The game’s philosophical outlook places its faith not so much in a god as much as it does in the power of human connection and compassion. “I believe in a universe that doesn’t care and people who do.” As players are invited (but never forced) to participate in all of these rituals every day, the repetitiveness of this routine can start to become predictable, somewhat comforting, and somewhat tiring, looping back the game’s focus on what it feels like to live in a small town and how that impacts its characters. Though simple, this routine immerses players in the world, forces them to really have to work toward building relationships with main characters and side characters, and shows how small and limiting life can feel in a small town once you’re used to the districts of Possum Springs and how you interact with them during each day. This routine makes up the gameplay for just about every day in the game’s middle acts - about two-thirds of the total game. Night in the Woods’ routine is pretty easy to summarize: wake up, check computer messages, talk to Mom, visit side characters and locations to progress smaller storylines across the town, check with one of the other three main characters to go on an adventure and progress the main storyline, head home, talk to Dad, check computer messages again, sleep, dream sequence. Night in the Woods eases players into a kind of routine, adding new elements and areas to explore every day in the first few hours of the game and more slowly throughout the rest of the game - mirroring, on a smaller scale, the core gameplay loops used by games like Stardew Valley to gradually introduce players to their worlds. In the end, the strong support network Mae has in Possum Springs is what pulls her back from the existential dread that looms over Night in the Woods’ plot and her psyche.Īn entirely different pattern dominates gameplay during the bulk of the game’s two longest acts. However, only when Mae opens up to her friends and family about it does she begin to feel better, tying the game’s themes back to a very clear, optimistic view of how humans can best make sense of life’s patterns when they’re sharing them and supporting each other. The dream version of the statue is made up of giant twisted metal shapes that groan and point at Mae as they collapse, showing how the trauma she encountered at college and the violent outburst she had years ago are being carried with her despite her reluctance to talk about it. In the game’s first dream sequence, Mae uses a sword to slowly disassemble a giant representation of the Founder Statue that tormented her at college. She describes seeing the world as different arrangements of shapes that she loses the ability to make sense of, alienating her emotions when her brain can’t make connections between what she sees and what she feels. One of the most directly discussed patterns in Night in the Woods are the patterns Mae sees when she disassociates. Different characters throughout the game give examples of patterns as the ways different people see the world, as the routines that drive each person’s schedules, as the trajectory of the overall community as it grows, shrinks, and grows again. ‘Patterns’ and the way people interpret them are broad ideas, and Night in the Woods acknowledges this. The guiding philosophy of the Night in the Woods’ characters and universe is stated about two thirds through the game: life is a series of patterns that each person interprets differently - patterns that are best understood and given meaning to when shared with other people. Life is a series of patterns that are best understood and given meaning to when shared with other people. The main characters are fully realized, tackling different challenges like bipolar disorder, loss of family, and disassociation, and Night in the Woods is dedicated to exploring the ways different people cope with their struggles. For a game starring colorful anthropomorphic animals, Night in the Woods has a lot to say about the human experience.
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