the ability to silence players. If one specific person cannot hear one specific other person, check nobody has been silenced there.
Session Details — reachable from the in-game menu — holds two things: the join code for the current session, and the session password, which can be changed while the game is running.
The accessibility menu that enables challenge skipping is not in this tree. It is presented to the host when starting a session, which makes challenge skipping a decision the group makes before playing rather than one an individual toggles mid-run.
What each graphics setting actually costs
The three graphics settings do different work, which is why House House give an order rather than telling you to lower everything.
Render Scale changes the resolution the game renders at before scaling to your display. Lowering it is the cheapest large performance win available and the first thing to try. The cost is image sharpness, which in a game of distant landscape reading is not nothing — you may lose the ability to make out a structure on a far ridge.
Quality covers the rest of the rendering work, and House House note it reduces both CPU and GPU load. It is the second lever because it changes more of how the game looks.
Field of View is a comfort setting with a performance cost: a wider view renders more of the world per frame. If you need a high FOV for motion sickness reasons, buy the performance back with Render Scale rather than narrowing the view again.
Settings that affect other people
Two settings on your machine change other players’ experience, which is unusual and easy to miss.
Your frame rate, if you are the host. House House state that a host running at a low frame rate can cause network issues for the whole session. A host should tune performance before playing rather than during.
Your Mute Mode. If it is set to “hold” and you do not realise, the group experiences you as silent. In a game where communication is the mechanic, an accidentally muted player is a broken player.
Everything else — overlays, FOV, crosshair style, bindings — is yours alone. Challenge skipping is the exception in the other direction: it is set by the host and applies to everyone.