Walking games
Fantasy Hike alternatives: walking apps worth trying next
Short answer: pick by what you liked about Fantasy Hike. For another long trail, try MistyWay or Thru. For Middle-earth itself, The Conqueror sells official Lord of the Rings challenges with real medals. For a story that keeps coming, try Zombies, Run! and its 500-plus missions. For a daily loop with no finish line, try Walkr or Pikmin Bloom. If you are mid-quest and happy, stay.
Fantasy Hike is a lovely app with one problem built in: the trail ends. App Store reviewers who reach Mount Fire keep asking where the next journey is. This page sorts the alternatives by what you wanted from Fantasy Hike, not by rank. We make Chonky Corgo, and it sits in the table with its weaknesses written down too.
How does Fantasy Hike work in 2026?
Fantasy Hike, from the Swedish studio Forge7 AB, turns the walking and running distance in Apple Health into progress along one fantasy trail to Mount Fire. Fantasy Hike's free version caps how far you travel each day, and App Store reviewers throughout 2026 describe that cap as one mile, lifted by a one-time Unlimited Distance purchase.
What happens when you reach Mount Fire?
Fantasy Hike's quest ends, and the way to keep going is to walk the same trail again. Fantasy Hike's listing promises "a complete Fantasy Quest", MacSparky called it a 1,700-mile journey, and one reviewer logged 1,780 miles over 666 days. Finishers adore the trip, run out of road, and that gap is what every app below tries to fill.
I have been using Fantasy Hike since December of 2023 and just recently completed the quest to Mordor. [...] But now that I have finished I don't know what to do.
$7kt0, App Store review, 22 January 2025
Who should stay with Fantasy Hike?
Stay if you are partway to Mount Fire and still enjoying it, if racing Mr Underhill is the fun part, or if one long goal with a real ending suits you. One 2025 finisher put it plainly: "I love this app because there's an end goal." Plenty of Fantasy Hike finishers happily walk the trail a second time.
Which apps give you another long trail?
MistyWay and Thru copy the part of Fantasy Hike that works, a long illustrated route your walking slowly fills in, and offer more of it. MistyWay is closest in tone, and Thru swaps fantasy for real American trails. MistyWay and Thru still end eventually, so they suit someone who loved the trail itself.
MistyWay: the closest match
MistyWay: Walking Quest Game moves your character through 45 hand-drawn locations and 50-plus story quests on a 1,500 km journey, per its website. MistyWay is free to start, with no ads and free friends, but its FAQ says only Premium members can start another journey, and US Premium plans run from $3.99 a week to $79.99 a year. MistyWay also keeps a daily streak with at-risk reminders, the pattern covered in walking apps that do not punish you for a quiet day.
Thru: real trails, for free
Thru: Virtual Hiking, a personal project by designer Aaron La Lau, turns daily steps into a hike along the Pacific Crest Trail or the Appalachian Trail. Thru is free, with no in-app purchases listed and, per La Lau, no accounts or ads. Thru is also small: 102 US ratings and no friends feature yet.
Which apps turn your walks into a story that keeps going?
If the story beats were what pulled you outside, pick an app where new story keeps arriving. Zombies, Run! has been on the App Store since 2012 and lists more than 500 missions. Chonky Corgo, which we make, is far newer and far smaller. Zombies, Run! and Chonky Corgo are games first, unlike Fantasy Hike's calm map.
Zombies, Run!: the deepest story
Zombies, Run! plays an audio drama through your headphones during a walk or run you start, and it has an Apple Watch app. Zombies, Run! is free to try, and a membership at $6.99 or $49.99 on the US store unlocks every mission. The cautions: Zombies, Run! suits a set daily walk more than scattered steps, and February 2026 reviews report an update re-locked episodes free players had unlocked.
Chonky Corgo (ours): a daily fight plus a story
Chonky Corgo: Walking RPG reads your daily steps from Apple Health, and every 250 steps charges an attack on the day's pixel monster. A new monster holds the road each day, and each goal day moves the adventure through story chapters and eight regions, with Coins, furniture and pets to bring home.
The honest part: Chonky Corgo launched in September 2026 and has no App Store ratings yet, and eight regions is a fraction of what Zombies, Run! has built. The game itself needs an iPhone: the Apple Watch app that arrived with version 2.0 on 30 September 2026 shows steps, goal progress and Trail Walks, but the fights stay on the phone, and signed-in adults see a banner ad by default until they switch it off in Settings or buy No Banner Ads.
Which apps have a game loop with no finish line?
Some Fantasy Hike fans wanted a daily reason to open the app, not a destination. Walkr and Pikmin Bloom both reset every day and keep adding to a collection, and both sell in-game currency, which Fantasy Hike does not. Neither Walkr nor Pikmin Bloom gives you the feeling of a long journey.
Walkr: a galaxy to fill
Walkr, published by SPARKFUL, turns steps into fuel for a spaceship that discovers planets, and its listing promises more than 100 of them. Walkr is free with ads, with a $1.99 Ads Remover and a $7.99 monthly plan on the US listing. Walkr has an edge too: a July 2026 reviewer has waited almost a year for levels past 140.
Pikmin Bloom: a daily walk with company
Pikmin Bloom, published by Scopely Explore, grows Pikmin from seedlings as you walk and plants flowers along your route. Pikmin Bloom is free, with coins from $0.99, but leans on location, and its listing says devices without GPS are not guaranteed to work. One September 2026 reviewer said the novelty was gone by day four.
