One of my new favorite games. Extremely recommended if you are into story-driven games - ESPECIALLY character writing. You might be disappointed if you are more into complex plotting or big twists. The game seems cute and cuddly from the outset, but the story it tells is about very real issues: psychological problems, economic decline, existential crises, dealing with dead-end jobs, etc. The characters (especially the main four) are written extremely well and feel real & relatable, especially if you are under 30. There is a lot of humor in the game as well as human warmth - which is perfectly juxtaposed to the heavier and bleaker themes. The plot is well thought out and satisfying. Gameplay mainly consists of wandering around town and talking to people + some light platforming, exploration and minigames. This is NOT a game which requires skill. You can fail every minigame and still progress the story. However, it is not a detriment - these game design decisions work in tandem with a story being told. You will probably not enjoy this game if you want something that tests your skill or if you want a plot-focused story-driven experience. There is a mystery plot in "Night in the Woods", but its purpose is to reinforce the game's themes - it is not the focus. Characters are. However, if you are interested in a character-driven drama about quarter life crisis which will make you laugh and cry in equal measures, give "Night in the Woods" a try. TL;DR: Story driven, character focused adventure game. No puzzles or any activities which require skill. Story is NOT plot driven - all the focus is on character development, themes based on real-life issues and mood. Very well written, both funny and tragic. Wonderful niche game.
The game consists of 9 "cases" - episodes of varying length. The first one got me hooked: it was self aware in a non-obnoxious manner, hilarious and did not overstay its welcome. Puzzles were straightforward, very simple and made sense. It all felt like adventure game formula stripped to the very basics and delivered in small, narrative chunks, which was exactly what I wanted after long day of work. Well, it seems that creators changed their original vision considerably along the way. Later episodes got longer, started to involve truly bizarre logic and extremely random puzzle solutions. The worst thing in the latter half of the cases was a need to do things in a very specific order: for example, there is an item A. You can't pick it up, character delivers some flavor text about it. Your brain labels it as "not important". However, later on that item becomes essential to progress - you have to backtrack, click on it again and now the character decides to pick it up. This game design decision is incredibly frustrating. All in all, what began as "back to basics" approach at some point inherited all the usual sins of the old-school adventure games. And worst of all, it seemed to lost its humor. Humor is very subjective, so maybe it was just me. Still, I haven't smiled or chuckled anytime after first ~4 episodes. Story-lines are also not very interesting - basic "monster of the week" type of scenarios akin to X-Files or Supernatural with an irreverent twist and a bit of Twin Peaks seasoning. Hardly something original, which would be fine if execution would not be lacking as well. Had more fun with "Blackwell" series.
To keep this review as short and straight to the point as possible: Well written dialogs and characters, interesting world and story, complicated puzzles (at least for somebody like me - who usually does not play many games with puzzle solving)... - one start because none of yours decisions actually matters; there are one outcome and one ending... You might try to do things in a different way, but in the end the end you will always have the same result. - one star because of very VERY linear storytelling. For comparison - Vampire the masquerade: Bloodlines also has linear storytelling. But in addition to that, there is a plenty side quest, you can explore your surroundings freely and talk to people, help them and stray away from the main story for a while... And your decisions, the way you treat others and how you do shit actually matters. Here - not so much. You go there you told to and do what you told to. Nevertheless, this is quite interesting game worth your time and money.
