Where to get the Big Walk backpack after the red drawbridge, how it changes co-op exploration, and how to approach the early number puzzle without spoiling later island discoveries.
Image: IGDB
Store links: Big Walk on Steam
The backpack is early, useful, and deliberately not solo-friendly
The earliest confirmed Big Walk backpack appears after your group lowers the red drawbridge and reaches the Red Tower area, according to multiple guide sources covering the opening island route. That timing creates the first real fork in Big Walk’s design: the game gives you a tool that makes wandering easier, then immediately reminds you that even inventory management is a co-op puzzle.
NintendoSmash reports that backpacks are found at blue spiral buildings, which function as supply points around the island. GameRant and ProdigyGamers also place an early backpack near the Red Tower after the starting bridge section, though they describe the exact structure and prop differently. NintendoSmash calls the item a yellow carrier inside the structure, GameRant describes a backpack hanging from a pole in the middle of a blue structure, and ProdigyGamers says it is found at a blue tower-like building with a spiral staircase, hanging from a pole on the roof.
The shared guidance is clear enough to act on without flattening those differences: cross the red drawbridge first, go to the Red Tower, use its height and binoculars to identify the nearby blue spiral or blue tower structure, then search the structure carefully for the backpack stand. If your group is split between sources or screenshots, treat the Red Tower as the anchor and the blue structure as the destination, not the prop description as gospel.
How to get the Big Walk backpack after the Red Tower
After crossing the red drawbridge, head toward the Red Tower. NintendoSmash says the Red Tower is difficult to miss once you are across the bridge, and that the binoculars at the top can be used to spot nearby points of interest. The same guide says to look back toward the bridge, then slowly scan left until the blue spiral building comes into view close to the tower.
GameRant’s route is similar but frames the sightline differently: from the Red Tower, look toward the yellow maze in the distance and identify a blue building structure closer to the tower. ProdigyGamers describes following the red dirt path toward the Red Tower after the beginning section, then looking for a large blue tower-like structure.
Once you find the blue structure, do not expect the usual “press interact to equip” routine. NintendoSmash, GameRant, and ProdigyGamers all agree on the important rule: you cannot put the backpack on yourself. Another player has to pick it up and place it on your character. GameRant adds that a white icon appears at the bottom of the screen once the backpack is equipped, confirming that it is on. NintendoSmash and GameRant both say equipping a backpack unlocks the Big Pack achievement or trophy, and NintendoSmash notes that finding one backpack is enough for that unlock.
What the backpack changes about exploration
Big Walk limits each player to holding one item by default, and the backpack changes the tempo of exploration by letting a player carry an additional item. NintendoSmash says the backpack stores one item, while GameRant phrases it as carrying two items total: one in your hands and one in the bag. ProdigyGamers makes the same practical point, saying the extra carrying capacity cuts down on backtracking when later puzzles ask your group to move pieces or tools across the island.
The catch is the craft of the whole thing. GameRant reports that you cannot stow items in your own backpack, and NintendoSmash says accessing the stored item also requires another player. This is Big Walk committing to its bit in a meaningful mechanical way. The backpack is convenient, but it is still a two-person interaction. You need someone to load you up, unload you, or help swap what you are carrying.
That detail can save a run from needless confusion. If you are trying to pick up a tool while wearing an empty backpack and nothing seems to happen, the issue may be that you are treating it like a conventional inventory slot. Ask a teammate to handle the backpack interaction while you stand still. GameRant also reports that stored items are safer than hand-carried items because they will not fall off when you take a tumble, which makes the bag especially useful for fragile group logistics.
Before the backpack: lowering the Big Walk red drawbridge
The backpack route depends on the opening bridge, so the real first step in any Big Walk how to get backpack search is the red drawbridge. NintendoSmash places the Red Drawbridge at the beach beside the rocks, directly ahead of the spawn point. The guide says your party must get a key from the crown structure before the bridge, which requires placing four red objects into slots, then cutting the key inside five different shredders so it works.
