Night in the Woods

Worth buying? What 300 Steam reviews say.Worth buying? Here’s what 300 Steam reviews actually say.

Very Positive · 95%Very Positive · 95%2017

$19.99

US Steam price, checked 6 h ago

The verdict

A slow, character-driven story about a college dropout returning to her dying hometown, with great writing, art and music. Skip it if you want real gameplay, a tight mystery or can't stand Mae.

Great for

Fans of character-driven stories about growing up, mental health and small-town life

Main risk

Slow pacing, mostly walking and reading dialogue, and an abrupt ending that leaves the mystery unsatisfying

What players love

Relatable, emotionally powerful story

Mentioned in ~1 in 2 positive reviews

“Playing this game helped me feel not alone. And by the end of it, I wanted to live more than ever.”
Steam review · 12 h played ↗

“That feeling of aimlessness, youth, feeling too old to be this young.”
Steam review · 20.1 h played ↗

“NITW really helped me process this”
Steam review · translated · 26.6 h played ↗

Gorgeous art style and autumn atmosphere

Mentioned in ~1 in 3 positive reviews

“I really like the fall aesthetic and the graphics.”
Steam review · 10.5 h played ↗

“it takes place in late autumn, and that is perhaps the best part of the game”
Steam review · translated · 23.3 h played ↗

Well-written, funny characters and dialogue

Mentioned in ~1 in 4 positive reviews

“The dialogue is awkward in all the right ways and genuinely funny, which helps balance out the heavier moments and makes the characters feel real.”
Steam review · 6.1 h played ↗

“The writing is excellent, the characters are deeply flawed and loveable”
Steam review · 15.7 h played ↗

Great soundtrack and bass minigame

Mentioned in ~1 in 5 positive reviews

“The music is simply gorgeous, and the visual style is very pleasant.”
Steam review · 17.2 h played ↗

“the bass songs were crazy good especially "Die anywhere else"”
Steam review · 11 h played ↗

Fun minigames like Demontower and lots of secrets

Mentioned in ~1 in 8 positive reviews

“the mini games give you elements of alot of different game styles.”
Steam review · 10.9 h played ↗

“There's tons of subplots and areas to find that have nothing to do with the main plot but to add layers.”
Steam review · 16.5 h played ↗

High replayability and branching choices

Mentioned in ~1 in 9 positive reviews

“I play this game a minimum of once a year, and every time it feels brand new to me in a different way.”
Steam review · 36.8 h played ↗

“You'll need to do (at least?) 2 playthroughs of the main game if you want to see everything.”
Steam review · 23.5 h played ↗

What players complain about

Slow pacing, boring, repetitive routine

Mentioned in ~1 in 2 negative reviews

“Felt like watching paint dry. The first 3 chapters have no plot progression”
Steam review · 9.7 h played ↗

“90% of the playtime is idle chatter”
Steam review · translated · 8.9 h played ↗

“The gameplay is almost entirely navigating the same dozen screens--slowly--over and over and over, looking for characters to talk to.”
Steam review · 16.3 h played ↗

Weak, abrupt ending and unsatisfying mystery

Mentioned in ~1 in 4 negative reviews

“the plot abruptly shifts to focus on a whimsical cult terrorizing the town.”
Steam review · 8.8 h played ↗

“in the end it all finishes with an abrupt ending about nothing”
Steam review · translated · 13 h played ↗

“I got to the end of this game and felt, "that was it?"”
Steam review · 14.2 h played ↗

Very little actual gameplay

Mentioned in ~1 in 5 negative reviews

“This isn't a game. It's a keyboard trainer”
Steam review · translated · 18.9 h played ↗

“Should've been a book or comic, a visual novel at most.”
Steam review · 1.6 h played ↗

Unlikable, immature protagonist and cast

Mentioned in ~1 in 5 negative reviews

“they're a horrible, childish, self-centered idiot and game absolutely will not let you forget that for one second”
Steam review · 12.2 h played ↗

“The main heroine irritates me A LOT and so does how she behaves...”
Steam review · translated · 3.5 h played ↗

Boycott over developer Alec Holowka controversy

Mentioned in ~1 in 7 negative reviews

“This is a great game, don't buy it. Thank you, Alec Holowka, for this amazing experience.”
Steam review · 23.6 h played ↗

“DON'T BUY THE GAME! Download it from the usual places! These people (the developers) don't deserve money!”
Steam review · translated · 12.8 h played ↗

Tedious platforming and dream sequences

Mentioned in ~1 in 14 negative reviews

“the unskippable, tedious, repetitive dream sequences where you need to platformer all over a map that is too dark to see”
Steam review · 15.9 h played ↗

“MANDATORY platforming sections”
Steam review · 5.3 h played ↗

System requirements

From the Steam store page

Steam Deck: Verified

Minimum

OSWindows 7

ProcessorIntel i5 Quad-Core

Memory4 GB RAM

GraphicsIntel HD 4000

Storage8 GB available space

OSWindows 7

ProcessorIntel i5 Quad-Core

Memory4 GB RAM

GraphicsIntel HD 4000

Storage8 GB available space

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