Do you ever get the feeling that something was made just for you?
Something that seems to take your musings on fear, insecurity, and
loathing and makes them funnier than they have any right to be? Night in
the Woods is a watershed moment in gaming. It's almost like I've been
waiting for something like this since 1996. I don't want to oversell it,
but there is a very good reason it has a 10/10 on steam reviews. That
reason is I have NEVER played a game this well written. I just want to
shout superlatives from the rooftops now, so here we go.
People
may argue that NITW is visual novel, that it's not interactive enough,
that it's forced ending robs it of any lasting impact. You may feel like
your time in Possum Springs is "wasted" and there are solid arguments for calling
this a flash in the pan. I'll even fess up that the final act is a
rushed misstep. But I say it's all about the journey. I can only speak
to my own experience and my own experience was a goddamn trip, man.
The
story of Night in the Woods is a new one, though painfully familiar to
anyone in their 20's. Mae is a cat that was too anxious and depressed to
finish college and chose to move back home with her parents while she
figures out what to do next. All day every day she hops around town
meeting up with her friends at their workplaces, walking on power lines,
getting heckled by old neighbors, anything to drown out her creeping
feelings of failure and inadequacy.
This
shouldn't be anything but a stone cold bummer. So why did it make me
laugh out loud more than any game I've ever played? I'll give you a
hint, because this is the seminal creative text of my generation. It
earns that title by understanding that everyday life can be funny or sad
and is routinely both at once. This is the millennial tragedy writ
small and it. Is.
Hilarious.
Punch
lines are set up that don't pay off for hours. There are quick 30 second
conversations with your mother that manage to be emotional roller
coasters. There's a scene in which you start a knife fight with your
best friend and it's not a mellow dramatic showdown. It's just some dumb
fun you're both having.
When NITW has
characters read poetry, it's actually poetic. When you think the story
is going to point towards a happy ending for anyone, a barbed
anecdote about their past suddenly makes it impossible. Addiction,
abuse, loss, and irrational self destruction are given a grace and humor
that escapes not just most games, but a lot of writing in general. No,
really. Stephen King couldn't pull off characters this three-dimensional
or fun to save his life and remember I warned ya'll about the
superlatives.
The one aspect that falls short
is it's attempt at cosmic horror. That's kinda my
wheelhouse and if you came to play you best not give me the ending to
American Gods (but with a mine this time instead of a lake). How is it
that in a game about a sad small town the ghostly kidnapper manages to
be the least interesting thing about it? It also comes perilously close
to having the villain be a problem that solves itself and for a game
that's so good at dialogue and characters... that's a stark rookie
mistake.
So I'd say take your time. Talk to
everyone. Climb the buildings. Go to Church. Just fall in love with Possum Springs and take
the ghost hunt with a grain of salt. This is just the first project from
these guys and they've already thrown down the gauntlet for anyone
trying to tell stories through games. If you can't see that this is now
the high water mark then you aren't paying close enough attention.