NintendoSmash also gives the major constraint that shapes the whole opening: at least two players are required to progress, and the game cannot be advanced solo. IGN’s review supports the broader structure behind that requirement, describing Big Walk as a co-op-only puzzle adventure built around communication, with proximity-based voice chat and puzzles that change settings for two, three, or four-plus players.
For the four red objects, NintendoSmash identifies four early puzzle sites. The yellow scaffolding puzzle asks one player to crouch so another can climb and reach a button that drops the red object. The blue telescope puzzle has one player use a telescope and button to guide another player toward a distant box with a flashing red light. The green structure puzzle requires two players to press buttons simultaneously. The blue house puzzle puts one player inside a room where shapes appear, while the outside player enters the called-out sequence; NintendoSmash notes that the shape sequence is random.
That set of tasks is a clean introduction to Big Walk’s priorities. One puzzle checks body-stacking and movement, one checks long-distance guidance, one checks timing, and one checks communication under separation. If you are playing with exactly two people, move deliberately and call out what changed after every button press. If you have three or more, leave one player near the crown structure as a runner or landmark caller so nobody loses the route back.
How to approach the number puzzle without draining the mystery
The Big Walk number puzzle is already one of those early curiosities players can notice before they understand its place in the island’s logic. PC Gamer describes encountering a structure near the beach with an oblong prize inside a frosted glass container and a sign hanging above it, with the article’s own URL and headline referencing the numbers 4166 and 1899. Destructoid’s walkthrough table of contents also lists a “4166, 1899 puzzle,” but places it under the Green Tower section rather than the drawbridge opener.
That placement matters. Based on the source material provided, the number puzzle is confirmed as a recognized puzzle, and its visible numbers are confirmed by PC Gamer’s article framing. What is not supported here is a full solution path, the exact reward, or whether every group should solve it the moment they first see it. Since Destructoid categorizes it later than the opening drawbridge section, the safest spoiler-light guidance is to treat it as a marker rather than a roadblock during your first pass.
If your group reaches the number structure near the beach while still trying to open the red drawbridge or find the backpack, do three things. First, say the numbers out loud so everyone agrees on what they saw. Second, note the location relative to the beach and nearby bridge route. Third, move on if the interaction does not resolve cleanly with the tools and information you already have. Big Walk’s best puzzles rely on shared memory as much as button pressing, and forcing a solution too early risks turning discovery into brute force.
A spoiler-light route for your first hour
A clean first-hour plan is to keep your group’s goals narrow. Start by heading from spawn toward the beach and red staircase area described by NintendoSmash. At the crown structure, identify the four empty slots and commit to gathering the four red objects before wandering too far. Use the yellow scaffolding, blue telescope, green structure, and blue house puzzles as your opening loop, because those are the pieces NintendoSmash ties directly to the bridge key.
Once the key is shaped through the required shredders and the red drawbridge is lowered, resist the urge to scatter across the whole island. Go to the Red Tower first. The binoculars there are your best bridge between guided progress and free exploration, since NintendoSmash specifically says they help spot crucial points of interest. From that vantage, locate the blue structure near the tower, send the group down together, and have one teammate equip another with the backpack. Repeat if there are multiple backpacks available for your party.
After that, assign roles around the backpack rather than around ownership. One player can carry a hand item while another loads their backpack. A third, if present, can stay mobile as the guide, caller, or retriever. IGN’s review emphasizes that Big Walk’s identity comes from shared language and proximity-limited communication, so practical habits matter: name landmarks consistently, confirm when an item is in a backpack rather than in someone’s hands, and regroup before entering a new puzzle cluster.
For the number puzzle, make a note and keep walking unless your group has clearly reached the later context around it. That approach preserves the island’s sense of discovery while still keeping you efficient. The Big Walk backpack is the early upgrade worth prioritizing because it reduces friction without solving the game for you, which is exactly the kind of small, clever tool that lets a co-op puzzle world breathe.