Night in the Woods

 PC
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 427 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 294 out of 427
  2. Mixed: 71 out of 427
  3. Negative: 62 out of 427

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  1. JaydenPickens
    Feb 20, 2019
    8
    Loved the story, characters, the town vibe, graphics, soundtrack, but should this be a game? We don't do much except walking and sometimes picking up pizza slices or playing bass etc. Don't get me wrong, I still liked it, but they could've give us more to do. All in all this game was an amazing experience. Pickens approves!
  2. NeoTheFox
    Mar 29, 2017
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I liked this game, mostly for its great character development and art style. The soundtrack is really good too, but what I feel is lacking is the story. On the first few days in Possum springs it feels like the game would mostly be about the relationships with other people in town, and about Mae herself, but then the whole cult thing happens, and it feels really rushed. This game builds up a good story, but then falls down to literally explaining everything that was happening through one dialog, meant to put an end to the cult story, however, nothing really gets resolved, the mystery remains, and soon after the game just ends abruptly. I feel like if the whole game would be more like the first part of it, where you are just hanging out with people it would be a much better game.

    Unsatisfied with the ending I went online to check out other people are making out of it, and I found a tweet from the developer, explaining the whole thing as a political statement and nothing more. This made me even more frustrated because that is a really bad thing to do - the game's story should make sense in the context of the game itself, and in that case, we are getting a usual cliche open ending, that is so much common in indie titles that its starting to get old.    … Expand
  3. Ikstarni16
    Nov 26, 2017
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Pros: Atmospheric at times, really nice music, nice characters that make you care about them. I was able to empathize, admire, and recognize myself in many of the characters.
    Cons: Story got kind of muddled, and at the end it seemed like the protagonist was just trying to say a lot of insightful stuff when really, I just wanted her to develop as a person. Just a tiny bit. And it was atmospheric 'at times' because while the town was pretty and simple too look at with trees and leaves, the rest of the scenery was just solid color blocks with little if any detail, so pretty plain. Sometimes character actions seemed off. *SPOILER AHEAD* Like in the beginning Mae and her friends find a severed arm in the city and start to poke at it. They forget about it for days afterwards and it seems like the game itself forgot about it too. Then it kept bringing up Aunt Mall Cop as some sort of weird Red Herring who showed up and disappeared and ultimately contributed nothing to the plot.
    Otherwise, this game was interesting, I enjoyed learning about Mae's mystery more than the mystery of disappearing town folk, but that's just me.    … Expand
  4. PublicNuisance
    Mar 2, 2019
    8
    I wouldn’t be surprised if some people found Night in the Woods boring. There is not much “gameplay” to speak of aside from some light platforming. What it does have though is one of the better stories I have come across in recent memory. It’s characters go through very relatable issues and aside from a couple plot twists is grounded in more reality than most games dare to dream of. TheI wouldn’t be surprised if some people found Night in the Woods boring. There is not much “gameplay” to speak of aside from some light platforming. What it does have though is one of the better stories I have come across in recent memory. It’s characters go through very relatable issues and aside from a couple plot twists is grounded in more reality than most games dare to dream of. The game puts you in the shoes of Mae who has just dropped out of college and moved back in with her parents and is trying to reconnect with friends while trying to navigate strange events happening in town.

    I didn’t enjoy the main charcter at times as she is pretty much a screwup who doesn’t realize how childish she is being and is pretty selfish at times. That being said I see it as an authentic character as many people are like this and there is nothing saying I have to like a main character to enjoy a game. The supporting cast of her parents and her home town friends are all interesting in their own ways and I liked learning more about them as the story moved forward. The game consists of exploring around town talking to your friends, townsfolks and your parents. Depending on which friends you talk with will decide whose story you see the most of. Talking with certain townsfolk will shed more light on them as well. When you go to bed each night there is a dream section that is based around platforming sections to find the exit to the dream. The platforming sections are well done aside from the odd time I found them hard to navigate. They have a creepy quality about them and a great soundtrack. In between dealing with friends you can take part in voluntary mini games such as a 2D action game on Mae’s laptop and taking part in band practice with friends. Lukily the band practice can be skipped without consequence because it is like playing Rock Band which I depise. The game’s art direction was well done. It’s got a unique style to it that isn’t quite cell shaded or realistic, somewhere in between the two. There is no voice acting but I didn’t find this to be a bad thing. I will say that, while the overall story was fantastic, the last 15 minutes of the game felt rushed and left certain plot lines unfinished in my eyes. There are a lot of dialogue choices you get to make when talking to people, how much they affect the story I’m unsure of.

    I played Night in the Woods on Linux. It never crashed on me once. I used build 406 from Itch.io. Alt-Tab didn’t work for me. There were no graphics options to speak of to adjust aside from choosing resolution and choosing between full-screen and windowed mode. I get that spectacular graphics were not a high priority for the developers, they weren’t shooting to make the next Crysis, but being able to crank up AA, AF, etc is kind of a standard feature on PC games. It took me just over 6 hours to finish the game. There are no difficulty settings. There were no manual saves allowed. It says that you can “save and quit” at any time but “saving” means dumping you at the last checkpoint and the game doesn’t do a good job of letting you know when those are happening so often I had to repeat little bits. The game never lagged on me at all and was smooth as butter.

    Overall Night in the Woods was a great experience. It had a wonderful story full of great characters, was very stable, had great art and soundtrack. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it. Those who enjoy games like Oxenfree, Life is Strange, Gone Home and other games that focus on Story will probably love Night in the Woods. I paid $19.99 USD for it and I found it was well worth the price.

    My Score: 8.5/10

    My system:

    AMD Ryzen 5 2600X | 16GB DDR4-3000 CL15 | MSI RX 580 8GB Gaming X | Mesa 18.3.3 | Manjaro Mate | Kernel 4.20.11-1-MANJARO | AOC G2460P @1920*1080 144hz    … Expand
  5. TurtleTurtle
    Jul 3, 2017
    9
    This game is a beautifully written and directed game with a charming art style and touching dialogue. It follows the story of an average 20 year old college drop out while she struggles to grasp the inevitability of becoming an adult in her own quirky way. It perfectly captures the awkwardness of the transitional period between teenager and adult and makes a vibrant and tangible world toThis game is a beautifully written and directed game with a charming art style and touching dialogue. It follows the story of an average 20 year old college drop out while she struggles to grasp the inevitability of becoming an adult in her own quirky way. It perfectly captures the awkwardness of the transitional period between teenager and adult and makes a vibrant and tangible world to explore.

    I did not personally find the pace to be an issue and felt as though everything worked well. It does lack gameplay aspects so if you are looking for an exciting game to test your skills with, look elsewhere, but if you are looking for a game that rewards exploration and has a ton of replay value this is it.

