At first I wasn't quite sure what to think of Night in the Woods. Due to a hand injury I've been on a run of going through my backlog playing simple well written games with easy controls, and it playing was for the most part the exact type of not-too-strenuous, but still rewarding gameplay I had been looking for so that was nice. The first day or two in game actually going through the story was what I was more hesitant about at first.
Even with their younger age, I found some of the characters and their interactions slightly cringey at first. The all too common indie game focus on themes of a anxiety ridden young adult seemed forced. And the small town setting seemed bland and too charming and idyllic despite it's dying nature. Ultimately these things are still in the game to an extent regardless of my current perceptions on them, but as the game went on and peeled back more of the simple but effective layers it had, these aspects of the story and characters became a lot more nuanced.
The themes NitW explores are nothing totally new to gaming, or even general fiction that deals with similar settings and characters, but it approaches and explores them in way that sets it apart, and the simple gameplay and themes ultimately are portrayed in very palpable and complex ways from the perspective of its protagonist.
Mae was a character I didn't much like at first and didn't grasp on too much. She was slightly annoying, a bit selfish, a bit rude and demanding of her friends and family, sometimes cringey and out of tune with the world. I was probably much the same in my late teens often, but it's a difficult perspective to put yourself in place of when you're a bit older and took some time to fully appreciate playing from her perspective. But I honestly grew to accept the story shouldn't be told any other way. The way the Narrative is framed through Mae's perspective of events and understanding leading the plot the directions it goes, and her troubling dreams that break up each day of the game, creates the atmosphere and beats that set the approach to the themes and the small town setting of Possum Springs in the story apart.
Mae's dying, small, rust belt centered home town of Possum Springs serves as another kind of "protagonist" to the story of NitW. The history of the town and varied characters that fill its streets all with their own perspective on the town as place to populate, work, and build a life offer some of the most complex postulation that can be done about the games themes. The town is as much of a living, breathing central character as Mae herself is, and despite my reservations with the setting at first; the way it opens up the history and perception towards the town as the story goes on, ends up being just as central to the plot as Mae's own quirks as a protagonist. Possum Springs manages to escape both the perfect small American town vibe of hallmark movies, or the creepy rural small town tone found in endless horror movies, while still being both of those things to an extent. It has enough of the nuance, ups and downs of real small town America to get its point across; while still fitting unbelievably neatly in to the ideas of the narrative itself.
Night in the Woods didn't quite reach the thematic highs of some of the games I've played recently, but it was still a memorable time and gave me many things to think about since I finished it. It's a game that I think could benefit from a replay one day to experience more of what the town and residents of Possum Springs has to offer and explore some of the reflected parallels of Mae, Possum Springs and the people who inhabit the town that much more, because I do think there's a lot more to find under the surface there than I expected there to be.
Even with their younger age, I found some of the characters and their interactions slightly cringey at first. The all too common indie game focus on themes of a anxiety ridden young adult seemed forced. And the small town setting seemed bland and too charming and idyllic despite it's dying nature. Ultimately these things are still in the game to an extent regardless of my current perceptions on them, but as the game went on and peeled back more of the simple but effective layers it had, these aspects of the story and characters became a lot more nuanced.
The themes NitW explores are nothing totally new to gaming, or even general fiction that deals with similar settings and characters, but it approaches and explores them in way that sets it apart, and the simple gameplay and themes ultimately are portrayed in very palpable and complex ways from the perspective of its protagonist.
Mae was a character I didn't much like at first and didn't grasp on too much. She was slightly annoying, a bit selfish, a bit rude and demanding of her friends and family, sometimes cringey and out of tune with the world. I was probably much the same in my late teens often, but it's a difficult perspective to put yourself in place of when you're a bit older and took some time to fully appreciate playing from her perspective. But I honestly grew to accept the story shouldn't be told any other way. The way the Narrative is framed through Mae's perspective of events and understanding leading the plot the directions it goes, and her troubling dreams that break up each day of the game, creates the atmosphere and beats that set the approach to the themes and the small town setting of Possum Springs in the story apart.
Mae's dying, small, rust belt centered home town of Possum Springs serves as another kind of "protagonist" to the story of NitW. The history of the town and varied characters that fill its streets all with their own perspective on the town as place to populate, work, and build a life offer some of the most complex postulation that can be done about the games themes. The town is as much of a living, breathing central character as Mae herself is, and despite my reservations with the setting at first; the way it opens up the history and perception towards the town as the story goes on, ends up being just as central to the plot as Mae's own quirks as a protagonist. Possum Springs manages to escape both the perfect small American town vibe of hallmark movies, or the creepy rural small town tone found in endless horror movies, while still being both of those things to an extent. It has enough of the nuance, ups and downs of real small town America to get its point across; while still fitting unbelievably neatly in to the ideas of the narrative itself.
Night in the Woods didn't quite reach the thematic highs of some of the games I've played recently, but it was still a memorable time and gave me many things to think about since I finished it. It's a game that I think could benefit from a replay one day to experience more of what the town and residents of Possum Springs has to offer and explore some of the reflected parallels of Mae, Possum Springs and the people who inhabit the town that much more, because I do think there's a lot more to find under the surface there than I expected there to be.