So, since instead of just writing about stuff that makes me go do
this , I'll end my day with a positive note and write about Night in the Woods:
I heard about this game first on RPS, in 2013 I think it was. It certainly looked amazing, even at that early stage, and it's impressive how little has changed now in the final release (and I mean that in good way, they nailed the look really early, and that couldn't have been easy to get so right) It certainly sounded intriguing.
Playing it now, I'm really amazed how well the game nails its presentation from the very first screen. A short interactive fiction "minigame", where you get to choose a few alternatives, and the narrative just picks them up. I was kinda sad that this only happened once, would have been nice to have more of that sprinkled in the game. It also shows early on how powerful the writing in this game is. Mae's grandfather was
clearly a super important person for her, and the game never once has to tell this directly. It begins by describing his last day, and every time Mae talks about him, you feel how she both loves being reminded of him, and how it hurts her that this part of her early life is forever gone, indicative of so many other things her home town represents. This game tells so much with so few things, every ellipsis and gesture chosen near perfectly.
And this doesn't mention the visual side of things: with only very few shapes and flat 2D objects, NITW manages to create such a vivid world. Leaves fluttering in the wind, animals scurrying around, chestnuts dropping from trees and rolling on the ground. Pedestrians walking, cars driving buy. It's insanely busy, and yet, there is a calmness to it, to everything. I get why it took years to make this game, it must have taken forever to get Possum Springs
just right.
(the image is from petethepanda , great gif! and impressive jump too )
On top of this all is the music, the soundtrack is brilliant, and so varied too. Hopeful when it needs to be, sad and slow when it calls for it. It captures the mood, in a rural town during autumn so well. I think I'll proceed to buy every one of the four soundtrack DLCs on Steam, just to support such great work.
I also really fell in love with the repetitive nature of the gameplay: you wake up as Mae, talk to your parents, explore the town, talk to a few people, breed some rats, talk to your friends (you know, the usual stuff), and then in the end to to sleep again. Each day has a "main event", and lots of smaller side ventures too, all optional, all of them great. There's a reason this thing clocked at 16 hours for me, and it's not only because I have a compulsive disorder to do everything and should get some help, but also because this game enables me by providing so much stuff do to, and talk to. Mae comments everything as well, and I really love the writing in this. It just has so much
life for the lack of a better word. Never felt artificial or fake, could totally see real (admittedly dorky) people talk like this.
I'm not sure yet what I thought about the story and the ending. It's .. good, but it also leaves a lot open for interpretation, which is also good, but makes it harder to say anything about it. Maybe if get some distance from this game, and return to it later I'll have a better idea. I still recommend everyone to experience the story and it's conclusion.
All in all, this is certainly a game I won't forget soon. So go back in time and buy it during the last WinterSale.