WalkScape, where walking levels up skills, would fit here, but its site says it is still in closed beta. Map-first games like Pokemon GO are compared in walking apps like Pokemon GO, and whether any walking game lasts is covered in how to make walking more fun.
Which app sends a real medal when you finish?
The Conqueror Challenges does, and it sells official Lord of the Rings challenges, the world Fantasy Hike nods to with names like Mount Fire. The Conqueror's series has eight paid challenges, five following Frodo from The Shire to Mount Doom, and each finished challenge earns a medal in the post. Road to Mordor alone is 282 miles.
The price is the catch: on 30 September 2026 The Conqueror's store listed one Road to Mordor entry at $49.99 and all eight challenges as a bundle for $299.95. The Conqueror syncs walking, running or cycling from Apple Watch and Apple Health, Garmin, Fitbit and others, though its App Store listing shows no Watch app of its own.
How do the alternatives compare side by side?
The table starts with Fantasy Hike as the baseline, then the six alternatives, then Chonky Corgo, marked as ours. Prices are US figures from 30 September 2026. The last column is the weakness we would want to know before installing, drawn from each listing and from recent App Store reviews.
| App | How your walking counts | Does it end? | Price (US) | Watch app | Real weakness |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fantasy Hike (the baseline) | Apple Health distance moves you along one trail | Yes, at Mount Fire. You can restart | Free, capped daily. $6.99 unlock or Premium from $1.99 | No | One quest, and reviewers say seeing friends needs a subscription |
| MistyWay | Steps uncover a hand-drawn fantasy map | Yes, at 1,500 km. Premium restarts it | Free, no ads. Premium $3.99 a week to $79.99 a year | None listed | More quests and a restart need a subscription. 92 US ratings |
| Thru: Virtual Hiking | Steps move you along a real long-distance trail | Each trail ends. Pick another | Free, no purchases listed | None listed | A side project with no friends feature. A reviewer says switching trails meant deleting progress |
| The Conqueror Challenges | Any logged distance moves you along a route | Each challenge ends, with a medal posted | Paid challenges. Road to Mordor $49.99 | No | Costly: all eight Lord of the Rings challenges are $299.95 as a bundle |
| Zombies, Run! | An audio story plays on walks you start | No. 500-plus missions, still adding | Free to try. Membership $6.99 or $49.99 | Yes | Session-based, and February 2026 reviews report re-locked episodes |
| Walkr | Steps fuel a spaceship that finds planets | Mostly no, but a reviewer is stuck at level 140 | Free with ads. Plan $7.99 a month | None listed | Ads, which a ten-year player says keep getting longer |
| Pikmin Bloom | Steps grow Pikmin, and location drives the map | No. A daily loop | Free. Coins from $0.99 | None listed | Needs GPS, and a reviewer says the novelty was gone by day four |
| Chonky Corgo (ours) | Every 250 steps charges an attack on the day's monster | The daily fight, no. The story covers eight regions | Free to download. Club, Gems, playsets, No Banner Ads | Yes, since version 2.0 (30 Sep 2026): steps, goal progress and Trail Walks. Fights stay on iPhone | Brand new with no ratings, the game needs an iPhone, far less story than Zombies, Run!, and a default banner ad for signed-in adults until switched off in Settings or bought off |
How did we check all this?
Every price, rating count and feature here was read on 30 September 2026 from the US App Store, through Apple's public lookup service and each listing page, and from each developer's own site. We did not install or play these apps. Reddit could not be read for this check, so every quoted complaint comes from App Store reviews.
| App | US ratings | Average | Latest update |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fantasy Hike | 14,949 | 4.8 | 29 Apr 2026 |
| MistyWay | 92 | 4.4 | 29 Sep 2026 |
| Thru: Virtual Hiking | 102 | 4.9 | 27 Sep 2026 |
| The Conqueror Challenges | 11,946 | 4.8 | 20 Sep 2026 |
| Zombies, Run! | 24,091 | 4.8 | 29 Sep 2026 |
| Walkr | 8,043 | 4.5 | 29 Sep 2026 |
| Pikmin Bloom | 68,975 | 4.8 | 28 Sep 2026 |
| Chonky Corgo (ours) | 0 | None yet | 30 Sep 2026 |
What else do people ask?
Three questions that come up around Fantasy Hike, usually just before people start looking elsewhere. The answers come from the Fantasy Hike listing, the other apps' listings and developer pages, and App Store reviews, all read on 30 September 2026, so check the listings again if you are reading this much later.
- Is Fantasy Hike free?
- Fantasy Hike is free to download, but the free version caps daily distance, which reviewers describe as one mile. On 30 September 2026 the US listing showed a $6.99 Unlimited Distance unlock and Premium subscriptions from $1.99.
- What is the closest app to Fantasy Hike?
- MistyWay is closest in feel, a hand-drawn fantasy map your steps uncover. Thru is closest in structure, a long trail filled in by daily steps, but it uses real American trails instead of a fantasy world.
- Is there an official Lord of the Rings walking challenge?
- Yes. The Conqueror Challenges sells an eight-part Lord of the Rings series and posts a medal for each finished challenge. One Road to Mordor entry was $49.99 on 30 September 2026.
