Night in the Woods Trailer Shows off New Mini-Games Like … a Poking Knife Fight, I Guess?

Night in the Woods, one of the most hotly-anticipated indie games of 2017, just dropped a trailer showing off some never-before-seen parts of the game. The last trailer before this one landed about a year ago, so this one is a bit of a welcome sight to fans who are excited about the game (yours truly included). The new features highlighted in this trailer include some new mini-games (including a knife fight, if you can believe it), more aspects of the story, and more of the incredibly striking animations and designs that make this game such a noteworthy addition to the 2017 games lineup.

For those who don’t know, the game centers on one character’s experiences (Mae) with moving back home as an adult. Things have changed in her hometown, and a lot of the game revolves around her dealing with and reconciling these differences. It’s a fascinating coming-of-age story in a lot of ways, and may resonate with people who may find themselves in a similar situation.

Given that adult millennials are moving home because our economy is in shambles, a lot of people may find some part of themselves within this very game. At least, this feels somewhat true, judging by the game’s initial Kickstarter from back in 2013, which raised over $200,000, four times its initial goal of $50,000.

I had a chance to check out a notably lengthy demo of Night in the Woods (talking maybe like 30 minutes or so) at PAX East this year, and while I’ll admit that I was excited about the game beforehand, getting to play an early build spiked my enthusiasm to a new level. The demo felt polished and fully realized, and there were few (if any) incomplete aspects to the game. It truly felt like a great cut of a fully completed game.

What resonated the most with me was the quality of the writing and the storytelling. There was a strong sense of casualness to all of the dialogue and interactions, and it all reminded me a lot of how I happen to speak with my own friends. Any game that can capture such a feeling without beating the player over the head with it is a noteworthy game, I must say.

If you haven’t checked anything out about Night in the Woods, I’d suggest you definitely check out the above trailer (if you haven’t already). As well, there are two “supplemental” games that you can check out for free on itch.io: Longest Night and Lost Constellation. These serve as background and context for the game’s world, and aren’t necessarily required to play the full game, but they’re certainly welcome experiences.

Night in the Woods comes out January 10th, 2017.

(via Polygon)

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