Living in a small town conjures up a lot of emotions and a unique set of struggles that those from the “big city” might not be aware of, and this game captures that.
Possum Springs isn’t a hopeful place, but its inhabitants make the best of what they have and-much as Ladybird in Ladybird-seem to love this little town they also hate. No one is rich here, not even the other citizens of Possum Springs, who are struggling with a lack of jobs in their failed mining town. Gregg and Angus both work bad retail jobs so they can save to move to the city. Bea talks about how college wasn’t an option for her after her mom died, since she had to take over the family business and learn to be an adult. Mae’s friends don’t seem to have as much as she does, even though her privilege isn’t infinite. Mae has the privilege of time off, too the game takes place over the fall semester. Her parents don’t want Mae to know about their money struggles, of course, but she does in the way kids always know something is wrong with their parents. However, the Borowskis are in danger of losing their house because of the therapy Mae had to attend after her high school incident, and because of her college tuition. They have a house, unlike Bea or Gregg and Angus, and Mae is the first Borowski to go to college. For example, the Borowski’s seem to be an immigrant family (judging from their name, Mae’s grandfather’s stories of the old country), but they’ve settled into a fairly comfortable life. Mae does have some amount of privilege, but it has its limits. The setting also allows the game to comment on class in a way many other games can’t or don’t. She can’t escape the past, and that sometimes overwhelms her.Īlso, there’s the added issue of there being nothing to do in Possum Springs, leading Mae and Gregg do do what they call Crimes (which, you know, are actual crimes, but also seem pretty minor in their illegality). To those who don’t know her well, Mae is frozen in time as her high school self. Everyone in Possum Springs knows Mae and will never forget her transgressions.
Now, store fronts are boarded up and people all have to travel outside of town to work or do their shopping. Possum Springs is a true small town and it feels very familiar to me specifically, because my town seems similar Soperton once had lots of jobs and a better economy, but all that was gone by the time I was born. They show Mae grace when she doesn’t have any to give in return. Yes, her friends call her on her crap-they don’t let her be a jerk-but they also show concern and love. Most importantly, the game doesn’t punish Mae for this, and neither do the other characters in the game. She focuses on and imagines wild scenarios. She can’t sleep normally (both because she has terrible, weird dreams and because she stays up at weird hours). Mostly, Mae strugglings with feeling empty. The game never specifically names what’s going on with Mae, but her symptoms line up with depression and anxiety. It’s possible that my reading of the game as the story of a young girl dealing with untreated mental disability isn’t the only way to view the game, but it is an important one. There are a lot of things that make this game great, but its deft handling of mental illness is what makes it truly shine. If you don’t want to be spoiled for the game, stop reading now. Mae also begins to uncover a malicious plot that threatens to young people of the town. Mae lives day to day in Possum Springs, hanging out with her old friends and talking to people in town. Mae-and others around town-also mention something that happened in high school, something that earned Mae the nickname “killer”- but that comes later as well.
Some instigating event pushed Mae to quit school, but the details of that event aren’t fully revealed until much later in the game.
Originally the product of a successful Kickstarter campaign, the game follows Mae Borowski, a recent college dropout, who returns to her small hometown of Possum Springs. Night in the Woods was released in early 2017, but it’s been in development for years.
#Night in the woods weird autumn edition cost Patch#
I recently replayed the game, along with a patch (the “Weird Autumn” expansion) that turns the game into a director’s cut of sorts, and knew that more attention needed to be paid to this charming game. I listed it as my absolute top thing of 2017 in our year in review episode, but I didn’t feel like I said enough about it. One of my favorite things of 2017 was Night in the Woods, a game developed by Infinite Fall and Secret Lab.
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