    My one complaint with the game (and the reason that I couldn't give it 10/10) is the ending it feels rushed and out of the blue with some parts being downright confusing. Only after a few playthroughs did I come to a satisfying conclusion regarding the meaning of the ending and how it relates to the story but overall it is a game well worth playing, a personal favorite and one that I solidly recommend.    … Expand
  6. Fuz
    Aug 25, 2018
    7
    Amazing art style, fantastic narrative, witty writing and dialogues, great characters and setting. All of this game's outline is adorable.
    The problem is... it's not really a game. It plays itself, you just have to hold left or right, and click during dialogues. It's just a tale that you spectate. It's still a very enjoyable experience, but it's a shame there's not an actual game inside    Amazing art style, fantastic narrative, witty writing and dialogues, great characters and setting. All of this game's outline is adorable.
    The problem is... it's not really a game. It plays itself, you just have to hold left or right, and click during dialogues. It's just a tale that you spectate. It's still a very enjoyable experience, but it's a shame there's not an actual game inside this beautiful package. It would have been a great P&C adventure.    … Expand
  7. kitto
    Mar 3, 2017
    10
    I first heard about NITW when kickstarter for it was up, and decided to give it a go when it would come out.
    During all this long years since announcement I managed to forgot about it entirely. Surprisingly enough, this would be my game of 2017 - maybe NITW is not ideal gameplay-wise, but I really doubt that something comparable by emotional impact would come out in years to come. 10/10,    I first heard about NITW when kickstarter for it was up, and decided to give it a go when it would come out.
    During all this long years since announcement I managed to forgot about it entirely. Surprisingly enough, this would be my game of 2017 - maybe NITW is not ideal gameplay-wise, but I really doubt that something comparable by emotional impact would come out in years to come. 10/10, highly recommend.    … Expand
  8. Ittiaces
    Sep 16, 2017
    7
    This game looks beautiful, the graphics are simple but well done and allow the creators to tell a very adult tale with the visuals of a child's cartoon. The story is interesting but not complicated, and the characters are very likeable. I loved the whole feel and had fun pottering around this world for a bit. The controls are few and very basic so not much to learn and won't stretch yourThis game looks beautiful, the graphics are simple but well done and allow the creators to tell a very adult tale with the visuals of a child's cartoon. The story is interesting but not complicated, and the characters are very likeable. I loved the whole feel and had fun pottering around this world for a bit. The controls are few and very basic so not much to learn and won't stretch your brain. Some of the dialogue was a bit excessive, and I admittedly lost patience a couple of times. The dream sequences are nice although there are a lot of them and they're almost identical, the soundtrack suited them perfectly. All in all this game was a good ride, presented well and not overly challenging. It has a brilliant sense of humour, and I very much enjoyed it.… Expand
  9. PunMutt
    Mar 18, 2017
    9
    Admittedly, Night in the Woods has some patches where the game feels slow and tedious, however this is completely out shadowed by the feel of the setting, the charming characters along with their wonderfully written interactions. I wouldn't call Night in the Woods a traditional game, it flows something more like say a Tell-tale game where it focuses on characters and themes such asAdmittedly, Night in the Woods has some patches where the game feels slow and tedious, however this is completely out shadowed by the feel of the setting, the charming characters along with their wonderfully written interactions. I wouldn't call Night in the Woods a traditional game, it flows something more like say a Tell-tale game where it focuses on characters and themes such as anxiety, self-wroth and may more self-reflecting ideas. However, this does come at the cost of the gameplay as there isn't much of it there to be quite honest; if this kind of thing isn't something you enjoy as a player I'd avoid NITWs.

    Otherwise, if you do enjoy charmingly written characters, a memorable soundtrack, loving to search around for little bits of character details or just love being in a plain wonderful setting for a story then Night in the Woods is for you.    … Expand
  10. Hellfire78
    Mar 23, 2017
    10
    NITW is an exquisite game, with rich story, and each character have it's individual background story, plus an awfully nice music to listen while playing. But not everyone like this kind of game for sure, in this recent age, people like fast paced game more, instead seat down and enjoy the story. I played this game for 93 hours and i enjoyed every SECOND of it, even with this much of playNITW is an exquisite game, with rich story, and each character have it's individual background story, plus an awfully nice music to listen while playing. But not everyone like this kind of game for sure, in this recent age, people like fast paced game more, instead seat down and enjoy the story. I played this game for 93 hours and i enjoyed every SECOND of it, even with this much of play time i can still draw more connection between characters. And if you are interested in this game but don't know what to expect, play the game supplement (LOST CONSTELLATION & LONGEST NIGHT) to see what you will get in the NITW.(it's free, so why not?)… Expand
  11. Blender
    May 12, 2019
    0
    This game is absolutely terrible. it lacks any game play what so ever so the only thing it relies on is the dialogue and story and needless to say both are horrendous . your choices have practically 0 effect on the story and no one talks like real people. I've seen many people praise this game for how natural the dialogue is but it all boils down to the words "like" or "ugh" with many textThis game is absolutely terrible. it lacks any game play what so ever so the only thing it relies on is the dialogue and story and needless to say both are horrendous . your choices have practically 0 effect on the story and no one talks like real people. I've seen many people praise this game for how natural the dialogue is but it all boils down to the words "like" or "ugh" with many text boxes only containing 1 of those 2 words, or lol random xD middle school humor, you know when a kid says "lol muffinz" thats as deep as the humor gets . if you think this is how real 20 year old acts you've probably spent all of high school and middle school writing fan fiction. The story itself is nothing, you walk around at a snails pace reading the most boring or unfunny dialogue until the last hour of this around 9 hour snooze fest when they try to force a crappy murder mystery down your throat. the story has no setup aside from someone mentioning a murder off hand like twice and it does not connect at all to the rest of the game nor does it make any sense. As much as game theory wants you to think this game is a metaphor for something all kids go through theres just no deeper meaning here. its just unrealistic characters doing and saying mundane things. theres no game play aside from walking at .2 mph(and like 2 terrible minigames) and theres no story that you cant get from scrolling down tumblr in 2012 its just a complete waste of 9 hours.… Expand
  12. Colton5054
    Mar 18, 2017
    9
    Probably one of my favorite games of 2017 this far. The atmosphere is great, the character design is great, the dialogue is quirky and fun. There is just so much to love and so little to hate about this game, for me at least.
  13. MattFox
    Mar 19, 2017
    10
    They sure made a fantastic story, characters, music, world. Every single character is unique in there own way. For me without a doubt, this game is one of the best indie game of 2017
  14. FromKanga
    Jul 1, 2017
    9
    Night in the woods is a 2D story-driven platformer made by Infinite Fall and Finji.
    I've seen a lot of good reviews for this game which got me interested, so I decided to play it and I loved it.
    Night in the woods has one of the strongest and most mature stories I've seen in quite a long time, it has a lot of different themes that I can really relate to and it does have a good mystery.    Night in the woods is a 2D story-driven platformer made by Infinite Fall and Finji.
    I've seen a lot of good reviews for this game which got me interested, so I decided to play it and I loved it.

    Night in the woods has one of the strongest and most mature stories I've seen in quite a long time, it has a lot of different themes that I can really relate to and it does have a good mystery. The characters are lovable and relatable, the main character is a very flawed person but you do feel sorry for her and you don't want to see her in pain, the other characters are funny, sarcastic and they also have a lot of moments where you do feel for them and near the end I was almost in tears.

    The gameplay has surprisingly a lot of variety, it's mostly walking around and talk to different people but the game has a lot of mini-games, which makes the game a little more unique.
    But the gameplay is probably the weakest part of the game, but that's okay because the story did carry the entire experience and it's refreshing sometimes.

