There's really only so many ways you can say "that was a lovely little game" without repeating yourself but I think my main takeaway is that A Short Hike is the game I kind of needed right now. Not in a "This game really touched me at a time where I was emotionally vulnerable" type way but more in a "the game's Ive played lately were too long, exhausting, demanding or a combination of all three, and an hour long (depending on playstyle, 1-4 hours) cozy light platformer sounds really good right about now".

I think a Short Hike achieves the non insignificant accomplishment of being mechanics focused enough to not be a pure walking sim (not that there is anything wrong with being a walking sim, inherently), with a nice sense of progression and discovery with the mastering of its hiking/gliding mechanics + the ever increasing amount of golden feathers making the player feel as if they are conquering this initially daunting island. Having the feathers give you an extra jump each is very simple but works wonderfully in how the environment unfolds overtime. The added wrinkle when you get high enough that your stamina doesnt regenerate due to the cold gives enough of a final complication to make reaching Hawk Peak a satisfying conclusion.

At first I thought it was an odd decision for a platformer where you can quickly glide through in many different directions to be both isometric and have a fixed camera, but other than during the final glide it never became disorienting due to generally good map design and trying to minimize the amount of scenarios where you could be quickly turned around in >90 degree angles. Other than that I really only feel like plugging Nerdietalk's insightful review of the game that goes more into the recent-ish phenomenon of "cozy" indie games. Personally I quite enjoy them, but I can see how they might start to be maligned through overexposure if the trend continues in earnest.