Night in the Woods

This was a game I've heard some buzz over --  a bunch of gaming critics I follow expressed love for this game, got an "overwhelmingly positive" review on Steam... I mean, the signs are there that this might be a hot game for 2017. Sadly, I felt anything but love for the game.

Some background on this indie title. It follows Mae, a recent college dropout who talks like Daria and has returned to her small hometown at height of her living through a quarter-life crisis. Moving back in with your parents, you lead Mae around town to reconnect with her old high school friends and uncover a strange mystery that's lurking in the shadows of her hometown. 

First things first. While I may not have liked this game, I feel as though I understand why so many others seem to love it. It's got excellent characters spouting catchy dialogue as they battle internal conflicts that I think are universally relatable -- figuring out who you are, what you want to be, etc. etc. It's Catcher in the Rye shit. However, that's all I could find appealing about the game. 

The game -- if I can even call it that -- is really more a dialogue simulator. You run around, talk to someone, then run over to the next person and talk to them. Repeat this until you talk to the right person who allows the story to advance to the next chapter. A various points you'll play mindless mini-games that barely matter and hardly present a challenge. 

So what's left beyond intriguing characters with great dialogue that's absent of any meaningful gameplay? The story. I feel like if the story was there, I could have really dug this game. (At it's heart, that's really all the game is prepared to offer players.) Sadly, I found the story kind of a mess and ultimately unsatisfying. It starts out alright, but builds into a direction that left me with more questions than answers (kind of like Lost -- and if you didn't already know, I'm not a fan with how Lost ended). 

People also seem to praise the game for it's soundtrack. It was ok. They also celebrate it's art style. It's something we've seen done a bunch before.

I'm kind of left at a point where I'm puzzled how this game has garnered so much love? Maybe I'm just a heartless asshole who can connect with today's youth.