Where Night in the Woods stumbles is perhaps its more gamey parts, specifically in its moments of platforming. And again, most of this is because of the stellar writing on display, which despite a few try-hardey moments that resulted in nothing but cringe, was excellent from start to finish. There was never anyone I encountered that I didn’t want to exhaustively chat up and interact with. This applies to the ancillary characters as well. However, very quickly I realized none of that mattered, because if there is one thing that Night in the Woods has, it’s well-realized characters with exceptional depth, that I’m likely never to forget. I hardly could relate to any of these characters, or what they were going through. There’s Gregg, your best friend and up-for-anything “crimes” partner Bea, your childhood friend who’s equally sardonic and caring and Angus, Gregg’s boyfriend who beautifully clashes with him as his more rational, and stoic counterpart. Speaking of characters: they might be the strongest part of Night in the Woods, especially the main foursome.
It’s all of these moments, and many, many more, that build out the game’s unique world and flesh out its various characters. It’s simply that Night in the Woods doesn’t shine in monumental moments, but in the small stuff: like shoplifting pretzels to feed to some baby rats, climbing to a rooftop to stargaze with a former teacher, or participating in Guitar Hero-like band practices. If any or all of this sounds boring, I understand, but trust me, it isn’t. All of these subtly woven bits of interaction nicely (and mysteriously) set the stage for what is to come. The first few hours of the game can feel uneventful as you reacclimatize to life in Possum Springs, inject yourself back into social circles, and edge out a routine.However, in these hours there are numerous vague references to the terrible things that Mae did in the past, probing questions about why she has dropped out of college, and talk about how one of her old friends has been missing. Almost all of it is optional, as well: however, who you decide to interact with, and which friendships you decide to focus on, considerably influence scenes later in the game and strongly encourages multiple playthroughs if you want to see everything on offer. And like small-town living, all of these days felt borderline indistinguishable, but always had fresh content and provided me with more information on the town and its inhabitants, as well as provided good transitional periods between narrative progression points.
While exploring, there was always a slab of distinct locals to talk to, friends to hit up at their shitty service jobs, and things to interact with. Every morning I would hop on Mae’s computer to read the AIM-like messages that her friends had left that morning, and which usually referenced something from the previous day, as well as told me where I could find them and what might be on the day’s agenda.Īfter chatting up Mae’s mom at her usual kitchen table spot, I would explore Possum Springs via the ground, powerlines, or rooftops. Regardless of how many hours you squeeze out of it, what the game’s progression structure does is create a routine for the player. Personally, it took me, the type of gamer who wants to meticulously absorb every piece of content and leave no stone unturned, 20 hours to complete. With this structure, the game is pretty open-ended on the pace you set. There is no timer on days: rather, they progress by completing certain story beats that push the narrative along. The game takes place in days, meaning each day begins with you waking up and ends with you going to sleep. Mae is 20, and she has dropped out of college to return to her rust-belt hometown Possum Springs, a former mining town, nostalgic for its glory years and that perfectly captures and embodies the rural small-town feel. As suggested above, Mae is a troublemaker, with the type of attitude and rap sheet that makes you stick out in a small town where no one forgets who you are. She would be pretty unlikable (purposefully), if she wasn’t redeemed by her drollery and occasional childlike pep. In Night in the Woods you play as Mae, an obstreperous, selfish, melancholy, anthropomorphic cat who, in many ways, is deleterious to those around her.
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