A Short Hike

 PC
User Score
8.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 188 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 149 out of 188
  2. Mixed: 34 out of 188
  3. Negative: 5 out of 188

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  1. michaelb1928
    Aug 26, 2019
    7
    Was a fun little game, can be completed in about 2 hours but your more likely to explore the island so expect about 4-5 hours, good music, a relaxing atmosphere and funny cute dialogue made this game pretty fun for what it is
  2. scorpio805
    Feb 1, 2021
    10
    Increíble, una experiencia inolvidable, de principio a fin. Una de las mejores obras de su año, sino de su década
  3. Gibolt
    Jun 23, 2020
    9
    Really enjoyed the exploration and graphics style. So many side tasks letting you progress at your own pace. Only weak point is complete lack of context when the game begins.
  4. Echozone
    Feb 25, 2022
    9
    This was, without any exaggeration, one of the best short-form video game content I've played. The characters, the dialogue, the atmosphere, the art style, everything was perfect. This really is a game that isn't best described, but played.
  5. enogylop
    Aug 3, 2019
    10
    I had a great evening playing "a short hike". Just a few hours where I enjoyed the dialogs, the music, the pixel graphics... It was a calm, fun and relaxing experience, like a short hike :)
  6. nw2010
    Apr 4, 2020
    7
    Nice little game, good for a couple of hours of fun, although I wouldn't necessarily replay the game. Even better as it was a freebie.
  7. Merritt
    Feb 2, 2020
    10
    This game was really enjoyable, sort of like Animal Crossing if you could do more stuff - like parkour, flying, climbing walls.

    It was relatively short, but the time I spent playing was 100% fun and enjoyable, and when it was over it left me wanting more - which I consider a good sign! The characters and atmosphere were amazing, wholesome and fun. Very happy this had a native    This game was really enjoyable, sort of like Animal Crossing if you could do more stuff - like parkour, flying, climbing walls.

    It was relatively short, but the time I spent playing was 100% fun and enjoyable, and when it was over it left me wanting more - which I consider a good sign!

    The characters and atmosphere were amazing, wholesome and fun.

    Very happy this had a native Linux version as well, which worked very well.    … Expand
  8. Tomle1202
    Mar 24, 2020
    8
    A Short Hike is a little charming game that melts your heart with its wonderful landscapes, soundtrack and a surprisingly well-thought-out gameplay experience..
  9. Captain_N
    Feb 15, 2020
    10
    One of the more charming games I have played in a long time
    The gameplay is fun, cozy and the character intuitive and good to control.
    The setting is also very cozy and it's such a pleasant experience to just explore the little world and interact with everyone and find all the hidden stuff. The length is also really fitting. Not overstaying it's welcome in any way. If anything, I would    One of the more charming games I have played in a long time
    The gameplay is fun, cozy and the character intuitive and good to control.
    The setting is also very cozy and it's such a pleasant experience to just explore the little world and interact with everyone and find all the hidden stuff.
    The length is also really fitting. Not overstaying it's welcome in any way. If anything, I would have loved for it to go on for just a little longer but that just means I was entertained the whole time.

    This game absolutely gets my highest recommendations.    … Expand
  10. curzon_dax
    Apr 5, 2020
    8
    This game definitely deserves a 80% score since the gameplay is impeccable and aesthetics of graphics and music so comfy. However it can't achieve a perfect score since it must lose a point for the lack of depth in the progress of the game because within a few minutes you've explored almost everything the gameplay has to offer. Also the treasure haunting and puzzle solving element of itThis game definitely deserves a 80% score since the gameplay is impeccable and aesthetics of graphics and music so comfy. However it can't achieve a perfect score since it must lose a point for the lack of depth in the progress of the game because within a few minutes you've explored almost everything the gameplay has to offer. Also the treasure haunting and puzzle solving element of it can be obnoxious at times since while it's not very hard it can rely so much on luck to be easier than intended that it loses in quality.… Expand
  11. BFM
    Apr 6, 2020
    0
    The game ignores the keyboard layout applied on the PC and changes it to whatever default layout it can find.

