The four friends begin working together to figure out what is going on, with Mae's mental health slowly deteriorating with every one of her dreams. At the town's Halloween festival, Mae witnesses a teenager being kidnapped by a mysterious figure, whom Mae believes is a ghost, though her friends say that it is probably not a ghost. Mae spends several days exploring Possum Springs and spending time with her friends, but she also begins to have strange and vivid dreams. Mae also learns that another one of her old friends, Casey Hartley, has mysteriously disappeared. She meets up with her old friends, including gloomy but intelligent Beatrice "Bea" Santello, hyperactive delinquent Greggory "Gregg" Lee, and Gregg's quiet, modest boyfriend Angus Delaney. Margaret "Mae" Borowski is a 20-year-old college dropout, who relocates back to her Rust Belt-inspired hometown of Possum Springs, which has been struck by the closure of the coal mines which has led to economic stagnation. That person might not know you as well by the end of the game, but this person you hung out with, you're going to get to see their storyline." Plot Players make decisions that affect the course of the story, though Benson said, "it's more like 'do you hang out with this person?' Okay, cool. Benson described the key actions for the player as "explore, converse, see and touch", while Holowka described their approach as "narrative-focused" rather than " gameplay-first". Paste describes the themes covered as "mental illness, depression, the stagnancy of the middle and lower classes, and the slow death of small town America." Īs Mae, players run, jump, and learn other mechanics that allow them to explore Possum Springs. Mae's friends also include Bea, a cigarette-smoking crocodile and Mae's childhood friend Gregg, a hyperactive fox and his boyfriend, a bear named Angus. She is forced to confront a horrible secret the town has hidden for decades involving not only the town's mine, but also the recent disappearance of her longtime friend Casey.
Now living in her parents' attic, she discovers how much times have changed since the closing of the town's coal mines, uncovering a dark mystery that leads her into the nearby woods.
Mae, an only child, has returned home to Possum Springs-a town populated by zoomorphic humans. Night in the Woods received notable critical praise, mostly for its soundtrack, story, dialogue and characters. It features new content not seen in the original game, as well as the supplemental games. A version for iOS was released on September 9, 2021.Īn extended version of the game, titled the Weird Autumn edition, was released for PC, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on Decemand for Nintendo Switch on February 1, 2018. The Xbox One version was released on December 13, 2017, while a version for the Nintendo Switch was released on February 1, 2018. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, and PlayStation 4 on February 21, 2017. In December 2014, a second supplemental game was released, titled Lost Constellation. Ī companion game titled Longest Night was released in December 2013 by Holowka and Benson, along with co- writer Bethany Hockenberry. The game was funded via the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, where it eventually earned over 400% of its US$50,000 funding goal. It is a story-focused exploration game in which players control a young woman named Mae Borowski, who recently dropped out of college and has returned to her hometown to find unexpected changes. It was developed by Infinite Fall, a studio founded by game designer Alec Holowka and animator/ artist Scott Benson, and Secret Lab, an Australian studio, and published by Finji. Night in the Woods is a 2017 single-player adventure video game.