A bit of Twin Peaks mixed with a story about growing up and the associated existential fears told with anthropomorphic characters. I found it very convincing. The mystery remains exciting until the end and the exciting little adventures that you experience with Mae were really fun and brought me closer to the world and characters. There are also lots of fun ideas in the form of mini-games and a real dungeon crawler that you can play on Mae's laptop, as well as cool dream sequences and fantastic music. I was very impressed.

This game isn’t for me and that’s okay.

Honestly this game is the furthest thing possible from my tastes and I was really only pushed to play because it happens to be my significant other’s favorite game. I can’t even say I’m disappointed since I more or less got the experience I assumed I was going to get from the general look of things. The presentation with the animal people living in what looks to be a rust belt is nice to look at though it's far away from my preferred aesthetic in video games, but at least it looks crispy good even on the nintendo switch. Most surprisingly it has a very memorable soundtrack with me even humming some of its tunes even when I’m not playing it. In terms of its presentation and production value, there really isn’t much to complain about as its definitely something that looks and sounds good. How does it play though? I might have some issues.

So the main character is essentially this cat creature girl who returns to her hometown after dropping out of college. From there you can usually hang out with either Bea or Gregg while some main story stuff plays out. It's a serviceable formula that works well in its setting as lots of lore details about possum springs are sprinkled coloring the background for something really interesting going on for sure.

My issue is that some of these characters just aren’t very likable to me at all. Most of the NPCs I talk to on my way to either of those two characters just don’t have much interesting things to say at all to the point where I kind of gave up talking to them by part 3. Mae and Gregg’s dynamic feels insufferable to me as they remind me of “le quirky young adults who wanna live life to the fullest” which I found juvenile without a decent payoff even at the conclusion of Gregg’s story. Bea was definitely more interesting though as her level-headedness clashed well with Mae’s obnoxiousness. Mae herself was just too aggravating to watch as her personality and a lot of the actions towards the end of the story to the point that I just don’t really care what happens to her.

Honestly, the first three parts of the story were just sort of slow and monotonous to me with occasional good nuggets of interesting dialogue such as Mae and Bea arguing about how Bea should live her life or when Mae’s mom snapped at her. The real meat of the story feels to be all squished into part 4 when some plot heavy stuff occurs. Wish they built towards this more because besides the mystery itself I’m unsure if they ever foreshadowed characters even being part of this twist but maybe I’m wrong there. Nonetheless the trippy stuff was pretty cool and the epilogue was actually a nice closure that wrapped a nice bow thematically to what the game is really about.

Do I actually like Night in the Woods? Eh sorta, the fact that I completed means I had enough good faith in it to keep going, but I’ll probably never revisit it again since so many things it does just rubs me the wrong way but maybe some might find it more endearing. It's definitely put together well and I can see why it's beloved by certain folks out there and more power to them. For now I’ll stick to what I like.

I'll put it this way; a heavy dose of coral-tinted hauntology and a retelling of Clarice Lispector for young adults who haven't yet googled Mark Fisher is what I always appreciate but it wasn't what I expected to see, since I just knew this was a game about building relationships with animals drawn in vector graphics. But eventually it... turned out to be a better abstract horror story than those of Nick Land, the author of the term? Actually, there's a whole list of things this game was better than something personally for me.

It did a better portrayal of bonding through disenchantment in modern America for me than Generation X by Douglas Coupland. It seems there is a certain tradition in the American media to show the most interesting things in the world through the eyes of complete idiots. Holden Caulfield, or the snobby rigid busybodies from Generation X, or those parts of On the Road I've made it through, or a teenage cat who thinks her life is a 2010s webcomic and is friends with a bipolar fox and they ramble like your classmates in Discord the whole goddamn time, geez dude -- they are a challenge to sympathize with, although the less smug one is in a priority for me, and Mae is the less smug one. But everything they all see around them is thrilling. Despite having never been to America, I can never have enough of these stories about ghost towns and lost futures, and guess what? This game is also better than Twin Peaks at being about the wyrdness of the rural USA (Lynch can do camp, but in this particular title it's so forced I feel suffocated) and it's also substantially, substantially better at being about people than whatever the hell the authors of Life is Strange think people and psychology and the world are (my personal lost future is of those hours I've spent on watching let's plays of Before the Storm and the LiS2 — can't refund time).