    I use an English layout, but for some reason the game changes it to some other language, making keys not be where they actually are (Z becomes Y and so on) And I cant even correct that, because I can't just rebind the controls by looking up what is bound to "Z" and rebinding    The game ignores the keyboard layout applied on the PC and changes it to whatever default layout it can find.

    I use an English layout, but for some reason the game changes it to some other language, making keys not be where they actually are (Z becomes Y and so on)

    And I cant even correct that, because I can't just rebind the controls by looking up what is bound to "Z" and rebinding it to ... pressing "Z" on my keyboard, because they thought they were super extra clever and replaced a useful control binding screen like that to some question answering of "What key shall do JUMP? Press it now! - Okay. And what key shall do USE? Press it now!"

    And you are like "How am I supposed to know? I haven't even started the game yet, I just want to make sure that whatever the controls are, they are laid onto the actual keyboard I have, and not some default keyboard layout that you found somewhere in the windows files!"

    So yeah, saw the title screen (Where in order to advance I had to press Z, which was actually Y, went to the options to fix this swap manually for the developer, ended up getting some useless options designed for babies, and then uninstalled the game and got me a steam refund.

    Lesson: Incompetence can't be subsidized with a "charming" game.    … Expand
  12. Lanty
    Jan 27, 2020
    9
    Good artstyle thats like animal crossing, nice music, Solid 3D platform gameplay, wish i had more of tgis to play. Had Fun. Great Game
  13. jippie
    Dec 25, 2019
    9
    This game takes the best of Mario Odyssey and Zelda: BOTW and puts it in an Animal Crossing-like world. A very cute, visually pleasing, well-written experience that makes you feel loved; a very great game.
  14. ShadowPlays
    Mar 16, 2020
    10
    It is a great short game. The game was very enjoyable and engaging. It has a lot of potential for going forward.
  15. Ev3rgreen
    Mar 17, 2020
    8
    A really good game to have a nice evening. I spent only an afternoon relaxing and enjoying this game and I found it a really good experience. I recommend it to anyone who wants to just chill and have "a short hike"!
  16. Mikelono01
    Mar 18, 2020
    10
    One of the most amazing games i've played in a really long time. The dialogues are heartwarming. The adventure is immersive, The music is exceptional and the fact that the game doesn't hold your hand throughout it's duration just gives me that amazing sensation of discovering a whole new world. Congratulations to the developers and to anyone who had the luck of playing/having this experience.
  17. KragePoulsen
    Mar 24, 2020
    9
    A Short Hike is not a perfect game, it does have it's flaws like the camera movement messing you most of the time, and (at least in my experience) having a lack of good controls on keyboard, I plugged my controller and it worked almost flawlessly. It is a game that is really low demanding, so almost every PC can run it, and it has a really good and cute art-style and does has a way to makeA Short Hike is not a perfect game, it does have it's flaws like the camera movement messing you most of the time, and (at least in my experience) having a lack of good controls on keyboard, I plugged my controller and it worked almost flawlessly. It is a game that is really low demanding, so almost every PC can run it, and it has a really good and cute art-style and does has a way to make you play it more.

    Even tho your main goal is to get enough Golden Feathers to get to the top of the mountain and get reception for that call you've been waiting for, you can try and find every Golden Feather there is, finish the little "quests" the NPCs give you though out the game, find every treasure chest, fish and trade every type of fish there is, get a high score on Beachstickball or win all 3 Parkour Races against Avery (I even love how the next time you open the game, Avery now uses the strategies you used to beat her before).
    I ended up playing for about 3 and a half hours, and I had fun, chuckle sometime to the dialogue and some attitudes, had some heart melting times and appreciate how an indie game was so well made, short, but really well made.

    I think that if the developer team can come up with an update and add some more Parkour Race tracks, and maybe a leader board for it and Beachstickball, the game could have a little more life time to get that bit of an online competition to it.    … Expand
  18. Jonneeyy
    Mar 30, 2020
    9
    In diesem Spiel kann man perfekt abschalten und dem Alltag entfliehen. die kurze aber niemals langweilige Reise ist ein Erlebnis für sich, was sich für den geringen Preis mehr als lohnt.
  19. bancandrei
    Jun 4, 2021
    7
    Well, it is short (less than one hour to complete with a sprinkle of side activities) but its well worth the time as it will manage to grow on you. Breath of the wild light. Feather light
  20. TitaniumDragon
    Dec 31, 2020
    5
    A Short Hike is a simple “chill” platformer. You play as Claire, a bird girl who has gone to visit her Aunt May, a ranger who lives out on an island. The game starts with Claire discovering she has no cell reception, and Aunt May suggesting that Claire take “a short hike” up to the top of the mountain in order to get some.