    I do believe it's worth paying 20 bucks to play this game, it took me 8 hours and it does have some replay value so I do recommend it, it's for now my favourite story of 2017.    … Expand
  15. RagingPoet
    Nov 30, 2017
    8
    Night in the Woods got amazing characters, detailed and colorful world, but the gameplay is kinda repetitive - sidescroll movement with almost no platforming or difficulty. You will have to check every location in town everyday to make sure that you won't miss a sidestory. And subplots are great here so you don't wonna miss them)
  16. Castanea
    Feb 23, 2017
    9
    NITW is like someone took parts of Bojack Horseman, Life is Strange, Stranger Things and the better coming-of-age movies and mixed them all together in the rustbelt to create something sincere and unique. ----------------

    What I appreciated the most in my 8 1/2-hour playthrough was how the raw realism in the script, the setting and the narrative (including its main theme) blended so    NITW is like someone took parts of Bojack Horseman, Life is Strange, Stranger Things and the better coming-of-age movies and mixed them all together in the rustbelt to create something sincere and unique. ----------------

    What I appreciated the most in my 8 1/2-hour playthrough was how the raw realism in the script, the setting and the narrative (including its main theme) blended so well with the cute, papercraft-resembling visuals and cozy musical score. ------------------------

    The main character and her little group of friends were far from the cool, faux-witty and jaded hipsters I expected, and soon I wanted to see what would happen next, to see if I could get them to laugh or get a chance to make them feel better. The dialogue sequences were full of cute jokes, funny pastiches on "woke" lingo, flirting and some tense cringey moments that felt natural without being devoid of the writer's personal touch.-----------------------

    This game is strong and has no real substitutes. I wish it was scarier at times and offered a slightly more elaborate ending, but I was satisfied with and slightly shaken by my journey. This game is serious, heavy and topical, but it doesn't *try* to be, and that means it is worth playing a few times to understand how it accomplishes something many game creators fail at.    … Expand
  17. stenzel27
    Jun 26, 2017
    2
    This barely qualifies as a game. It's one small step above a visual novel. The only gameplay is jumping from one area to the next to initiate dialogue with each different character.

    People are praising this story because the characters are realistic and relatable, but that's exactly why I don't like it. Real life is mundane, banal, and boring, and so are the real life worries that the    This barely qualifies as a game. It's one small step above a visual novel. The only gameplay is jumping from one area to the next to initiate dialogue with each different character.

    People are praising this story because the characters are realistic and relatable, but that's exactly why I don't like it. Real life is mundane, banal, and boring, and so are the real life worries that the characters have in this game. The writers are very presumptuous and opinionated about how they think life should be and they use their boring and uninteresting characters as a mouthpiece. It comes off as whiny to me.

    The mystery/supernatural element is the only interesting thing about this game, and it takes a while to come to fruition.

    Not my cup of tea. I play games for larger than life characters facing epic challenges. If you're into visual novels you may enjoy it.    … Expand
  18. nykken
    Apr 9, 2018
    2
    Pro: Characters
    Con: Pacing
    Holding the control stick to the left or right between dialogue sequences, bad mini-games occurring about once every hour, and about 10 hours of setting up characters who are mostly irrelevant when the plot finally gets moving and wraps up in the last hour and a half. As a webcomic I would have liked this, but as a video game I think this is one of the    Pro: Characters
    Con: Pacing
    Holding the control stick to the left or right between dialogue sequences, bad mini-games occurring about once every hour, and about 10 hours of setting up characters who are mostly irrelevant when the plot finally gets moving and wraps up in the last hour and a half.

    As a webcomic I would have liked this, but as a video game I think this is one of the worst uses of the medium I've ever seen. If you want some fiction about relatable young adults, I strongly recommend you look elsewhere.    … Expand
  19. Agathra
    Oct 5, 2019
    0
    I got bored playing this myself - I mean it FELT like it was trying to say something about mental illness and life with it and so on... but it was taking a hell of a long time to do so! So I started watching a Let's Play to see if watching someone else would make it better. Nope, nope, nope, NOPE NOPE, a thousand times worse. See, it continues to be slow and boring, and in the end theI got bored playing this myself - I mean it FELT like it was trying to say something about mental illness and life with it and so on... but it was taking a hell of a long time to do so! So I started watching a Let's Play to see if watching someone else would make it better. Nope, nope, nope, NOPE NOPE, a thousand times worse. See, it continues to be slow and boring, and in the end the game DOESN'T say anything about mental illness. It turns into a nonsensical paranormal/conspiracy theory **** resolution. And in the meantime, the LPer I chose to watch was making some really, truly ignorant comments about MI which, because the game doesn't actually care about educating people on MI, their comments never got challenged in any way. They just kept thinking the very wrong things about the characters along the lines of "they have a MI and therefore they are ". And this is why I really despise storytellers that use mental illness as some kind of half baked "look at how DEEP our story is!" cheat code. Shoving a mental illness onto a character in order to explain their behavior is not character development, and is not representation, and is not something I appreciate seeing in something I paid good money for.… Expand
  20. shoebilly
    May 2, 2017
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I loved the art. The character designs, music, and background art was one of my absolute favorites. Despite that, the story was unbearable. It seemed to have no purpose other than "we're young and we hate everything", which may be relatable to some individuals. But if you don't necessarily identify with a shoplifting, knife wielding, wanna-be rebel who constantly refers to themselves as "trash" and is a jobless college dropout looking for ghosts and vandalizing graves... this isn't for you.

    In addition, the plot was extremely confusing and at times had forced subplots (such as the cult) which were completely out of place. The dream sequence and having to walk back-and-forth constantly was tedious and felt like fluff. This can also be applied to the dialogue, where there were constant fillers of "..." and choppy sentences with the overuse of "like" and "ugh". With that said, none of the characters were likable or relatable, and were generally the same in terms of speech pattern and behavior. The game also did not provide the freedom of exploring or making choices.
    Overall, this would have been much better if it was a movie rather than a game.    … Expand
  21. Fudgeberry
    Apr 4, 2018
    2
    While it markets itself as a story-based game, there is little actual story until well over the halfway point of the game. Since the game is largely devoid of a discernible narrative, the dialogue and character interactions should pick up the slack. If one is going to meander through a story, at least make it entertaining meandering, right? Unfortunately this isn't the case in Night inWhile it markets itself as a story-based game, there is little actual story until well over the halfway point of the game. Since the game is largely devoid of a discernible narrative, the dialogue and character interactions should pick up the slack. If one is going to meander through a story, at least make it entertaining meandering, right? Unfortunately this isn't the case in Night in the Woods.
    The dialogue is as meandering as any story and is more often than not unbearable trite. It can only be described as fruitless padding written by a person who has not once interacted with another human being. When the dialogue isn't busy being dull and monotonous, it takes itself to the opposite extreme and is unbearably obnoxious with its constant failed, out of place and out of character attempts at wit.
    Visuals are just about the sole bright spot on an otherwise embarrassingly horrid game.    … Expand
  22. LetMeInPlease
    Jan 16, 2018
    4
    Very awkward game. First off, there is not even enough justification for it to be a game. Gameplay consists mostly of holding "left" and a bunch of minigames which are too simplistic and uninspired to be enjoyable (Demontower is alright though).
    90% of content here is dialogue but the characters rarely have anything interesting to say. It's mostly fluff which is also delivered in the    Very awkward game. First off, there is not even enough justification for it to be a game. Gameplay consists mostly of holding "left" and a bunch of minigames which are too simplistic and uninspired to be enjoyable (Demontower is alright though).
    90% of content here is dialogue but the characters rarely have anything interesting to say. It's mostly fluff which is also delivered in the least engaging way possible. There are often scenes when characters act emotional and energetic but there is no indication of it whatsoever, no body language, no animations, no voice acting, not even ambient sound or music. It's just static picture with text for most of the time. RIP immersion.
    Overall, it's one of the most boring games I've ever played    … Expand
  23. XxX-jesus-XxX
    Feb 28, 2017
    10
    This is amazing indie games of 2017 I have a huge blast playing it. I like the characters in the game. The art is to dead for it so stuck in my head. I give these game a awesome 10/10 best kick starter game!
  24. Terrier
    Jan 6, 2018
    2
    So now, in perspective:

    Its not a real game, there is not a real interaction, so its close to a walking simulation. And there are a lot of stunning walking simulation in the market. This is not one of them. The 2d art is fine, but its not great. In fact, its fine for a flash game. In comparison with The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (another walking simulator), this game is really meh.    So now, in perspective:

    Its not a real game, there is not a real interaction, so its close to a walking simulation. And there are a lot of stunning walking simulation in the market. This is not one of them.
    The 2d art is fine, but its not great. In fact, its fine for a flash game. In comparison with The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (another walking simulator), this game is really meh.
    The music is ok.
    And the story, if you are a teen and you don't get it, then may be this game is for you. My father was hippies (real hippies, not those wannabes) but they never tried to brainwashed me like the current SJW. This game is plain SJW propaganda and its cheap.

