Shaun Munro reviews Night in the Woods…
Infinite Fall’s new explorative adventure game will provide players with a welcome break from the current glut of AAA, 30-plus-hour experiences hitting the shelves, yet at the same time it’s a surprisingly deep, robust package in its own right with a wealth of content to seek out.
Night in the Woods‘ protagonist is Mae, a 20-year-old anthropomorphic feline returning to her sleepy hometown of Possum Springs after dropping out of University. As she reconnects with her family and friends, however, she comes to find much has changed since her departure, and an eerie mystery soon begins to unravel in the nearby woods.
It would be reductive to simply call Night in the Woods a walking simulator, for though the game focuses mostly on Mae mostly walking around Possum Springs, the style and tone feel more reminiscent of the classic adventures games of decades past, albeit given a flavourful update for millennials.
Sure to be compared to Life is Strange for touting a similarly sardonic sense of humour that vacillates between being genuinely hilarious and intentionally cringe-worthy, the game’s too-cool-for-school dialogue won’t be for everyone, but thanks to strong characterisation, it’s easy to become drawn into Mae’s story regardless.
There is an inherent clash of tones here for sure; the more simple, pared down gameplay loop of Mae visiting her friends around town, going to sleep, having a weird dream – represented through several trippy platforming sequences that honestly feel rather like padding – and waking up to do it again, doesn’t always cohere perfectly with the more ominous allusions that emerge in the game’s second half (though that seems somewhat purposeful).
Indeed, the game is at its strongest when engaging with the everyday rigour of Mae’s new life, while touching on a variety of themes such as depression, friendship, existentialism and the current American political climate. There will surely be those who will glibly dismiss the game as “SJW bait” for its trenchant engagement with social issues and featuring, gasp, two central gay characters, but regardless of how closely you can or cannot relate to Mae, she is a fully-realised individual, and the revelations later on hit with undeniable impact as a result.
Mae’s just one piece of the puzzle, though, and she actually ends up being one of the game’s less-likeable characters overall, a decision both unexpected and brave. The easy MVP is her best friend Bea, a relentlessly sarcastic alligator whose grounded life perspective makes her a terrifically well-drawn counterpoint to Mae’s more peppy view of existence.
What’s most surprising of all, however, is just how much there is to see and do for a game you might easily assume can be beaten in an afternoon. Sure, it’s easy enough to rush through the story in 5-6 hours (which is still a good few hours more than you might’ve anticipated), but choosing to explore Possum Springs during the day leads to hilarious interactions with the town’s locals, and depending on which of Mae’s friends you talk to, you’ll end up playing entire sequences that others may not. This gives the game some unexpected replay value and makes it good for at least a second playthrough, especially if you haven’t gotten enough of a fiendishly addictive, Guitar Hero-esque rhythm game that occasionally crops up.
The sigh-inducing but mercifully short platforming sequences aside, Night in the Woods is a fantastically paced, beautifully-wrought adventure that impressively manages to be a gentle ride while still feeling substantial at its core. The game looks terrific and is bolstered by a soothing minimalist score, but it’s the intelligent writing and excellent character work that really make it shine.
Pros
+Gorgeous art style and animation
+Hilarious dialogue and characters
+Surprisingly varied gameplay
+Unexpected replay value
Cons
-Platforming sections are a little tedious
Rating – 8/10
Reviewed for PC (also available on PS4).
Shaun Munro – Follow me on Twitter for more video game rambling.
Originally published March 5, 2017. Updated April 11, 2018.