    Needless to say, it isn’t that short, though it will likely only    A Short Hike is a simple “chill” platformer. You play as Claire, a bird girl who has gone to visit her Aunt May, a ranger who lives out on an island. The game starts with Claire discovering she has no cell reception, and Aunt May suggesting that Claire take “a short hike” up to the top of the mountain in order to get some.

    Needless to say, it isn’t that short, though it will likely only take you an hour and a half, perhaps less.

    The game is pretty simple, and has the sort of base-level millennial style humor that I see here and there – basically, characters being excessively straightforward, to the point where it is comical, along with some pretty obvious jokes. If you have played Night in the Woods, it has a similar sort of humor to that game.

    However, tonally, the game couldn’t be more different. There’s no darkness here; just a hike up a mountain, while encountering some funny people along the way.

    The core gameplay basically consists of exploring the island and talking to people. While you can pick up numerous items over the course of the playthrough, it pretty much all ends up tying back towards the acquisition of “golden feathers” – items that let you double jump or climb once per feather. The top of the mountain requires you to have collected probably somewhere around 7-9 of these, though you might be able to make it up with fewer.

    There’s not really any necessity of doing anything else, but you can do a bunch of random side tasks, from fishing to playing a volleyball variant to racing a boat around the water, which mostly reward you with either golden feathers or cosmetic items.

    All in all, it is a pretty simple game, and at less than two hours in length (a bit more if you try and do everything), it’s got a small amount of content but also doesn’t expect you to spend forever messing around doing it.

    Aesthetically, the characters are all anthropomorphic animals with pretty simple designs, but they work well enough. While the game ostensibly looks pixelated, it actually is entirely in the form of 3D polygonal graphics, and it is possible to go into the graphical options and reveal the “real” ones. I actually preferred the full resolution version, but some people might enjoy the more pixelated version more.

    The game is pretty simple and lightweight. The reveal at the end of what the phone call makes the game feel more complete, and like it actually has something of an arc, even though, in the end, this is much more of a slice of life piece than an actual adventure – which is very unusual in the world of gaming, especially platformers.