    Its even directly anti capitalist and its curious, an anti-capitalist game that you could buy using the credit card of your parents. Evil parents and evil credit card company but everything else is OK.. right?. I don't get the current SJW movement and im glad that i don't understand it, thank you very much.

    And about the game, is... lineal, it has some exploring features and mini games but in general is boring.

    2 points: its not really a game, the graphics are meh, the history is meh and only gets 2 points because the music. Everything else is meh. I would give 6-8 points for a free game but its not for free, so nah!.    … Expand
  25. Contraito
    Mar 8, 2017
    7
    Night in the woods was a great game (or maybe playable novel), it had an amazing story with awesome characters and artwork. However, the ending was what made this 7 instead of higher. The game's story telling seems to just fall off during the ending, so many questions are left unanswered in what feels like a hasty ending where the characters seem to act "out of character." Pretty much itNight in the woods was a great game (or maybe playable novel), it had an amazing story with awesome characters and artwork. However, the ending was what made this 7 instead of higher. The game's story telling seems to just fall off during the ending, so many questions are left unanswered in what feels like a hasty ending where the characters seem to act "out of character." Pretty much it is just to say after spending the 10 something hours on the story to have it end terribly was somewhat a bummer.… Expand
  26. Mandulum
    Mar 11, 2018
    7
    Five Word Review: Neat adventure with interesting cast.
    Favorite Thing: The characters are great, especially Mae and Gregg.
    Least Favorite Thing: It take a little too long before the story gets going.

    Date Completed: 2018-03-11
    Playtime: 8h
    Enjoyment: 7/10
    Recommendation: Yes, it's a solid adventure game - weird story, cool art, great music.
  27. duk242
    Feb 25, 2017
    7
    Night in the Woods is really slow, but has really nice story. There's a lot of common themes of depression/anxiety/apathy in there, which for me helped me really connect with the characters.
    Pacing wise, it starts out slow, but had enough to keep me going until the end (where it gets better and better).
    It does feel a lot like Life is Strange, but feels less involved.
  28. 38278837
    Sep 2, 2019
    0
    Игра хорошая, но разработчики такие мрази конченные. Так что больше 0 игра не заслуживает
  29. stop9091
    May 30, 2017
    0
    Unberably slow, primarily because of the structure of the dialogues, made of micro-statements ("hello" (click) "hello" (click) "it's me" (click) "oh it's you" (click)), which ends up in very frustrating button mashing. Shame, because the artwork is very interesting.
  30. KyleTheFox
    Jul 16, 2017
    10
    Absolutely amazing game, I'd recommend it to about anyone. The story is very good and the music through the whole game is beautiful, the game is probably the only one I'd want a squeal to.
  31. KshDi13
    Feb 25, 2017
    3
    i knew nothing about this game before going in. didn't even watch the trailer just say the art style and genre. unfortunately the pace is just way way to slow. i even fell asleep playing it. it mostly focuses on the narrative on not any real type of gameplay. i kept feeling this would make a much better short graphic novel.

    i like the art style and the music but it's not enough to keep    i knew nothing about this game before going in. didn't even watch the trailer just say the art style and genre. unfortunately the pace is just way way to slow. i even fell asleep playing it. it mostly focuses on the narrative on not any real type of gameplay. i kept feeling this would make a much better short graphic novel.

    i like the art style and the music but it's not enough to keep me entertained.

    oh and another annoyance is the linearity. i recall early on going to the video store looking for angus, speaking to some girl there who never spoke of angus... that is until, i'd gone to another store spoke to someone who said angus was at the video store and when i went back the girl she now spoke of angus.    … Expand
  32. longjetty7
    Oct 17, 2020
    4
    I really wanted to like this game. The art is wonderful, and there's some great music here as well. The gameplay, however, is pretty much nonexistent. At times it felt more like I was clicking through a powerpoint presentation than playing an actual game, and as something that seemed to advertise itself as a platformer I was more than a bit disappointed.

    I have mixed feelings about the    I really wanted to like this game. The art is wonderful, and there's some great music here as well. The gameplay, however, is pretty much nonexistent. At times it felt more like I was clicking through a powerpoint presentation than playing an actual game, and as something that seemed to advertise itself as a platformer I was more than a bit disappointed.

    I have mixed feelings about the story too. I feel like it's technically well-written, but the characters did come across as a bit whiny, and it seems like it's geared towards a late teens, early twenties crowd, so not really something I personally found very relatable.

    I also think the pacing was totally off. The first part of the game is sort of a mix of walking around town and chatting with people, with random one-off outings with friends. Most of the meat of the story happens in the last part, which also has pretty much no gameplay other than walking back and forth. It just felt a little uneven to me, like I would have enjoyed it better if there was more plot in the beginning, or more consistent gameplay throughout.

    Anyway. I could maybe see why some people really like this game, but overall I just found it a bit boring.    … Expand
  33. aralath
    Aug 7, 2018
    8
    Charming story. The world in the game is unique but you feel close. Recommend it.
  34. michaelb1928
    Sep 7, 2018
    6
    This game looks beautiful, the graphics are simple but well done and allow the creators to tell a very adult tale with the visuals of a child's cartoon. The story is interesting but not complicated, and the characters are very likeable. I loved the whole feel an
  35. Fala_fi
    Feb 18, 2020
    10
    Don't have worlds to say how much i loved this game, everything about this game is amazing
  36. TyTang
    Jan 24, 2022
    0
    Quite possibly the worse game I have ever played. How is a night in the woods even considered a game when the game consists of boring walking from place to place, boring talking to characters, and boring overall story. The only part where the game is actually a game is when you play rejected Mario Party mini games that aren't even fun. Anyone who gives this game above a 5 has neverQuite possibly the worse game I have ever played. How is a night in the woods even considered a game when the game consists of boring walking from place to place, boring talking to characters, and boring overall story. The only part where the game is actually a game is when you play rejected Mario Party mini games that aren't even fun. Anyone who gives this game above a 5 has never experienced an actual good game and its honestly kinda sad. Please don't get this game, there are so many other games that are masterpieces and have so much love and care put into them unlike the failure that is a night in the woods… Expand
  37. theowest
    Apr 23, 2020
    8
    Incredibly cozy and full of rich characters in a beautifully realized world. Quirky and random gameplay elements with a comfortable 1 hour per day pacing. Great vibes, sounds, and style all around!

    Overall a fairly simple game, with not much impact or thought-input from the player which is what ultimately brings it down a bit.

    Still, I'm not regretting playing it!
  38. keanex
    Apr 7, 2021
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Night in the Woods is a game that explores anxiety, depression, a small town losing the last bit of luster it has, the struggles of death, lack of money, and an interesting group of friends - all within a cartoonish town with anthropomorphic animals. If that doesn't make you want to play, I don't know what will.

    I took my time, completing the game in about 17 hours with 42% of achievements unlocked. I took my time playing this and accepted just about every invitation from town-goers to join them on their excursions or listen to their stories. It seems I'm a bit on the slow side, but Night in the Woods isn't a game to rush, it's a game to enjoy and take in.

