Night in the Woods

Leaving Possum Sprigns is one of the hardest things we've done in the last years of gaming: Mae Borowski and her fellow young adults have left a memorable stain in our hearts, and we're already looking forward to go visit them again. Don't miss one of the best narrative experiences ever.

Night in the Woods transports us to a world of stormy pasts, uncertain futures and a lost young girl lost in the present. It's difficult to find another game that is so close and so subjective at the same time, playing and experimenting with the medium's narrative limits. Its artistic style, music, characters and story make it into an indispensable addition to the Nintendo Switch.

Night in the Woods is a rich and heart-filled story that's easy to fall in love with and incredibly hard to forget.

The story is great, the music is fine, and the game runs well in both docked and handheld mode. Night in the Woods did not really leave me with a lot of complaints. So if you’re interested in trying out a well-written story that is fairly relaxing in gameplay to get through, but also want to immerse yourself in an environment along the lines of something like Oxenfree, then Night in the Woods is definitely a must-have.

Less of a game, and more of an interactive story with some light platforming and exploring to tie it all together, Night In The Woods is one of the most rewarding experiences you can play on Nintendo Switch. A curio better played for yourself than described by us, it’s an indie title that will no doubt leave an impression with its enchanting soundtrack, disarming story and instantly identifiable character arcs. Both strange and wonderful in equal measure, few games are as easy to recommend as this.

Nearly one year later, Night in the Woods remains one of the most quotable and passion-fueled indie titles in recent years. While the Switch version’s technical issues does hold it back from being the best platform to experience the game on, the solid presentation, equal-parts socially-relevant and comedic dialogue and welcome additions to the core game keep Night in the Woods a must-play title for those who are experiencing or have had an emotional stretch of time as a young adult or simply those looking for a well-told adventure title.

From beginning to end to epilogue, Night in the Woods is ultimately open to individual interpretation. How you relate to it depends on your own experiences and choices, including Mae’s dialogue and who you decide to spend time with. Though its charming and angsty story works well on its own merits, it’s special because of how it prioritizes conveying emotion over telling a straight narrative.

As poignant and raw as ever, Night in the Woods feels more at home on Switch than anywhere else.

NitW could also do more with its platforming. Five minutes in, the game tutorializes its jumping, and that tutorial is more challenging than any section that follows throughout the rest of its ten hour runtime. Ultimately, though, those issues do little to detract from the excellent characters and story at the heart of Infinite Fall’s debut. Night in the Woods’ story is the main attraction, and its superb execution was enough to keep me hooked.

Night in the Woods tells a sad story in many levels. We love the art direction and the soundtrack (specially in minigames and dream levels), but it is not a game for everyone. Gameplay falls short compared to narrative elements.

It's the cast that makes Night in the Woods so memorable. [Issue #34 – July/August 2018, p. 20]

Night in The Woods is a surprising narrative game whose childish graphic style hides a resolutely adult story, through the themes it addresses between two laughing dialogues of a rare quality.

The moment you step in the Possum Springs, You’ll fall in love with it. Setting the bar high for interactive storytelling, Night in the Woods does every other thing just right; from magical artistic design to charming music to smart dialogues. One of the best indie titles in recent years.

When beginning Night in the Woods, the game feels like it is nothing special, but this is the type of experience that requires and deserves a little perseverance. The main story pales in comparison to the real strength, and that's the characters and their interactions. It's these that people will remember. Night in the Woods is a beautiful, heartfelt and memorable experience and it looks good, too. The presentation has transitioned perfectly to Nintendo Switch. The strange cartoony art style runs in a constant 60fps in docked mode with full 1080p, which in portable mode it keeps the fps smooth at 60 but drops the graphical fidelity to a solid 720p. This is an adventure game the likes of which is rarely seen anymore and is completely unlike anything else on Switch.

A hugely impressive achievement in interactive storytelling, that tackles difficult subjects head-on but still manages to be life-affirming and relatable.