    It’s hard to say this game is bad, but it is also hard to say it is good. I got it as part of a bundle, and also for free on Epic, and at $0, it’s hard to complain too much. But at the same time, it’s hard for me to recommend that someone else spend the time on it; this is one of those experiences which is just okay, nothing more and nothing less.    … Expand
  21. sh4dow
    Jan 4, 2020
    10
    I was hesitant for a long time but am glad that I finally tried it. It's actually not as short as the title or some people may claim - in my opinion. At least not if you're a completionist. And with this game, you really should be because more feathers than necessary and special items that you will probably get after doing the "primary objective" make the way the game feels shift quite aI was hesitant for a long time but am glad that I finally tried it. It's actually not as short as the title or some people may claim - in my opinion. At least not if you're a completionist. And with this game, you really should be because more feathers than necessary and special items that you will probably get after doing the "primary objective" make the way the game feels shift quite a bit.
    You do have to enjoy games that are mostly about exploration though. There are some optional races, a mini game and some puzzles that actually require some skill but otherwise, it's exploration, straightforward quests and steady progression.
    Sure, it's still "just" a few hours of fun but hey - it's a cheap indie game. Just enjoy. :)    … Expand
  22. Cyber_Angel
    Jun 15, 2020
    9
    This game is oozing charm. Reminds me of Little Big Adventure. I love it, despite it's 1,5 hour length.
  23. firstmode
    Nov 30, 2021
    10
    I love this game, it was such a healing for me to get back into games and enjoy simplicity and beautiful storytelling and art. I highly recommend people try this game even if it is not the type of game they normally play. I really love this game and will always remember it.
  24. kalatix
    Aug 29, 2020
    10
    This game is beautiful in so many ways, and plays out its scope perfectly. Adam Robinson-Yu made a delightful little world just waiting to be explored.
  25. AstiX
    Aug 13, 2020
    9
    Lovely, witty, charming, funny, relaxing, fun, pretty and emotional. Very enjoyable.
  26. PublicNuisance
    Feb 20, 2023
    8
    A Short Hike can come off as a very simple game but it does have some unexpected depth to it. The overall goal is to make it to the top of the peak. In order to do so you must get a certain amount of golden feathers. Past this is where the depth comes in. In order to get these feathers you can find them or buy them. Either way you must explore the park. In doing so you will come across aA Short Hike can come off as a very simple game but it does have some unexpected depth to it. The overall goal is to make it to the top of the peak. In order to do so you must get a certain amount of golden feathers. Past this is where the depth comes in. In order to get these feathers you can find them or buy them. Either way you must explore the park. In doing so you will come across a wide range of characters with interesting stories as well as opportunities for additional game play. My favourite was following around a painter and finding out what troubles they are going through in trying to find inspiration. You will find a variety of items you can put to use such as a shovel which allows you to dig holes to recover money and other items. You can find treasure maps which will give you hints of where to find treasure. You will find a bucket which if you bring water to certain plants will help you scale some areas easier. This is all little things that added to the game play variety. There are some things the game could have done better. For instance there is no quest log so you have to remember what certain people wanted and where they are located. The game also could have used a proper map, there is a compass but that was of little help for me. The music was well done and added to the chill relaxation vibes that the game had going. The visuals were a mixed bag. While I thought colour palette was bright and was really pleasant the game was still a pixel game which meant not a ton of detail. It was better than ninety nine percent of pixel games but the style has limits.

    I played A Short Hike on Linux. It never crashed and I didn’t notice any bugs. The game auto saves on exit as well at certain points throughout the game. This wasn’t an issue but a manuals ave system would have been a nice option. There was just one save slot in the game that kept getting overwritten and you can’t have more than one save game going at once. There was a resolution option; four other game settings and a v-sync toggle. Alt-tab didn’t work. Performance wise the game ran flawlessly and saw next to dips in frame rate.

    Game Engine: Unity
    Graphics API: OpenGL
    Disk Space Used: 351 MB
    Game Version Played: 1.9_v3

    Game Settings Used: 1920x1080; highest settings; v-sync on
    GPU Usage: 0-57 %
    VRAM Usage: 538-657 MB
    CPU Usage: 9-37 %
    RAM Usage: 3.4-3.7 GB
    Frame Rate: 134-144 FPS

    Overall I had a good time with A Short Hike. It was relaxing; had good variety; and really you get out of it what you put into it with the exploration. It’s warts were minor and not game breaking. I finished the game in one hour and forty five minutes but I didn’t finish all side quests. I paid $8.99 CAD for it and felt that was well worth the money.

    My System:

    Intel i7-6700 | 16GB DDR4-3000 CL15 | XFX RX 590 8GB Fat Boy | Mesa 22.3.5 | Samsung 870 QVO 1TB | Garuda | Mate 1.26.0 | Kernel 6.1.12-zen1-1-zen | AOC G2460P 1920*1080 @ 144hz    … Expand
  27. SuperkenGaming
    Nov 21, 2020
    8
    A Short Hike
    Short But sweet
    A Short Hike is a tiny adventure game where you play as Clair, a bird that sets out to reach the top of Hawks Peak so that she can make a phone call to her mom… as the name suggests short hike can be quite the short game, you can easily beat thi game in less than an hr and a half.. but a short hike isn’t about beating it, its about experiencing its world… A    A Short Hike
    Short But sweet
    A Short Hike is a tiny adventure game where you play as Clair, a bird that sets out to reach the top of Hawks Peak so that she can make a phone call to her mom… as the name suggests short hike can be quite the short game, you can easily beat thi game in less than an hr and a half.. but a short hike isn’t about beating it, its about experiencing its world…
    A short hike is so full of charm and things to do, from collecting shells, finding secrets treasures, obtaining new items..fishing.. finding lost items… all to do one thing.. obtain more golden feathers o you can climb and fly your way to the top of the mountain, and I loved every minute of it…
    hile its visuals aren’t the best, they will grow on you… If youre into adventure games, where the goal is to just explore and take in the view, I highly recommend a short hike
    I give A Short Hike
    a 7.5/10    … Expand
  28. 4y4
    Aug 17, 2020
    9
    A very pleasant and calming game. These kind of games are often underrated in my opinion.
  29. MindWanderer
    Jul 3, 2020
    7
    Animal Crossing meets Dear Esther. Your task is to reach the top of the island's peak to be able to use your cell phone, but to do that you'll need to explore the island and talk to the other animals there to collect Golden Feathers. At least 7 Golden Feathers are required to beat the game, but more makes it easier (as well as exploration in general).