    The graphics are cute and quirky and the music fits the mood, at times creating a sense of longing, and other times creating a sense of urgency - and everything in-between. The overarching story follows Mae, but to get a real sense of the town and the struggles of it you must explore, and communicate with the townsfolk daily. Some may find this to be a chore, and while this is somewhat true, I feel that Night in the Woods is paced fairly well, adding new suspense, mini-games, or scenery just as the town is getting long in the tooth.

    A well worthwhile experience, I'm very happy that I played this.

    Edit, 4/8/2021: Rating changed to 10/10. I still think about this game a lot and that counts for something.    … Expand
  39. CurlyJefferson
    Mar 20, 2018
    8
    Very cool and depressing millennial simulator. Three of the four main characters in this game are some of the best written characters in video games.
  40. SebboBastian
    Dec 24, 2018
    8
    One of the best written dialogues for a game, so much love, relationship depth, mental illness and real life vibes. Cockiness that reminds me about the movie Ghost World.

    Love this damn game and yeah, Gregg rulez ok!
  41. TheWaffle
    Jan 17, 2019
    7
    Good sense of humor and interesting characters, but there's not a lot of gameplay to latch on to. It's funny how the game gets you to behave like a teenager, there's a few weird characters around town, but inevitably you get bored and bug your friends at work.
  42. HSuke
    Jun 14, 2020
    5
    I've played a ton of walking simulators, and this is the first one that almost put me to sleep multiple times. It's so boring. Even sleep-inducing games like Abzu and Gone Home were more exciting than this. MC is a complete screw up who is unrelatable and uncomfortably awkward. There's no good lesson or meaning to be found in this game.
  43. gloriouspotato
    Feb 4, 2018
    7
    Night In The Woods is a game I can appreciate from an artistic and critical standpoint but personally wasn't as engaging as I thought it would be. While mostly well written, the cyclic and slow-paced gameplay became rather tedious, and some of the supernatural elements introduced in the later half of the game felt out of place in an otherwise competent coming-of-age story.
  44. andrey1990
    Nov 17, 2018
    5
    Visual part of the game is great. Animation and characters looks pretty well. But quests, story and dialogs are very poor, After hours and hours of reading tons of dialogs you really understand that they miss something important. Maybe they or writers. I think Bethany Hockenberry, one of the writers, simply copied herself in all of characters of the game so they had different story,Visual part of the game is great. Animation and characters looks pretty well. But quests, story and dialogs are very poor, After hours and hours of reading tons of dialogs you really understand that they miss something important. Maybe they or writers. I think Bethany Hockenberry, one of the writers, simply copied herself in all of characters of the game so they had different story, different life, but they all speak and sound identically. And the story... You play and play game waiting for something really interesting to happen but it doesn`t. And in the end when main story finds its final shape you asking yourself and that`s all you wanted to tell?… Expand
  45. sarahlee123
    May 20, 2019
    9
    While you might not expect it from a game with such a cute aesthetic, Night in the Woods isn't afraid to tackle heavy issues, such as mental health, existential dread, and the decay of America's rural towns.

    Some of the game's highlights include its entertainingly witty dialogue, delightful art style, and believable characters. Even if your own background differs from that of the    While you might not expect it from a game with such a cute aesthetic, Night in the Woods isn't afraid to tackle heavy issues, such as mental health, existential dread, and the decay of America's rural towns.

    Some of the game's highlights include its entertainingly witty dialogue, delightful art style, and believable characters. Even if your own background differs from that of the protagonist Mae, you may find yourself relating to her if you've ever struggled with social anxiety or low self-worth, or simply felt lost. Her signature snarkiness is also welcome as it brings some comic relief to some of the game's darker moments.

    Scenes with Mae's colorful cast of friends make for some of Night in the Woods' best moments. It's difficult to choose between wild child Gregg and sarcastic, down-to-earth Bea. If you want to experience all of the scenes with each character, you'll have to go back for a second playthrough.

    For all its charms, Night in the Woods isn't without flaws. For a game with an already slow pace, some of the platforming can get a little tedious, particularly in the dream sequences, which, while beautifully rendered, can start to feel like a bit of a chore, particularly toward the end of the game. Gameplay also involves a lot of wandering around the world. This can feel aimless at times due to the lack of a clear goal or path to take, but does make sense considering the game's story and themes.

    There's also plenty to see in Possom Springs, and completionists will enjoy chatting with the many periphery characters inhabiting the game's world and powering through plentiful mini-games, including the challenging yet strangely addictive game-within-a-game Demon Tower.

    Night in the Woods will take you for an emotional ride, and its anthropomorphic characters can sometimes feel more human than real people. It's one of those games that stays with you long after you've finished playing it.    … Expand
  46. Eduardomm1
    Sep 13, 2020
    5
    This the kind of game that I had to play during the day, otherwise I'd just fall asleep. It's boring.
    The focus of the game is the story and it isn't even that good. The lack of voice acting and expressions also don't help.
    There are better walking simulators than this, even Life is Strange, a game I don't like that much is more interesting.
  47. Leo_Manzano
    Jul 28, 2022
    5
    Working...........................................................................
  48. auditbadger
    Jun 3, 2018
    5
    I think that this is truly a unique game and I would recommend that if you are a fan of this type of genre then I think you should give this game a try.
  49. Archound
    Mar 29, 2021
    6
    Good, sometimes very good dialogues, which are constantly interrupted by repetetive and boring walking/platform sequences. Imagine Persona 5 in which you have to actually walk to the school every day without any dialogue etc. you just waste your time moving from a location A to B every in-game day (NITW has similar day cycle).
  50. TrieuDuong16870
    Jul 20, 2018
    10
    Incredibly well written. The game portrayed social life through those animal friends perfectly ( and yes i'm talking about the ending also ). It had a great impact on my life after a lot of things i've been through, because this game helped me realize i'm not the only one or in a minority who's being through these problems.
  51. AdaptiveTech
    Jul 5, 2019
    9
    Thoroughly enjoyable character dialogue, nice slow burn / reveal of the main story elements, plenty of secrets to be discovered in multiple replays, and one HELL of a climax. The finale blends macroscopic and microscopic themes into one cohesive narrative, which gives the player one of the most astounding "ah-ha!" moments when everything falls into place.

    There are a few trite /    Thoroughly enjoyable character dialogue, nice slow burn / reveal of the main story elements, plenty of secrets to be discovered in multiple replays, and one HELL of a climax. The finale blends macroscopic and microscopic themes into one cohesive narrative, which gives the player one of the most astounding "ah-ha!" moments when everything falls into place.

