Night in the Woods - an indie darling

Night in the Woods is an indie darling. It tops ‘best of’ and ‘must play’ lists, but is it really as good as everyone says? Night in the Woods was this months Geeks and Grounds selection, so I took the opportunity to see what all the fuss was about. I was actually pretty surprised how little I knew about the game, given its popularity.

So, I’m jumped into this 2D side scroller as Mae, a college drop out who doesn’t know when to shut up. She has come back to the safety of home, only to find out that it has changed. And there is a severed arm on main street. Wait, what?

Night in the Woods feels a bit like a walking life sim. Spend each day chatting with townsfolk and hanging out with your friends. It can feel a bit repetitive, a bit slow, a bit monotonous. Is this intentional? Emphasising that sometimes life is slow? I never did work it out, but it did take some of the fun out of it for me. It doesn’t help that Mae isn’t a particularly likeable person (cat) and sometimes says things you wish she wouldn’t. There were times I struggled to keep playing, because I was mad at Mae.

There are some excellent side characters and experiences though. My favourite is Mr Chazokov, one of Mae’s old teachers who is into astronomy. Every couple of days they go hunting for dusk stars and discuss the mythology behind them. I looked forward to seeing him every time he was on his roof.

Night in the Woods is primarily a narrative game with some light platforming thrown in. Enjoy bouncing along the powerlines to get to your destination. It is the best way to travel! Unfortunately, I don’t think the the story was strong enough and it went in an unexpected direction. One I didn’t particularly like. I also didn’t find the ending particularly satisfying. So, for me, this isn’t an indie darling and probably a game I wouldn’t play again.