Night in the Woods is a 2017 video game that you play alone. It was created by Infinite Fall and Secret Lab and published by Finji. The game takes place in a world where humans have the traits of animals. The story follows a young woman named Mae, who leaves college and returns to her hometown to discover unexpected changes. The game raised money through Kickstarter, where it collected more than four times its original goal of US$50,000.
Before Night in the Woods was released, a companion game called Longest Night came out in December 2013. It was made by Holowka and Benson, along with co-writer Bethany Hockenberry. A second additional game, Lost Constellation, was released in December 2014.
The game was first released on February 21, 2017, for computers running Windows, Mac, and Linux, as well as PlayStation 4. Its original release date was January 10, but this was delayed. The Xbox One version came out on December 13, 2017. An expanded version called the Weird Autumn edition was released on December 13, 2017, for Windows, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It was also released for Nintendo Switch on February 1, 2018. This version includes new content not found in the original game or the supplemental games. A version for iOS devices was released later on September 9, 2021.
Critics praised Night in the Woods for its music, story, dialogue, and characters.
Overview and gameplay
The game Night in the Woods is set in Possum Springs, a town where the characters are animals that look like humans. The player controls Mae, a young cat who returns to Possum Springs after leaving college. She now lives in her parents' attic and notices how the town has changed since the coal mines closed. Mae must uncover a long-hidden secret tied to the mine and the recent disappearance of her friend, Casey. Her friends include Bea, a crocodile who smokes cigarettes and was Mae's childhood friend; Gregg, a very energetic fox; and Angus, a bear who is Gregg's boyfriend. Paste magazine says the game explores themes such as mental illness, depression, the challenges faced by people in lower and middle classes, and the decline of small towns in America.
Scott Benson explained that players are encouraged to "explore, converse, see, and touch" during the game. Alec Holowka said the game focuses more on storytelling than on traditional gameplay. Players make choices that influence the story, though Benson noted that these choices are often about spending time with characters. For example, if a player spends time with one character, that character may not know them as well by the end of the game, while the character they spent time with will have a more developed storyline.
Plot
Margaret "Mae" Borowski is a 20-year-old college student who left school and returned to her hometown of Possum Springs, a town inspired by the Rust Belt. The town has struggled economically for years because local coal mines closed long before the story begins. Mae reconnects with her old friends, including Beatrice "Bea" Santello, who is thoughtful but often sad; Greggory "Gregg" Lee, who is energetic and sometimes causes trouble; and Angus Delaney, Gregg's calm and logical boyfriend. Mae also learns that her friend Casey Hartley has disappeared without explanation.
Over two weeks, from late October to early November, Mae explores Possum Springs and spends time with her friends. She begins having strange and vivid dreams. At the town's autumn "Harfest" festival, which is similar to Halloween, Mae sees a teenager being taken by a mysterious figure she believes is a ghost. Her friends do not believe her. The group, including Mae and Gregg, works together to understand what is happening. As Mae's dreams continue, her mental health worsens. After investigating, they encounter people in dark clothing in the woods. Mae falls down a cliff and falls into a coma, while her friends escape.
Mae is found by people from the church and later wakes up. She explains that she left college because she felt disconnected from others and saw the world as shapes. Mae's journal, where she draws pictures for events in the game, was given to her by the town doctor. The journal was a way for her to write about her emotions after an incident six years earlier, when she hurt a student with a softball bat during a mental health episode. This event made the town wary of Mae and caused stress for her family. Her mental health worsened in college, so she returned home, hoping that being in a familiar place would help her feel better. Mae also shares a story at a graveyard about a moment she felt deeply embarrassed, showing her feelings of loneliness and fear.
Still recovering, Mae goes into the woods to find the mysterious group, but Gregg, Bea, and Angus stop her from going alone. The group enters the old mines and discovers a secret group of people who kidnap individuals they believe will not be missed. These people are taken to the mines to be sacrificed to a god-like creature called the Black Goat, in hopes of helping Possum Springs' economy. The leader of the group lets the friends leave but warns them not to speak of the cult. As the group leaves the mines in an elevator, a member of the cult attacks Mae. Her friends save her, and the elevator falls, collapsing the mine and likely trapping the cult underground.
The next day, depending on who the player spent the most time with during the game, Mae sits with either Bea or Gregg to talk about the events. The others join them, and Mae realizes that while life will continue to challenge them, they can still enjoy their time together. The game ends with the group deciding to set aside their problems for now and have a band practice.