    There are a few trite / sophomoric lines here and there, but that can be forgiven in light of the craftsmanship, care, and humor put into the story.    … Expand
  52. enei200
    Apr 30, 2019
    8
    One of my all time favourites. Night In The Woods is an amazing storytelling game with great funny characters and interesting plot. Every person is unique and interesting to come around and talk to. The music is next-level and probably is as amazing as in Undertale (or even better!).
    But, they left a huge plot hole and, as I know, there will be no continuation. This is sad, because the    One of my all time favourites. Night In The Woods is an amazing storytelling game with great funny characters and interesting plot. Every person is unique and interesting to come around and talk to. The music is next-level and probably is as amazing as in Undertale (or even better!).
    But, they left a huge plot hole and, as I know, there will be no continuation. This is sad, because the main story had much potential and it was a little bit ruined.
    In conclusion, if you like relaxing story-telling games, which doesn't focus that much on the gameplay - This is the must-play one for you    … Expand
  53. Predictbot
    Oct 27, 2018
    10
    Probably the only game ( novel ) up to this point described all the problems we have in our society in a perfectly animated art style.
  54. solarstrIker
    Dec 2, 2018
    9
    Beautiful Game. Takes you on a modern coming of age trip (especially through the downs). It's slow, but very calming and the graphic design is a 10. I give NITW a 9, because it´s more like reading a book than gaming, but in the best way possible and the creators didn't miss out on some actually relevant themes in the life of young folks today.
  55. SilverOrlov
    Aug 28, 2022
    1
    This game does not deserve rating higher than zero, as it fundamentally contradicts what its developers were. The game pays a lot of attention and meaning to friendship and support... indeed, how great they supported the creator of the game when rivers of mud and false accusations flowed on him.
  56. AbaddonMason
    May 1, 2023
    10
    Воу, просто воу, давно такого не было, чтобы я чувствовал страх, что игра скоро закончится. И она закончилась, но это было круто, очень круто.
  57. maeeeeee
    Mar 26, 2019
    10
    I honestly don't know where to begin with this game. It's a roller-coaster ride of emotions from start to finish and connected with me on a level that no other game has before.
  58. ArcanaThe4th
    May 25, 2019
    9
    Emotional, mature, and honest, Night In The Woods is an exploration of adulthood, maturity, religion, mental health and personal relationships in a very unique way wrapped around a good light horror and cosmic horror packaging. Scary when it needs to be and emotional all the time, this might have been one of the most touching games I've ever played and I can identify with every character'sEmotional, mature, and honest, Night In The Woods is an exploration of adulthood, maturity, religion, mental health and personal relationships in a very unique way wrapped around a good light horror and cosmic horror packaging. Scary when it needs to be and emotional all the time, this might have been one of the most touching games I've ever played and I can identify with every character's very much human and tri-dimensional struggle because life can be crappy, whether or not you have to deal with ghosts.… Expand
  59. Harv-E
    Oct 22, 2020
    10
    What I think is the greatest fiction and writing and created; held together with perfectly fleshed out and developed characters, gorgeous graphics, masterfully crafted music and every functionality done to perfection
  60. Myudd
    Sep 18, 2019
    10
    The game is amazing and captivating, i have spent some amazing time on it. The characters are well developed throught history and make you like them just like the history. The art of the game is another thing that makes the game so amazing.
    I Love it and i enjoy it
  61. Volvosters
    Jun 1, 2020
    10
    Эта игра заслуживает внимания! Сюжет очень хорош, это самая сильная часть игры. Диалоги сделаны как разговор с друзьями, а не как:
    -Привет! -Привет! -Давай сделаем так.!
  62. ankayah
    Jan 28, 2020
    8
    3 things I love about this video game:
    - Adorable visual
    - Concise dialogues
    - Attractive storytelling
  63. linosia
    Oct 24, 2020
    10
    This is a masterpiece in writing! Like, a REAL story FOR ADULTS! Gets a bit mysterious near end, but oh my, the relationships between characters and their dialogues is top notch!
    Vector graphics is nice, memorable characters.
    Get's a bit dark sometimes, but that's the mood of this game.
    Definitely 10 out of 10!!!
  64. gocircuit
    Dec 10, 2019
    10
    holy jesus this game is great, i have bought 3 coppies to date and plan on buying more it is so good
  65. ourendlesseason
    Dec 30, 2019
    8
    Un bel indie game pieno di avventura, esplorazione e bei personaggi. Il giocatore viene catapultato in questa città che è libero di esplorare e scoprire piano piano, senza fretta, insieme ai suoi cittadini. I comandi sono pochi, non ci sono grandi azioni da compiere e non influiscono nel gioco. La tranquillità dell'esplorazione è interrotta qui e lì da i sogni della nostra protagonista cheUn bel indie game pieno di avventura, esplorazione e bei personaggi. Il giocatore viene catapultato in questa città che è libero di esplorare e scoprire piano piano, senza fretta, insieme ai suoi cittadini. I comandi sono pochi, non ci sono grandi azioni da compiere e non influiscono nel gioco. La tranquillità dell'esplorazione è interrotta qui e lì da i sogni della nostra protagonista che ci portano in questa nuova versione della realtà, nella foresta.
    La grafica è molto semplice e stilizzata, tipica di un indie game. Ovviamente non può mancare una rilassante colonna sonora che accompagna il gioco.
    Questo gioco ha tutto quello che ci si aspetta da un indie game, ma forse i programmatori avrebbero potuto dare al giocatore più azioni e scelta.    … Expand
  66. kaiSzeR
    Jul 17, 2020
    10
    Это просто великая игра. Эта атмосфера, музыка, незамысловатый сюжет и персонажи. Вроде такие карикатурные, но все равно полюбятся любому. Одна из лучших игр, что я видел, имхо. Я влюбился в нее с первого взгляда еще в далеком 2015, когда были только демки, а самой игры не было. Я всем рекомендую в это играть, НО! НО! Ни в коем случае не к покупке. После событий 2019 года, многие узнали,Это просто великая игра. Эта атмосфера, музыка, незамысловатый сюжет и персонажи. Вроде такие карикатурные, но все равно полюбятся любому. Одна из лучших игр, что я видел, имхо. Я влюбился в нее с первого взгляда еще в далеком 2015, когда были только демки, а самой игры не было. Я всем рекомендую в это играть, НО! НО! Ни в коем случае не к покупке. После событий 2019 года, многие узнали, что студия, создавшая этот полушедевр, мягко говоря не такая хорошая.
    F, Alec, btw    … Expand
  67. xdarkdamx
    Jan 27, 2020
    10
    Nothing to say, maybe the best adventure game I'd ever played, the story is fantastic, it's so dynamic and fluid especially the dialogues.
  68. Riibiax
    Apr 4, 2020
    6
    Night in the woods is an artsy point&click. The story is attractive, even sometimes boring.
  69. NickLink
    Jun 23, 2020
    10
    NOTE: Please note that this is surprisingly my opinion, so of course don't expect to agree with anything that I say since I will be talking about my personal experience with the game.

    I started Night in the Woods thinking I would like it for one reason and ended up loving it for a completely different one. What really got me into the game was the main story line, the premise of    NOTE: Please note that this is surprisingly my opinion, so of course don't expect to agree with anything that I say since I will be talking about my personal experience with the game.

