Big Walk voices too quiet: what the 1.4.8 patch changed
House House fixed the quiet-voice problem in version 1.4.8 on 7 August. Here is how to tell whether you have that build, and what to do if you do.
Shipped on Steam 7 Aug 2026. House House said it would take a little while to reach the other platforms, so PS5 and Switch 2 players may still be on an older build.
Do this first
Update the game. Version 1.4.8 raises quiet microphone setups to the intended volume, and it landed on Steam on 7 August 2026. One detail almost nobody mentions: the new correction takes a few seconds to calibrate, so if someone still sounds faint the moment they join, have them keep talking for a few seconds before you start changing settings.
Is this your problem?
- A teammate is faint even when you are standing right next to them
- Only some people in the group are hard to hear, not everyone
- Turning your system volume up makes everything else painfully loud
- The person sounds fine in Discord but quiet in game
What 1.4.8 actually changed
House House confirmed the problem on 5 August: for some setups, players were much quieter than intended even when very close by. The patch followed on 7 August.
The fix is not a blanket volume increase. By House House’s own description, the game now does a better job of bringing players with quiet microphone setups up to the intended volume — the correction is applied per player, based on their microphone.
That is why the studio kept the proximity design intact rather than simply making everyone louder. Hearing only the people near you is deliberate, and the patch was written to respect that.
The few-seconds calibration nobody mentions
The per-player correction needs a moment of audio before it settles. House House says explicitly that if a new player seems quiet for a moment, get them to keep talking for a few seconds.
This matters because the instinct is the opposite: someone joins, sounds faint for two seconds, and the whole group starts opening audio settings. Wait first. If they are still faint after ten seconds of continuous talking, then it is worth checking anything else.
Check which build you are on
Every player in the session should be on the same version, and the quiet-voice fix only exists from 1.4.8. The version number is shown on the main menu.
On Steam the update is automatic unless you have changed the update setting for the game. On PS5 and Switch 2 the patch reached players later — if a console player in your group is the quiet one, an outdated build is the first thing to rule out.
If it is still quiet on 1.4.8
At this point the problem is more likely to be a device or a setting than the game. The official FAQ gives the order worth following.
- Open Settings > Audio and watch Microphone Activity while the quiet player talks. If the meter does not move, the game is not receiving their microphone at all and nothing in-game will fix it.
- Check Settings > Audio > Mute Mode. If it is set to hold, that player has to hold the button to be heard, and will otherwise sound absent rather than quiet.
- Check the moderation menu to be sure nobody has been silenced in the session.
- Confirm the microphone is fully plugged in and not muted on the headset itself — a hardware mute switch produces exactly this symptom.
- Have everyone use headphones. Speakers feed the game audio back into the microphone, and the resulting echo is often mistaken for a volume problem.
What is working as intended
Voices getting quieter with distance is the game, not a fault. So is being cut off by a wall or by a soundproof room — several puzzles depend on exactly that.
If your group wants to talk at range, that is what the walkie-talkies and megaphones are for. Reaching for Discord instead removes the mechanic the puzzles are built on, and the official FAQ asks players not to.
Frequently asked
Has the Big Walk quiet voice bug been fixed?
Yes, in version 1.4.8, released on Steam on 7 August 2026. House House said the patch would take a little while to reach other platforms, so a console player may still be on an older build.
Why is only one person in our group quiet?
The problem was never universal — House House noted that not everyone was affected. It depends on the microphone setup, which is why the 1.4.8 fix corrects per player rather than raising everyone.
Someone still sounds quiet right after joining. Is the patch broken?
Probably not. The correction takes a moment to calibrate. Have them talk continuously for a few seconds before changing anything.
Can I just turn up the in-game voice volume?
Raising system volume to compensate makes footsteps, music and everything else painfully loud. Updating to 1.4.8 is the fix; volume is a workaround for a problem that no longer needs one.
Should we use Discord instead?
The official FAQ asks players not to talk outside the game, because distance, walls and radios are the puzzles. Use the in-game walkie-talkies for range, or text chat, which House House confirms covers the whole game.