Finally, it did a better job at being an eerie/weird/Gothic/etc etc story about dying places and absences and ecology and moving backwards (here, you move to the left all the time and I love it) for me than Disco Elysium no less. I think it has to do with the degree of the estrangement. They handle the same topics here — ghosts of the society and despising vile conservatives and making you think about the working class. Still, in one case you observe the story through the eyes of delinquent teenagers who, after listening to adults' stories about their life and town, barely think anything more than "damn dude acab, geez", and in another case, you play as an ageing alcoholic who exchanges millions of words with other ageing alcoholics... and these words tell everything. Every character, including the voices in your head, has a position and a moral to derive and a theory to support it and they will momentarily deliver it to you the wordiest way possible.

Now, DE does have good writing, and its catchphrases are on top, but where do you have more to figure out for yourself? Sometimes, emptiness is a tool, because it becomes your job to fulfil it. Another story about the American ghost towns, the movie Virgin Suicides, handles emptiness like no one else — no interpretations given, only the consequences. Go figure.
(Or maybe I'm being like this purely because Kim is so much worse than Mae. I can handle her being my player character but not him being shoved down my throat by both the narrative and the fandom. Being insufferable is an art, and everyone does it their own way.)

Dreams are the worst though. Could she hurry just a bit? And what's with the band? They could've at least kicked me out for not having any reaction whatsoever and gaining no pleasure from the mini-game, and that'd be a relief. Buuut I will not let my personal disdain for the annoying dialogues and the way too clean graphics affect the ultimate rating. After all, the tabula rasa, the openness, the void, the blank shapes -- all of them can be tools, and here, they are being put to good use.

Everything about this game is perfect. The music, the characters, the story, the themes, the art style, everything make me feel like if the developers entered inside my brain to make the game the most ideal game possible for my tastes. Now, I know some people might not like how little gameplay there is, others might not like the story as much as I did, but I don't care, I believe art is subjective and the most impactful art to the individual is often the most subjective.

Maybe this game isn't for everybody, but if you are a the kind of person who can relate to the themes of the history, it will be one of the most memorable experiences you can have.

Sights & Sounds
- The art direction of this game is excellent; I love how the bold color palette allows the simplified geometry present in the character designs and environments to really pop. Despite the consistency, I never got bored of looking at the game in spite of multiple playthroughs
- I loved the music as well. The diversity in Night in the Woods's soundscape lends quite a helping hand to the complex and sometimes difficult themes the game addresses. You can hear a variety of musical influences mostly geared towards indie, alternative, and classic rock. Some favorites in particular included the Monster Magnet-esque stoner jam "Space Dragon" and the seemingly Motörhead-inspired "Pumpkin Head Guy"
- Having played bass for several years, I particularly enjoyed the emphasis on the sonic lower end. It's more than just roots and fifths!

Story & Vibes
- You play as Mae, a cat who's just returned home after dropping out of college for reasons she doesn't want to explain. Night in the Woods follows her story over the course of the following autumn season
- Thankfully, she's joined by her friends Gregg, Bea, and Angus (and a host of other wonderful side characters) to aid her with the struggles she faces in returning home
- I'm being intentionally vague with the story because it's such a great experience. If you've managed to avoid spoilers, please do yourself the favor of going in blind. Pretty much every aspect of the narrative was high quality, from the unpredictable wild ride of a plot to the masterful treatment of sensitive themes. There's so much more to depression that merely feeling sad, and Night in the Woods depicts those nuances poignantly and brutally
- It's not all negative energy, fortunately. Night in the Woods has a great sense of humor ("It's called body positivity, Bea, read the internet"). For every soul-crushing moment the game hits you with, there's at least 10 good laughs to follow to help lighten the mood
- I feel like I can't say enough about the characters in this game and how worth it talking to everyone is. Talk to everyone every chance you get, and explore to make sure you talk with everyone. Some of the best scenes in the game can only be experienced by investing time with more than just your core friend group

