Night in the Woods

About Night in the Woods

Infinite Fall released this indie adventure in February 2017 through publisher Finji. You play as Mae, a cat who dropped out of college and returns to Possum Springs, her crumbling mining hometown. The game launches on PC, PlayStation 4 and One, Xbox, Switch, Mac, Linux, and iOS. It mixes walking sim elements with light platforming where you climb roofs and powerlines. The story focuses on Mae struggling to find direction while the town changes around her. She meets old friends who have moved on and discovers strange abilities that hint at a darker secret hidden in the nearby woods. It is a character study about growing up, losing your way, and dealing with the end of an era.

Gameplay

Most of your time involves walking through Possum Springs and talking to townspeople to hear their daily struggles. You can play poker, work at the diner, or hang out in specific locations like the park or the record store. Between conversations, you climb onto rooftops to explore side areas where other cats live. The platforming sections are short but require precise jumps across narrow ledges and wires. A mysterious ability lets you enter a dreamlike version of the town that reveals hidden details about the environment. You collect items and unlock new dialogue options as you progress through the chapters. Each session usually lasts an hour or two as you complete one quest or simply chat with a friend until a cutscene triggers.

What Players Think

Critics gave this title high marks, including an 88 on Metacritic and an 85 on IGDB from over 300 ratings. PlayPile data shows the community mood stays largely thoughtful and nostalgic throughout the experience. The average playtime sits around 12 hours for a standard run. Players have unlocked 31 achievements with a combined average rate of just 21.3%. This low completion suggests many players skip the harder platforming challenges or miss optional conversations. The rarest achievement "Seriously?" has only been earned by 1.20% of users, proving that specific endgame secrets remain elusive. Reviews often mention how the writing resonates deeply with young adults facing similar life transitions.

PlayPile's Take

This is a solid choice for anyone who likes character-driven stories over complex mechanics. The $19.99 price point feels fair for roughly 12 hours of gameplay. You will not find many achievements here unless you are willing to hunt down every hidden interaction. The platforming might frustrate players looking for pure action, but the emotional payoff makes up for it. If you want a short, meaningful game about missing home and losing your youth, this fits perfectly. Avoid it if you need constant combat or high scores. Finish the main story to see the full picture of what happens to Mae.

Storyline

Night In The Woods is a VIDEO GAME. All Mae wants to do is run around with her friends, break stuff and hang on to a life of aggressive aimlessness. She dropped out of college and returned home to her crumbling old mining town to do just that, but she's finding that nothing is the same anymore. The old town seems different. Her old friends have grown in their own directions. Mae herself is undergoing some sudden and unexplained changes, giving her mysterious abilities that grant her access to a side of town she never knew existed. The world is changing, things are ending, and the future is uncertain. Up behind the park at the edge of town, back in the trees by the old mine- there's something in the woods. And it could mean no future at all. Night In The Woods comes from a deep place for us. That point where you sense things are changing and it's time to move on but you just don't know how. Knowing that everything will end someday, and wondering how well we'll be able to meet it when it happens. How long we'll be able to hold on, and when we should let go. When to accept and when to fight.