“Night in the Woods,” by Infinite Fall, is a colorful- and yet dark- story based game for PC, PS4, and Nintendo Switch. The game stars Mae Borowski, a college drop-out, who returns home in hopes of fitting back in with her friends. Mae hoped that Possom Springs would forget her mental break down before she left, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. While running from her problems, Mae seems to run straight into something more, something bigger and darker than she could have imagined.
I was first introduced to this insanely beautiful game when Jacksepticeye did a let’s play when it first came out in February 2017. I watched Jack play the entire game, always anticipating the next installment. At the time I couldn’t afford to buy the game on Steam for myself and even if I had, I didn’t have much time to play since it was in the middle of the semester. So, I settled with watching Youtubers play in my spare time, but I kept telling myself I would eventually buy the game so I could experience it firsthand.
Fast forward to Christmas 2018, I finally got my hands on a Nintendo Switch. I decided to scroll through the store to see what games were on sale and, low and behold, there was the game I had been wanting for almost two years. It was also winter break, which meant I had all the time I needed to fully enjoy the game. As soon as I started playing, I couldn’t stop. I was obsessed with it. I told my brother he should play it when I wasn’t using my Switch but I ended up never putting it down.
Even though I had watched the entire game through and knew the ending, I was still enthralled. This was partly due to the fact that this game allows you to choose dialogue and the order you do certain things, but also because it is such a well-made game. I myself, being a writer and avid reader, find story-based games the most enjoyable and “Night in the Woods” is one of the best I have seen or played thus far. The art and music are stunning. The characters were so unique and well written. It deals with heavy topics and struggles while still managing to be light and humorous. The entire game is shrouded in mystery and you never do get all the answers. I even want to play through it all again because I know there were things I missed or different choices I could have made.
If you enjoy story-based games then you should definitely check out “Night in the Woods” and if me gushing over it still didn’t convince you, then I recommend checking out lets plays of it first.