Playability & Replayability
- The central gameplay loop (with some day-to-day variation) in Night in the Woods goes something like: 1) Have a weird dream, 2) Wake up and talk to your mom, 3) Explore Possum Springs and talk to everyone you see, 4) Go to band practice and play a rhythm game, 5) Hang out with either Gregg or Bea, 6) Go home, talk to your dad, and go to bed
- Note how #5 says Bea OR Gregg. Hanging out with one of them will prevent you from hanging out with the other for that evening, so you'll need two playthroughs to see all the scenes. Don't worry, though, either choice is really good, but I'd maybe recommend hanging out with Gregg when you're given the option the first time if you plan to someday 100% the game
- I love the platforming elements here, especially the Mario-like triple jump. It's worth exploring Possum Springs' rooftops and power lines once access to them opens up. You'll miss out on a wealth of good content if you don't
- The rhythm game is a standout, but note that it can get really hard (particularly on the song Pumpkin Head Guy) if you're trying to play with a controller. I didn't feel like installing the game on my computer or connecting my keyboard to my Steam Deck, so I just mapped the face buttons to the shoulder buttons and let my Frequency/Amplitude muscle memory guide me
- There's lots of other little mini games (some of them recurring). I liked the variety and dose of silliness these injected into my playthroughs
- Normally, I wouldn't really consider 100%ing a story game that requires multiple playthroughs. Luckily, all of the side content is optional, so you can just power through the main story and see the Gregg/Bea scenes you missed in the first one. In all, getting all the achievements requires two full playthroughs and two partial playthroughs

Overall Impressions & Performance
- I first played through this title in 2017 not long after it released, and I always knew I'd want to return to it again. The writing was so good and the characters so memorable that I knew I'd wind up fully completing it someday
- If you've ever struggled with issues of confidence or identity or faced an uphill battle against anxiety or depression, Night in the Woods will likely resonate with you. Even though I can't relate entirely to Mae (I'm not a homebound, self-destructive, bisexual, college-dropout. Or a cat), the game managed to strike a chord. Several, really. I recognize my bias will show in my rating, but I connected to the story in a way I didn't expect
- Aside from the rhythm game being sometimes difficult on one or two songs when using a controller, the game is a great Steam Deck title

Final Verdict
- 10/10. If you only ever play one game about animals dealing with personal problems, be sure it's Night in the Woods

This game came as a complete system shock. About an hour from here is a town with a name that's a barely disguised synonym for "Possum Springs", and I may or may not have lived in the real life analogs for both "Hunwick" and "Bright Harbor". So, you can imagine my surprise when starting this up and seeing so many deeply familiar things appear on screen. Here we go, Smelters, am I right?

Night in the Woods completely nails the sense of ennui I feel only more strongly with every subsequent visit to my hometown since moving out: things are recognizable on the surface, but underneath have been weathered by the passage of time. Favorite hangout spots and local businesses replaced by big corporate brands, institutions once newly built now fallen into disrepair, the childhood homes of friends under new ownership as everyone has gradually moved away to start their own families - and a feeling of "stuckness" in everyone who still remains. You can really sense that this game was written by someone who lived this, by someone who feels this ennui in the very stardust that makes up their atoms.

Based on that alone, I was destined to connect with this game. The fact that it's also heavily inspired by Twin Peaks and features a boldly unique art direction paired with a bangin' soundtrack slots Night in the Woods comfortably into the realm of "totally my shit". Beyond that though, everything about this game lives up to its hype as an indie darling and I simply cannot recommend it enough - especially if you've ever felt the crushing weight of living in a former labor union town well past its prime.

gregg rulz ok