![]() On the negative side of things, the actual gameplay was kind of a mess: load screen between each section of town slowed down the pace of an already slow game. ![]() It seems like I wasn't the only one who felt this way. Honestly, throughout the game, I couldn't decide whether I loved it or not. However, even though it doesn't live up to their previous heights, Infinite Fall still does better than some of their peers, and I found a real satisfaction in not knowing (before, during, and after) if that "thing" haunting the town was an actual thing, or if it was just the shadow of desperation in a town that feels like its been forgotten by the rest of the world and is slowly falling apart. It was all smooshed together, and one half didn't necessarily complement the other. However, I felt it a bit tacked on, like they started with the intention of making a spooky game, found out that the beauty of it was in relationship-building, and then felt like they couldn't back out of their original promise. I fully expected it to be the strongest part of Night in the Woods. ![]() Honestly, I was a little disappointed with this part of the game, which I found surprising given how much I loved the lore spookiness of Lost Constellation. (I found this at first stunning, then annoying, and then started to feel like that latter part was the point.)Īnd there is something in the woods, something that is haunting the town. Mae's dreams become vivid platformer labyrinths, haunted by ghosts. I was continually told that Mae was coming home, and that there was ~*~something in the woods~*~Īnd, indeed, there was. Having played Lost Constellation, which was heavily steeped in lore-creation and gods in the woods, & (not to mention) going off the game trailer, I kept waiting for the twist with Night in the Woods. Or Lori, the kid who hangs out on the roof of a specific building every day, who invites Mae to hang out at the train tacks and talk about horror movies & life as the trains rush by inches away. Even in writing the above Ode to Gregg, I feel like I'm doing a disservice to the other characters, from Bea (Mae's stoic goth friend who has taken over her family's business since her mother passed away) to Angus (Gregg's quiet & kind boyfriend who works in the video store that magically remains open) from Germ (a punk kid who lives out by the tracks and knows the quiet beauty of the parking lot), even to the three weird teens that show up to perform some light witchcraft. They certainly did it with Lost Constellation, the short companion game released a few years ago, and they don't disappoint here. It's their ability to create lovingly-rendered characters that is really Infinite Fall's strength. Personally, I fell hard and fast for her pal Gregg, an anarchy-loving over-excited fox man who just wanted to smash some light bulbs, and who needed to be quietly assured that he is "good," and that he and his boyfriend Angus deserved to get out of this town. More than anything, the player decides who Mae talks to, and how she does it. ![]() It's in these small decisions where Night in the Woods does best. From the moment Mae wakes up in the morning, it's up to the player to decide how she spends her time: Does she settle into or skip out on chatting with her horror-novel-loving mom in the kitchen? Is she determined to beat " Demon Tower," a game-within-a-game that lives on her laptop? Does she steal a pretzel for some rat babies? Does she bee-line straight to one of her friends to entice them to hang out with her in the evening? However, most of the gameplay is dialogue-based. There are sudden little mini-games to play, like a surprisingly-introduced Guitar Hero-style bit when Mae resumes her spot as bassist in her friends' band. There are some (very light & rather clunky) platformer elements, where players can direct Mae to scale trees and jump along rooftops to get to out-of-the-way locations and secret spots. The player controls Mae as she explores the town on a daily basis. Half the buildings in the town center are boarded up, and each day seems to bring a new closure. ![]() Her friends are working in the assorted businesses around town, learning how to be adults. Her parents are loving & their house is cozy. Night in the Woods follows the story of Mae, a twenty-year-old college drop-out who returns to her home in an aging, slowly-crumbling Rust Belt town. ![]()
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