    I started Night in the Woods thinking I would like it for one reason and ended up loving it for a completely different one.
    What really got me into the game was the main story line, the premise of uncovering the mysteries of a town and a character. And by starting the game with this mindset, that was exactly what I expected to experience: a character solving mysteries and having self-development. In my first hours, all I wanted was to rush to the main quests and discover what was going on, write down my conclusions and finish it as soon as possible, get to that final plot twist moment where I wanted to say "I knew it!".
    However, the more I got into the game, the less I wanted to do that. At some point, it just felt so boring to keep doing the same routine in the game, jumping around the town, following the story line. There was no gameplay, there was no mystery, just a bunch of characters talking to each other about life problems with no real depth or anything like that.
    But when I started to feel this boredom, I finally understood what the magic of the game was. Since the main plot just felt useless to me, I started to explore the world on my own, trying to look for secrets myself, meeting side characters and looking for collectibles or side quests. And then, as weird as that may seem, that felt amazing. This game has SO much more than it seems. There's secrets everywhere, characters to be met in every corner, small things for you to discover. And when I started to spend hours in a part of the game that was supposed to last a few minutes, when I started to try and do the most that I could without actually progressing the story, when I was about to leave my house but then straight up come back because I noticed I hadn't said good morning to my mother, then I noticed why this game is so special.
    This is a game about boredom. And it is so amazing, at least for me, for that reason. We live for such a short time and everything that surrounds us seems so boring, so useless that we sometimes just decide to do everything as fast as possible hoping that it's going to get better someday, but we can make things better whenever we want just by deciding to go somewhere we never did and maybe discovering something amazing there.
    Playing this game just for the main plot is a pain. If you start it and decide to ignore everything, just head straight up to the main quests and progress the story to beat the game as fast as possible, you will probably have one of the worst experiences in a videogame. But if you truly dive into this world, if you decide to explore everything you can, if you sometimes even miss something important but you don't look it up just because you're exploring this on your own, then you'll notice that a part of you will forever stay in Possum Springs.
    Apart from that, the game has an amazing OST and great art style. It could use some more complexity in gameplay, since most of the experience is dialogue and the main story itself has a slow start, heats up a lot halfway through and has a pretty OK ending as far as mystery solving is concerned. There's a lot of well written characters and each one of them gives their own perspective about the world.
    Night in the Woods was an incredible experience that showed me a new way of looking at life. It is a well deserved 10/10 game, even if it lacks on a few technical aspects.    … Expand
  70. Cheekibreeki228
    Jul 17, 2020
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Игра отличная, сюжет хороший, музыка превосходная, диалоги продуманны. На моменте, когда сектанты утащил человека, стало очень неожиданно и интересно.… Expand
  71. Axelle_1
    Dec 12, 2021
    10
    A warm, moving tale of alienation and redemption in the era of late stage capitalism.
  72. KskMaeBorowski
    Nov 17, 2020
    10
    Игра превосходная.Сюжет,персонажи,рисовка и саундтрек.Всё это даёт не описываемый восторг.Но есть одно но.Это поступок со стороны команды разработчиков.Они предали того человека,которого называли другом.Поверили шлюхе без доказательств.Выгнали Алека Холовку из своей команды дабы на них не начали жаловаться,мол они покрывают насильника.
    Спустя несколько дней после этого,Алек    Игра превосходная.Сюжет,персонажи,рисовка и саундтрек.Всё это даёт не описываемый восторг.Но есть одно но.Это поступок со стороны команды разработчиков.Они предали того человека,которого называли другом.Поверили шлюхе без доказательств.Выгнали Алека Холовку из своей команды дабы на них не начали жаловаться,мол они покрывают насильника.
    Спустя несколько дней после этого,Алек скончался.31.09.19.
    Как по итогу выяснилось,все слова Зои оказались наглой ложью.Алек только помогал ей.По итогу она свела человека в гроб.Надеюсь эта тупая сука довольна и будет мучительно умирать.
    Rest in Peace Alec Holowka.    … Expand
  73. Dank-nielv17
    Nov 12, 2021
    9
    The story begins quite slowly, but as it passes, a powerful narrative is seen, where the truly good are the characters and their backgrounds in a town that is slowly dying.
  74. lucky_mouse
    Jan 6, 2021
    10
    Pay no mind to this comment, I intend to write a proper review soon enough. For now, just trust this score.
  75. Sai_Sparkle
    Jan 11, 2021
    1
    Best visual. Best atmosphere. Amazing game setting. Real life dialogues and story. Characters, familiar from the real live. Cozy and wonderful music. Cute style and animation.
    All this is buried under the giant and nasty thing – tolerastia. No, not even tolerastia, but **** How can I love the story of this beautiful game, if a quarter of characters f*** each other in their a****?
    Why?    Best visual. Best atmosphere. Amazing game setting. Real life dialogues and story. Characters, familiar from the real live. Cozy and wonderful music. Cute style and animation.
    All this is buried under the giant and nasty thing – tolerastia. No, not even tolerastia, but **** How can I love the story of this beautiful game, if a quarter of characters f*** each other in their a****?
    Why? Why you just killed all game accomplishments with this?.. Humanity is rotten.    … Expand
  76. Demiurge11
    Dec 25, 2021
    6
    This is a a 2D platformer, but it's got a strong story focus (a coming of age story) and most of the gameplay is walking around and talking to people. In addition, there are two major mini-games: playing music like in Rock Band, and a fairly simple, but extremely difficult old-school 2D isometric action platformer.

    I enjoyed the game enough to play through the whole story, but I can't    This is a a 2D platformer, but it's got a strong story focus (a coming of age story) and most of the gameplay is walking around and talking to people. In addition, there are two major mini-games: playing music like in Rock Band, and a fairly simple, but extremely difficult old-school 2D isometric action platformer.

    I enjoyed the game enough to play through the whole story, but I can't say I loved it.

    THE GOOD:
    - The characters are interesting
    - The dialog is quite good
    - The story's themes are very topical and relevant to any ordinary working-age person alive nowadays
    - I like how areas changed subtly from day to day. There was always something different going on.
    - I enjoyed the mini-games for the most part, although Demontower and the last song were both too hard for me.
    - I enjoyed the art style.
    - Very woke

    THE BAD:
    - The game is very slow. You walk slowly. You have to walk back and forth over the same areas over and over. The areas evolve a bit each day, so it's not as terrible as it might sound, but it's not that great either.
    - I won't spoil it for you, but I found the overall plot to be kind of weird and not make a lot of sense... More below in the MINOR SPOILERS and MAJOR SPOILERS sections.
    - The story touches on some really interesting themes, but I can't say it grabs them in any really compelling way. It merely nods to the themes. "These things are important," it says. But the story doesn't give any juicy insights or takeaways to think about.
    - It's a coming of age story. There must be some people that believe these are High Art, but I'm not one of them.
    - The pacing was off. The story evolves very, very, slowly. You have to wait a very long time to sate your curiosity about what happened a week before the start of the story, and then WHAM! the answer is more confusing than satisfactory, and the game ends. The ending is too rushed to have any good debate or answer to the story's themes.

    THE UGLY:
    - I did not encounter any bugs or crashes, which is a good thing.
    - Depending on the exact moment you save your game and exit, you might have to re-play some of the story. However, this was never a major issue for me.

    MINOR SPOILERS:
    - I thought for a long time that the story was surely about the main character's descent into schizophrenia. It isn't... and that is extra weird.
    - Magic, psychic powers, angels, and demons, are an unsatisfying addition to a game that is set in an analogue of the real world.

    MAJOR SPOILERS:
    - Late at night, in the dark, someone can't recognize you instantly (I'm talking to you, masked bad guy!)
    - It doesn't make any sense that a secret cult of murderers can exist for a long time, in secret, in a small town.
    - If a mine collapses, and a dozen people are killed, it will be noticed! It causes an earthquake, you know. And when a dozen members of a small town disappear overnight, people will kind of be freaking out the next day. It will not be a regular day in town.    … Expand
  77. Palel01
    Jun 10, 2021
    8
    This game is cute, charming, the story is good, but not as good as THE CHARACTERS, every single one of the characters in this game is a joy to talk to, even the people on the streets, they are all interesting. I personaly think that this game is awesome, its a bit short, but I love it.

    #teamBea
  78. TheSHChronicles
    Nov 11, 2021
    9
    Night in the Woods is an amazing game. I just loved the dialogue writing and the way it tackles big and not-so-openly discussed topics like mental health, responsibility, and relationships. It was the first time in a very long time that I didn't want a game to end. I had so much fun roaming around the city with Mae's friends and wrecking stuff, along with interacting with the people of theNight in the Woods is an amazing game. I just loved the dialogue writing and the way it tackles big and not-so-openly discussed topics like mental health, responsibility, and relationships. It was the first time in a very long time that I didn't want a game to end. I had so much fun roaming around the city with Mae's friends and wrecking stuff, along with interacting with the people of the town. This game may not be perfect but it is definitely recommended!