    I personally didn't find the    Animal Crossing meets Dear Esther. Your task is to reach the top of the island's peak to be able to use your cell phone, but to do that you'll need to explore the island and talk to the other animals there to collect Golden Feathers. At least 7 Golden Feathers are required to beat the game, but more makes it easier (as well as exploration in general).

    I personally didn't find the islanders particularly endearing. They only have a few lines of dialogue each and only a couple are in any way memorable. The ending is brief, adding a tiny amount of background to your protagonist but nothing I would call "heartwarming."

    Many of the major "quests" require you to complete other objectives first, but the island is big and mostly non-linear. I missed out on all the treasure hunts because I didn't find the shovel until I was done with the game, and I missed out on all the races because I never got the running shoes. Several are tedious. Fortunately, none are mandatory; I found 15 Golden Feathers, so it's possible to complete the game twice without collecting any of the same feathers in both games.

    I didn't have any trouble with controls or keybinds. Z was Z, X was X, menu is Esc or Space or Enter.

    I sank about 2 hours into it total--1 1/2 hours to beat the game, half an hour wandering around afterwards trying to complete some of the quests.

    The game is cute and relaxing but I didn't see a whole lot of point to it. I don't know anyone I'd recommend it to.    … Expand
  30. savvym
    Nov 26, 2021
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A Short Hike is fun. 99% positive reviews are well deserved. It rewards exploration, there are many nice characters and good dialogues, a few minigames, like fishing, you can sell fish, volleyball with sticks, also got coins. The main effort is to gain feathers to climb the peek.

    There is also another minigame with water bucket which when filled grows plants that work like trampoline. We can glide from the get go and feathers help us reach higher places either by flapping the wings or climbing the walls. Camera also adjusts automatically as we move around the island.

    Different angle helps us find treasures that are normally hidden, we can also find maps with leads but not sure if I followed them well. On top of things we can also dig at the holes but to achieve it, we need to find something else for trade. Rent a fast boat for a day.

    You can also dive into water which did not seem to do anything than just look good. Or open up a path into the mine to create a shortcut through mountain.

    Collecting coins is the main leisure thing to do as we can afford more feathers from traders or get them rewarded.

    Verdict

    Amazing. Unique world design. You gradually gain more abilities and items. You get to know some more and less cool characters. Looking at just pictures, it is not nicest but put them in motion and they become charming.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

48
#48 Best PC Game of 2019
58
#58 Most Discussed PC Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. Multiplayer.it
    Dec 2, 2021
    85
    A Short Hike is a game loyal to its title. The condensed adventure may not be capable of delivering an ever engaging main narration, but its strenght resides in the world that polyhedric Adam Robinson-Yu and composer Mark Sparling managed to build in such a charming way.
    Read full review
  2. Shacknews
    Nov 25, 2021
    90
    A Short Hike is a delightful journey through a vibrant park, bolstered by some fascinating characters and impressive writing. The gameplay is well-rounded, with abilities that are fun to use and a consistent progression. Despite a nitpick or two, there’s hardly anything to knock about Adamgryu’s latest outing.
    Read full review
  3. PC Games
    Nov 19, 2021
    90
    Short, charming, sweet as pie and overall, just an absolutely wholesome experience: A Short Hike may not bring with it big set pieces, a complex story or a whole lot of gameplay systems. But it has more heart than a lot of other games combined, which makes it something truly special.
    Read full review
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