The Observation Deck: Night in the Woods

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Picture this: quiet, intimate moments exploring all but abandoned buildings, platforming around midnight black dreamscapes looking for instrumentalists jazzing it up until the scream of a giant cryptic monster awakens our heroine to a state of confusion. These and so many of the tiniest elements make Night in the Woods a truly worthwhile experience.

Released in 2017 by developers Infinite Fall and Secret Lab, Night in the Woods is a part platformer, part narrative title about a town of anthropomorphic people called Possum Springs. Mae Borowski has returned home after dropping out of college due to a lack of motivation and direction in her future. At home waits her disappointed though ultimately concerned parents as well as her lifelong friend Gregg, his partner Angus, and the angsty and somewhat confrontational Bea.

Inside this small town, however, lies a secret that this group comes face to face with over the course of the game, one which ultimately changes their lives forever.

Ghosts, Cults, and other Small Town Nonsense

Though the intersection of gameplay and storytelling is an important and unique element of video games that should not be understated when evaluating them as art, Night in the Woods does feel primarily driven by its narrative in much the same way as a visual novel or dating sim. While not necessarily a bad thing, the platforming elements feel much more sprinkled in by comparison.

At the center of that narrative is the college dropout herself. Mae is exactly the type of character that just about every Gen-Z’er would root for, a lonely, confused 20-year-old clinging to any sense of familiarity she is able to find in her hometown while still dealing with the reality of becoming an adult. This is coupled, of course, with subtler questions around her sexuality, the answers to which are confirmed later on both in the game as well as outside of it by the creators themselves. Admittedly, the latter is significantly less relevant plot-wise but does create some tender moments and is appreciated nonetheless.

Speaking of plot, this game has about as much as one could reasonably expect given the descriptions above, and a good portion of that plot that does exist only comes up in the final hours of the game. Until then, any progression is minimal and secondary to the game’s seasonally cozy, albeit slightly somber atmosphere and character arcs.

However, when the game does ramp up in the final arc, there are a lot of genuinely incredible moments. For starters, The sections that happen inside the abandoned mine are some of the most heart-pounding moments I have personally experienced in a video game, especially after meeting this universe’s imagination of a Lovecraftian KKK. The simpler designs and rather racist and bigoted views of the cultists fit this narrative quite well. Mae’s meeting with the strange identity that has been haunting her dreams is another one that stands out, and simultaneously out of body but also incredibly sobering experience for her personally.

Somebody’s Got to Keep Her in Line

One of the primary contributors to the game’s cozier opening half-2/3rds is its colorful cast of Mae’s friends and friends, as well as some of the townspeople. Given her lack of direction, Mae spends most of her in-game time roaming around Possum Springs looking for anything and everything to do while reminiscing about the past with those she knew from when she was younger.

There are a lot of compelling narratives to be found among these characters as well. Among the more prominent ones, Gregg’s arc with Angus provides a certain level of foil to Mae’s character. He wants desperately to have a normal, put-together life where he can be with the bear he loves. However, he still feels just as childish and helpless as Mae when it comes to dealing with the rest of his small town. The decidedly queer bent to their relationship makes it all the more sad.

However, the closeminded bigotry of their community also affects plenty of others. While dealing with questions of faith and her mom’s work at the church, Mae also meets Bruce, a homeless man who previously struggled with addiction, living in a tent on the edge of town. Despite the best efforts of the local pastor to convince the town assembly he is completely harmless, Bruce is ultimately forced to leave. Seeing the writing on the wall before it happens, the man confides in Mae about his situation and decides to take a train back home so as not to cause the pastor any more trouble.

A Great Relationship with Music

Not only does Night in the Woods have a dynamic soundtrack, it also incorporates that soundtrack into the game’s narrative in a couple of interesting ways.

Mae, Gregg, and Angus are in a band…at least, they used to be. Given Mae being away at college, Gregg and Angus’ relationship, and the mysterious disappearance of their friend/bandmate Casey, it has not exactly been easy to practice. However, with Bae picking up for Casey’s absence and Mae’s return, they are able to jam once again. Not well of course, but the tracks they write and play are still enjoyable, and every missed chord in barely explained rhythm sections only adds to the scenes’ charm.

Mae also experiences a lot of musical sensations in her dreams, which usually follow the pattern of a platforming section in which the main goal is to find four instrumentalists. As she finds them, a street light shines above their head, and begin playing. Once Mae finds them all and returns to the middle of the level, a new form of the strange being she communicates with during the game comes out and wakes her up. The music that plays during these sections is generally on the jazzier side, providing a nice background for what is supposed to be the more action-packed parts of the game, though the game’s tempo does not tend to change all that much.

Conclusion

This is probably not a game for everyone, at least mechanically. The platforming elements are barely there, and even when they are, do not feel particularly important to its progression outside of mandatory levels which are not all that difficult. Those who are looking for the more challenging aspects of platformers such as in a game like Celeste might be disappointed.

Narratively, however, Night in the Woods is a near-masterpiece. A story that, despite its slow build-up, pays off in all the right ways, and even during its build-up will probably send emotions through the washing machine. Shout out to Mitski for that one. I know very little about her as an artist but something tells me she might like this game too.

Have you played Night in the Woods? What are your thoughts on the game? Let me know in the comments.

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Originally published at http://animatedobservations.com on November 14, 2023.