[h1] Night in the Woods: A Monstrous Existence [/h1]
[h3] (Gregg rulz ok) [/h3]
Night in the Woods is a dark, charming, and profound coming of age story, but unlike ones you think of about teenagers or kids, instead it's about your early 20s. Instead of talking about high school dances or other problems that are in this genre, NitW talks about mental health, family, friendships, and finding meaning in a universe that is cold and indifferent. If you have any interest in philosophy as a subject, or just enjoy Martin Heidegger then you will [b] LOVE [/b] this game. The emotions you feel are really intense, and you are likely to cry at least once or twice while playing this. It also turns into an interactive creepypasta!!
[h1] Mechanics [/h1]
I'm not gonna talk much about actual gameplay mechanics like movement or interactions. It's a storyteller (so the review will mostly be about the story) you should already know what you're getting into here, I'm mostly gonna talk about what's unique. Movement is slow 2D side scrolling, with jumping and platforming. The platforming is rewarding because then you get to meet random NPC's and interact with dudes in windows that joke about pushing you off their ledge. [spoiler]That and you can become a rat queen and infest the town with your own pretzel-fed rat colony[/spoiler] The exploration is very rewarding and even though I thought I did a lot I apparently missed 60%+ of the achievements in the game. There's also a REALLY FUN [strike]Guitar[/strike] Bass Hero mini game you get to play that later becomes deceivingly difficult. There's also a complete isometric dungeon crawler you can play on Mae's laptop! My favorite part of progression in NitW is Mae's notebook, every time she see's something cool or something happens like a conversation, more often than not she will doodle a new page in her notebook and you slowly fill this thing out as you're playing. The blank spots on the pages of things you've missed compels you to go try and find whatever it is you're missing out on!
[h1] Story (The actual review) [/h1]
[h2] Spoilers!! [/h2]
"I believe in a universe that doesn't care and people who do."
The main character Mae is a recent college drop-out returning home to Possum Springs after having some problems there. A home that was once comfortable, familiar, and "normal" has changed a lot in the time she has been gone, and this is the world you get to explore. Honestly this was what I spent most of my time doing. Jumping around on power lines and exploring everything your cat-like agility is able to reach. The dialogue is hilarious, and the game itself is filled with dark humor. Jokes about getting pushed off buildings, dead relatives, the end of the universe, all fit really well with the characters and setting the game offers. You have some main friends you interact with and progress the story with all throughout, but the random side-characters are worth interacting with as much as you can.
The game does a great job of getting you to care about Mae's parents and friends immediately. All the conversations are very believable between Mae and her parents, and oh my god her mom is so sweet. The chit chats you have with her are soaked with history you didn't even see in game, they just roll off each other so well and it makes you feel like you are in this really loving home. The game isn't all peachy though, because conflict does happen.
When I was in my early 20's, I was arrogant, stubborn, and naive. I always had to do things [strike]the hard way [/strike][i]my way [/i] and if anyone told me otherwise (even if it was really good advice) I would purposely not do that because they said it first and I didn't want to be told what to do. Feeling awkward yet? That's how effective the "early 20's" moments are here in NitW. There are conversations and interactions you have here in the game that force you to do what you did in your early 20s. You get locked into tough conversations with limited options and it's pretty good game design when both options are things that I'd say when I was 20~ and it physically hurts you to see mistakes you've made before play out in real time. There isn't some perfect emotionally regulated option for you to choose in some conversations, instead you have to say something you'll probably regret and see what happens next. When I was 20 I thought I knew more than others on how the world works, but like Mae does in NitW, I ♥♥♥♥♥♥ around and found out.
Character development is the main force that keeps you playing in NitW. You come back to town to find old friends that are now living distinctly different lives than what Mae knew before. They have jobs, obligations, and the cold embrace of [strike]freedom[/strike] adulthood is starting to wrap itself around them. I can't speak too much here about the details, but they have responsibilities that kinda tie them up. One of the main themes of NitW is finding meaning in a Monstrous Existence. What is that? Well, things aren't too good in the world right now, it seems that not a lot of people care. If there's a god, where is he? Does the universe care at all? Good people die, bad people win, terrible things happen, how on Earth do you find any sort of peace or resemblance of safety in this awful existence? Everyone and everything I know will return to dust. [b]Nothing is permanent[/b], not me, not my family, not the country, not the planet, not even the sun, so what's the point in all of it? The fundamental building blocks of everyone and everything we know is composed of atomic particles that don't think, feel, eat, sleep, and otherwise define the cold world we inhabit. We are made of tiny little unfeeling monsters, literally. [spoiler]Naturally, Mae doesn't know how to cope with this, so instead she disassociates. She does her best to avoid thinking about it, or talking about it with people that really care about her. Her Mom can't get through to her, she brushes off her friends and family that ask, she just acts like everything is fine; and tries to take that battle alone because she doesn't want to burden those around her. She feels guilty for being "broken" when she isn't, she's just human and that's okay.[/spoiler]
I myself am made of things that don't care about anything really, I'm just a soul (Death and Dying peeps don't @ me right now) borrowing atoms for a lifetime. The dirt at my feet is made of dead things that are cold and unfeeling, and even when those things were living they were made of little monsters that are cold and unfeeling. Yet somehow, in a rebellious act (now that's the human spirit) against what is seemingly a law of nature, I take all of these little monsters and form into someone that does the opposite: I care, I am warm, I have thoughts, feelings, intelligence, and overall I am more than the sum of my parts. In a universe that's cold, and doesn't seem to have any purpose; you take what it gives you and make the things it's missing. That's the point of it all, isn't it? It's a tough thing to look at, to try and comprehend alone, and as much as we wish we could go back to a simpler time, we can't (Sorry Mae). Time marches forward and we die, it is the only thing you can really count on from the universe so if we're gonna survive, we've gotta survive together, and hopefully make better times with a familiar face or two that cares a lot about you.
(Gregg rulz ok)
I turned 29 recently, I'm at the end of my 20's I guess and I don't really feel like I'm 29. I just feel like I'm 21 with 8 years experience. I'm still arrogant at times, I do stupid things, I make mistakes. But those 8 years of experience just showed me how to handle myself better, I'm not much "better" than a 20yr old, just a little wiser. Kinda weird that NitW condensed 8 years of my life into 9.2hrs, but I digress.
[h1] Overall: Scoop this, and join the other 13k+ people that decided to review it. [/h1]
