Kelcy Conroy
Staff Writer
Fall is here and a fall activity I enjoy is curling up with a blanket and finding a new game to play. “Night In The Woods” is a 2017 adventure/exploration game with many activities to complete, characters to meet and secrets to reveal. Fall is a big theme in the game as it includes Halloween themed events, spooky forests and portrays the transition to cold weather.
This game follows Mae Borowski, a recent college dropout who returns to her hometown, Possum Springs, seeking to resume her former life and reconnect with the people she left behind. But things aren’t the same. Mae’s friends have grown and changed, leaves are falling, the wind is growing colder and there’s something in the woods. This town that was once familiar to Mae is now a place that is foreign to her.
In the game, it is implied that the buildings that were once local shops are closed up and replaced with corporate retailers. Mae’s friends and family adapted to these changes as they stayed in the town; seen in her father who works at the deli counter in a big-chain supermarket after losing his factory job. One of Mae’s friends has also mysteriously disappeared.
Mae’s friends have jobs, plans for the future and responsibilities which are all things that Mae lacks. Characters in the game call Mae a “kid” and when she reassures them that she is twenty years old, they tell her that she is still a “kid.” They do not mean that she is literally a child, but she is a “kid” in the way that she has no plans or ambitions. However, her biggest supporters are her friends Gregg, Angus, and Bea. Though they all know they will have to grow and adapt to life, they promise to spend as much time as they can together.
Playing this game, I found myself relating to Mae. Despite knowing what I want to be in the future, I have yet to learn how I am going to achieve the things I want. I cannot drive a car, I am not as mature as others and I often find that I have to reassure people that I am an adult. Mae has similar personality traits and it was not just the themes of fall but the discussions of change and becoming an adult that made this game worthwhile.
“Night In The Woods” can be found on Steam for $19.99 here, and is also available on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and iOS.
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