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  1. Games
  2. Co-op Games

"Complicated feelings on our end": Indie devs behind new Peak-like co-op understand you think it's friendslop, but "it's a slight bummer that the other half of the term is the 'slop'"

News
By Anna Koselke Contributions from Rollin Bishop published 9 March 2026

The term has negative and positive connotations

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Big Walk
(Image credit: House House)
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Big Walk, the upcoming co-op adventure from the creators of Untitled Goose Game, looks as though it might be the next title players will dub a "friendslop" gem lovingly – but developers aren't quite sure how they feel about the fan-created genre name.

Stuart Gillespie-Cook and Nico Disseldorp of House House tell GamesRadar+ as much when asked what they think of the term.

"Complicated feelings on our end," admits Gillespie-Cook. "It's a funny one, where I really think it depends on how positively or negatively you want to take that term." He goes on to cite that there are plenty of other titles – think Peak and the like – that are similar in nature.

"The fact that there are a bunch of games that are popular at the moment, where hanging out with your friends is the chief activity? That's great. We love that," explains the dev. "I guess we've been making this game for so long that the kind of term and almost like the backlash for these types of games wasn't around when we started, and I think we were a bit nervous that, like, 'Is there even an audience for this type of game?' Like it was a bit foreign to us."

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  • Peak screenshot showing two characters holding umbrellas in the desert Peak lead knows you're a friendslop "hater," but remember "these games aren't trying to be Game of the Year"
  • Big Walk screenshot showcasing a couple of characters squatting on the beach in front of a key thing Big Walk could be your next Peak-like obsession

He concludes: "So I think that the emergence of this at least proves that, like, yeah, people are into these games. It's a slight bummer that the other half of the term is the 'slop,' but yeah."

Disseldorp echoes this last part himself, adding, "All artists always hate the name of the genre that people give them. So it's nothing new there."

It seems that, all in all, House House isn't quite sure how it feels about "friendslop" – it's got both negative and positive connotations.

The devs behind Peak similarly spoke on the term late last year, calling friendslop "juicy" and saying, "There's a real desire to connect and hang out in online worlds, and friendslop games put that at the front and center of the experience."

Need something else to look forward to with Big Walk still underway? Browse through our roundup of the best new games coming this year and beyond for more.

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CATEGORIES
PC Gaming PS5 Platforms PlayStation
Anna Koselke
Anna Koselke
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Staff Writer

After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

With contributions from
  • Rollin BishopUS Managing Editor

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