Night in the Woods

Sometimes you experience things at the exact right time in your life, and the emotional weight is entirely different than if it were to have happened otherwise. Playing Night in the Woods was one of those experiences for me, and seeing how this blog aims to cover narrative brilliance in video gaming, I couldn't not include it in my list.

Night in the Woods is categorized as a side-scrolling adventure game, though in truth, it has very few instances of actual adventuring throughout. Put simply, this game is a walk-and-talk simulator with cartoony, anthropomorphic animals, though putting it under that kind of description seems unduly cynical, when the game is anything but.

The story that occurs throughout the game isn't a world-ending threat, or a quest for love, or any other dramatic plot device. You control Mae Borowski, an impulsive, immature college drop-out returning to her small home-town of Possum Springs after a rather disastrous year abroad. But the town isn't quite the same as she remembers it, and the friends she left behind to pursue her education have started to drift apart, finding new meaning in their small-town lives.

The story that follows Mae's return to Possum Springs is a coming-of-age story, set to a backdrop of stylistic animation and a wistful, melancholy soundtrack, which creates a sympathetic nostalgia for the life Mae left. During the course of the game, Mae reconnects with her high-school friends, and convinces them to get into what little trouble they can in the sleepy town.

The days pass, and Mae starts to re-acclimate to the slow pace of Possum Springs, mending her friendships and trying to find something to do that isn't 'become a deadbeat'. Then, one night, Mae witnesses a kidnapping after a festival that gives Mae the purpose she's been looking for- she's going to find out what's happening in Possum Springs; why there's sinkholes opening up all over town, why her neighbors are all acting strange, and why the police aren't doing anything about the body parts that start showing up on the street.

Night in the Woods covers its subject matter with surprising maturity despite its presentation, and considering half the lines are tongue-in-cheek. The game feels a little bit like a Wes Anderson movie, and boy does this game have some heavy subject matter to go with its whimsy.

The most prevalent themes in the game are those of mental health, existential dread, and the stresses of life under a low-income roof, all of which hit me particularly hard when I played this game in early 2017. The characters are charming and multi-dimensional (despite their 2D appearance), and the rapid tonal shifts in dialogue come so naturally that I found myself invested in each inconsequential conversation.

The game's not too long, though it offers a bit of replayability with some of the branching choices made in-game. Don't expect to be action-heroing around the game world if you decide to pick this one up, but don't discount it on the fact that there's not much dramaticism to be found here. Its a simple game with a lot to say, and it has some very complex messages and themes that, while occasionally dark, are insightful and ultimately uplifting.

Put simply, Night in the Woods is a story told well; and one definitely worth experiencing for yourself.