Development
Before the release of Night in the Woods, a related game called Longest Night was released in December 2013 by Alec Holowka and Scott Benson, along with co-writer Bethany Hockenberry. In December 2014, a second related game titled Lost Constellation was also released.
Night in the Woods was announced on October 22, 2013, through a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. Holowka and Benson aimed to raise $50,000, which they reached in just 26 hours. The campaign eventually raised over $200,000. The extra money allowed the team to hire animator Charles Huettner to create more animations and to work with Infinite Ammo and game developer Adam Saltsman to add a playable roguelike game within Night in the Woods. Benson believed adding more stretch goals might attract more supporters, but the team limited the number of stretch goals to avoid making the project too complicated. Benson listed Chris Ware, Mike Mignola, Mary Blair, Flannery O’Connor, and Richard Scarry as influences on his work. He later said the game’s name came from the first song on The World/Inferno Friendship Society’s album The Bridgewater Astral League, which inspired some themes in the game.
In October 2017, it was announced that Night in the Woods would be adapted for iOS devices by Australian studio Secret Lab, which developed the game’s narrative engine. The iOS version was planned for release in 2018 but was finally released on September 9, 2021. In January 2018, the game was officially announced for the Nintendo Switch and released the following month, including all content from the Weird Autumn edition. A physical version was planned for release through Limited Run Games, but the project was delayed indefinitely after the development team ended their relationship with Holowka following accusations of physical and emotional abuse by his ex-partner, Zoë Quinn. Five years after the game’s release, Limited Run Games began accepting preorders for the physical version from December 18, 2022, to January 29, 2023. The collector’s edition includes the game, soundtracks for the main game and Demon Tower on CD, acrylic stands, a coin, a physical version of Mae’s journal, a planisphere, glow-in-the-dark cards, and sticker sheets.
Alec Holowka composed the soundtrack for Night in the Woods, with Scott Benson contributing to some tracks. Three albums of the game’s music were released on Bandcamp on March 9, 2017. Holowka cited DIIV as a major influence on the game’s score.
Reception
The game Night in the Woods received positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic, the PS4 version has an average score of 87 from 15 critics, and the PC version has an average score of 88 from 30 critics. Critics praised the writing and characters the most. In Japan, where the PlayStation 4 and Switch versions were released by Playism on March 28, 2019, Famitsu gave each version scores of 9, 9, 8, and 8, totaling 33 out of 40.
Eurogamer placed the game 13th on their list of the "Top 50 Games of 2017," and GamesRadar+ placed it 17th on their list of the 25 Best Games of 2017. Polygon ranked it 23rd on their list of the 50 best games of 2017. The game was nominated for "Best Comedy Game" in PC Gamer's 2017 Game of the Year Awards. It won the award for "Best Adventure Game" in IGN's Best of 2017 Awards. It was also nominated for "Best Art Direction," "Best Story," and "Best Original Music."
In Giant Bomb's 2017 Game of the Year Awards, the game won the award for "Best Cast of Characters" and was a runner-up for "Best Debut," "Best Story," and "Game of the Year." It also won the award for "Best Character" (Mae) and "Best Dialogue" in Game Informer's 2017 Adventure Game of the Year Awards. Before that, the game won the award for "Best 2D Visuals" and the overall award "Golden Cube" in the Unity Awards 2017. It was also nominated for "Best Desktop/Console Game."
Legacy
Penelope Scott's 2020 song "Rät" mentions the game in its lyrics, specifically Selmers' dream of leaving Possum Springs and burning down Silicon Valley. In June 2022, during a Portland Timbers Major League Soccer (MLS) match against Houston Dynamo FC, the team's supporters displayed a Night in the Woods-themed large banner showing Mae with an axe and the message "From Stonewall a brick and Portland an axe, respect our pride or expect our wrath." The developers have stated that Mae's character is pansexual. In a tweet, Scott Benson said he supported the message and was very surprised when he saw it.
Related media
In May 2023, a game called Revenant Hill was announced by The Glory Society, a group of people who work together to make games. The group included Benson and Hockenberry. The game had a similar look and style to Night in the Woods, but it was not connected to that game. In November 2023, the group stopped working, and the game was canceled. This happened because the main developer, Scott Benson, developed serious heart problems. These health issues also caused The Glory Society to pause its activities.