    Full review at: https://www.theshchronicles.com/post/night-in-the-woods    … Expand
  79. Robospy1
    Dec 23, 2021
    8
    I liked the story, but if you don't, you aren't going to like this game, considering that the only other gameplay is light platforming and short minigames. There is Demontower, though, which is just about the only replayability that the game has, sadly, unless you have forgotten the story. Also, if you plan on playing the songs you collect and getting perfect on them, you should do thatI liked the story, but if you don't, you aren't going to like this game, considering that the only other gameplay is light platforming and short minigames. There is Demontower, though, which is just about the only replayability that the game has, sadly, unless you have forgotten the story. Also, if you plan on playing the songs you collect and getting perfect on them, you should do that before you finish the epilogue, because after that it deletes your save. Overall, I would give it a 8.5/10.… Expand
  80. JakeFoxUwU
    Jan 22, 2022
    10
    Игра восхитительна, атмосфера прекрасна, музыка одна из лучших составляющих этой игры, нитв в каком-то смысле изменила мою жизнь.
    10/10 Rest in peace, Alec Holowka.
  81. Olenjan08
    Mar 30, 2022
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Really nice Game! Great Story with really nice characters. The Gameplay is also nice and the graphics are in a really nice comic style. And the end with the murderers is fantastic!… Expand
  82. Istio
    May 13, 2022
    8
    good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good
  83. CrispFlakes
    Jul 1, 2022
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is a masterpiece, if you haven't played it, go play it now. The story: well talk about the story later. The soundtrack: Amazing The characters: amazing

    Now to the story, It's amazing? The first half is awesome, but in the second half (chapter 3+) it just throws away the hanging out part and replaces it with the cult searching thing which kind of sucks? Don't get me wrong it's not bad it's still fun but it just doesn't have the charm the first half had.

    Overall very good game but the second half kinda eh.    … Expand
  84. Escanor89
    Jan 3, 2023
    9
    This game has been out for far too long and I've missed it for far too long for what it's trying to tell.

    My wife and I played Night in the Woods for Christmas 2022, I knew it was a story game but didn't expect anything. What I got back was a reflection of my life, my dreams, I was able to reflect on the lives of others and how difficult they have it at times and I trample on my    This game has been out for far too long and I've missed it for far too long for what it's trying to tell.

    My wife and I played Night in the Woods for Christmas 2022, I knew it was a story game but didn't expect anything.

    What I got back was a reflection of my life, my dreams, I was able to reflect on the lives of others and how difficult they have it at times and I trample on my happiness.

    I cried several times in the game, felt caught up, felt like I was back in my school days and had an insane amount of friends that grew on me and most importantly, I learned a lot about myself and my career and that no matter what you do, the most important thing is that you get together with the right people.

    Night in the Woods has an incredible storytelling that is both playful and serious.

    The only thing that disturbed me in between, attention small spoiler! was the dreams where you had to constantly run back and forth which felt to me like you were just trying to stretch out the game time.

    I will play through the game countless times and make it my October game, come what may every October in the year this game is unpacked again, cried, rejoiced and reflected again on their own lives!    … Expand
  85. BugOnDesk
    Jan 15, 2023
    10
    I noticed Night in the Woods because of the knife fight mini-game, and the cute fair-tale-book style made me think this is a warm lovely story. The overall playthrough was so smooth that I didn't even feel much like playing a puzzle game. Rather than saying I was surprised by the dramatic turn in the story, I was shocked by how much fear this game can give me even if everything was drawnI noticed Night in the Woods because of the knife fight mini-game, and the cute fair-tale-book style made me think this is a warm lovely story. The overall playthrough was so smooth that I didn't even feel much like playing a puzzle game. Rather than saying I was surprised by the dramatic turn in the story, I was shocked by how much fear this game can give me even if everything was drawn as simple colorful 2D shapes. I would definitely recommend everyone who is interested in good narrative design to play this game at least once.… Expand
  86. ikeaOwO
    May 27, 2023
    10
    The best game of my life! Although it is a little disappointing or boring, the game expresses the fun interaction between the main character and the characters, the background and story of the characters, and the process of solving them in a very beautiful and brilliant way. It also expressed the theme of nihilism well in the game and seemed to play a fairy tale for teenagers who becameThe best game of my life! Although it is a little disappointing or boring, the game expresses the fun interaction between the main character and the characters, the background and story of the characters, and the process of solving them in a very beautiful and brilliant way. It also expressed the theme of nihilism well in the game and seemed to play a fairy tale for teenagers who became adults due to their unique drawing style. It's a really good game!… Expand
  87. umamikorami
    Aug 23, 2023
    8
    This game feels all over the place. Sometimes I feel it helps the overall profundity and evocative passion of the plot and encompassing narrative; other times it feels messy and jarring, but overall, I personally really loved and enjoyed this game and story. With its occasional funny one-liners, which I thought were fitting and risible, to the relatability of some of the struggles andThis game feels all over the place. Sometimes I feel it helps the overall profundity and evocative passion of the plot and encompassing narrative; other times it feels messy and jarring, but overall, I personally really loved and enjoyed this game and story. With its occasional funny one-liners, which I thought were fitting and risible, to the relatability of some of the struggles and characters with all of their own personal foibles and deep resentments, and the vicarious nature of the whole game, which for most seems and is probably expected to be a turn-off. I've felt some minor ennui throughout this game, too, but this game works way more fluidly and palatably with this motif of gameplay, with it mostly being about spectating from the lens of someone who can be at times relatable with average and prevalent straits, vices, and struggles, but at times seen solemn, abstract, and despondent at their worst, and how we all are like that, and that we are all weird and have troubles, and that life can get bad, and that we should be more thankful and understanding about the things around us because we might never have it again. One day we will wake up but not be able to open our eyes. All of the pain, toil, and love are gone in the moment. Did I mention how existential this game gets? Anyways, I think that this game can, or at least has been very successful at, epitomizing or capturing the vision of relatability, especially one of a teenager or young adult. As one myself, I can definitely develop strong sentiments heavily brought up in most of the game, like how we value or prioritize specific, somewhat kitschy things in others eyes and make so much sentimental appreciation for the little and ephemeral things, or how things just happen and we make the most of them and hope we live to see tomorrow, and how angst just comes naturally at that time. So many things and so many drifting too fast to truly grasp and process them internally because life is just like this game, very dynamic in where it shines but banausic in where it dives, but that's all okay in the end, because everything is already done, and you only probably perceive or acknowledge the ones that meant the most to you; after all, this was your story, the game is only a game, and life is more than that and you will ever know. This game was ebullient and stygian all at the same time and collides to construct something inchoate and personal, even when you can't relate. It has characters and concepts that feel more alive and ambiguous and open-ended than a game can fully replicate. It has moods and ambiance that immerse you into your own most visceral cognizance. So, yes, I very do recommend this game and its structural formula. Also, who the f**k is Germ xd 8.5/10… Expand

Awards & Rankings

10
#10 Best PC Game of 2017
41
#41 Most Discussed PC Game of 2017
93
#93 Most Shared PC Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 30 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 30
  3. Negative: 0 out of 30
  1. PC PowerPlay
    May 23, 2017
    100
    A warm, moving tale of alienation and redemption in the era of late stage capitalism.
    Read full review
  2. Games Master UK
    May 19, 2017
    85
    A delightfully different narrative experience that offers the perfect blend of serious and silly. [Apr 2017, p.79]
  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Apr 18, 2017
    100
    Beautifully created adventure game will catch you not only for its visuals, but mainly by the way it observes the problems of young adults. [Issue#273]
See all critic reviews »