No reception here
I wave my black phone
In the air like a flare
Like a prayer
But no reception
I read on the Internet baby face boy billionaire
Phone app sold made more money in one day than my family over 100 generations
More than my whole world ever has
A World where house-buying jobs became rent-paying jobs became living with family jobs
Boy billionaires
Money is access
Access to politicians waiting for us to die, lead in our water, alcohol and painkillers
Replace my job with an app
Replace my dreams of a house and a yard
With a couch in the basement
“The future is yours!”
Forced 24-7 entrepreneurs.
I just want a paycheck and my own life
I’m on the couch in the basement, they’re in the house and the yard
Some night I will catch a bus out to the west coast
And burn their silicon city to the ground
--- Selmers
I wave my black phone
In the air like a flare
Like a prayer
But no reception
I read on the Internet baby face boy billionaire
Phone app sold made more money in one day than my family over 100 generations
More than my whole world ever has
A World where house-buying jobs became rent-paying jobs became living with family jobs
Boy billionaires
Money is access
Access to politicians waiting for us to die, lead in our water, alcohol and painkillers
Replace my job with an app
Replace my dreams of a house and a yard
With a couch in the basement
“The future is yours!”
Forced 24-7 entrepreneurs.
I just want a paycheck and my own life
I’m on the couch in the basement, they’re in the house and the yard
Some night I will catch a bus out to the west coast
And burn their silicon city to the ground
--- Selmers
Night In The Woods (NITW) is a game produced by a small team and released in 2017. Since its launch, players have been captivated by its storytelling, writing, and unique display of mental illness with its characters. There’s tons of symbolism packed into the game regarding the history of Possum Springs and the cult that dwells in it.
This review will contain major spoilers, but I strongly encourage you to play the game and experience every character route for yourself. It’s beautifully animated, and although the 24-hour completion time may be intimidating, I honestly feel as though this is the closest we could get to “If a traditional American novel were a game”.
With that out of the way, let’s get started.
This review will contain major spoilers, but I strongly encourage you to play the game and experience every character route for yourself. It’s beautifully animated, and although the 24-hour completion time may be intimidating, I honestly feel as though this is the closest we could get to “If a traditional American novel were a game”.
With that out of the way, let’s get started.
Mae & Co. V. PovertY
Booting up the game, we’re introduced to our main character, Mae Boroski: College dropout, total trash mammal. We quickly learn that she is returning home to Possum Springs, a rundown small town with impoverished residents. I’ll come back and speak about Mae’s situation in a moment, though.
The setting of the story is crucial to the driving motivations behind every character, and I LOVE THIS. The helplessness of living isolated from the rest of the world in a town that barely has jobs or internet feels so despairing. Mae’s friends are suffering from this, but coping in very polarizing ways. Their town is falling apart around them, completely disenfranchised-- But it’s not as simple as just leaving.
Upon entering town and reuniting with our band of rag-tag outcasts, a very interesting point is brought up.
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Where’s Casey? Casey has been missing for months, but according to Greg, everyone assumes he jumped a train and left the town. No phone calls, no emails, no text messages. A clean break. Based on the nature of this game, though, you can probably guess this won't be the case. Bea is stuck here just like Mae appears to be, running the shop in her father’s place after losing her mother to cancer. In the wake of these unpayable medical bills, they also lost their house and now live in an apartment. She wants to go to college more than anything in the world, even telling Mae, “I’d kick you out of this moving car right now if it meant I could go to college.” |
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Mae and Bea’s relationship is tense, but the term “Best available friend” could not apply more than ever right now. All they have is each other, in a world that has forgotten about them. Bea attends college parties and pretends for just once a month that she’s living her dream life, instead of being stuck behind the counter of the hardware store forever. She can’t leave her father behind, and there’s nowhere for her to go if she did. She’s trapped.
Greg and Angus, on the other hand, reveal that they plan on moving out of town to a place called ‘Bright Harbor’. They’re excited for these plans, basically working every day to make them possible. Mae is less than enthusiastic about Greg leaving, considering how close the two were. In my personal opinion, Greg becomes a stand-in for Casey in this sense. Although we never met Casey, we can pick up that Greg and Casey were extremely similar and extremely close to each other.
Angus, my personal favorite, is Greg’s boyfriend. We learn about his traumatic past and how he grew from it as a person. He’s arguably the most functional person in the group, aside from Bea. He had an unhealthy childhood and still has a terrible relationship with his parents. Angus is not as trapped as Bea or Mae, but you can’t help worrying about what kind of misfortunes await Greg and him when they move away.
Finally, we have Mae. nicknamed Killer by the locals after her incident in middle school, Mae has recently dropped out of college for reasons she refuses to tell anyone. We play the game as her, experience the world as her, and it makes our POV very shaky in terms of reliable narration. Anyone can be led to believe that the cloaked man who kidnapped that teenager during Harvfest (Halloween) was actually a ghost, as Mae seems dead-set on proving this after experiencing a variety of stress-induced dreams. We jump around town and cause trouble, and at first experience this world in complete ignorance until Mae’s parents make us aware that they are probably also going to lose the house, and we are the cause of this development. Our parents took out a mortgage to afford college, and we decided to drop out without even telling them the reason. The game’s tone changes dramatically from this point, and the world feels a whole lot less colorful. We go from teen-adjacent internal problems to we messed everything up. We have many, many encounters with Mae’s mental illness that put strains on our relationships. Mae can barely function as an adult. She’s dumb and often inconsiderate. Even though she has a good heart, we come to realize that she’s extremely flawed and lacks a proper support system for her mental problems.
Speaking of support systems, why don’t we take a look at the game’s religious themes?
Greg and Angus, on the other hand, reveal that they plan on moving out of town to a place called ‘Bright Harbor’. They’re excited for these plans, basically working every day to make them possible. Mae is less than enthusiastic about Greg leaving, considering how close the two were. In my personal opinion, Greg becomes a stand-in for Casey in this sense. Although we never met Casey, we can pick up that Greg and Casey were extremely similar and extremely close to each other.
Angus, my personal favorite, is Greg’s boyfriend. We learn about his traumatic past and how he grew from it as a person. He’s arguably the most functional person in the group, aside from Bea. He had an unhealthy childhood and still has a terrible relationship with his parents. Angus is not as trapped as Bea or Mae, but you can’t help worrying about what kind of misfortunes await Greg and him when they move away.
Finally, we have Mae. nicknamed Killer by the locals after her incident in middle school, Mae has recently dropped out of college for reasons she refuses to tell anyone. We play the game as her, experience the world as her, and it makes our POV very shaky in terms of reliable narration. Anyone can be led to believe that the cloaked man who kidnapped that teenager during Harvfest (Halloween) was actually a ghost, as Mae seems dead-set on proving this after experiencing a variety of stress-induced dreams. We jump around town and cause trouble, and at first experience this world in complete ignorance until Mae’s parents make us aware that they are probably also going to lose the house, and we are the cause of this development. Our parents took out a mortgage to afford college, and we decided to drop out without even telling them the reason. The game’s tone changes dramatically from this point, and the world feels a whole lot less colorful. We go from teen-adjacent internal problems to we messed everything up. We have many, many encounters with Mae’s mental illness that put strains on our relationships. Mae can barely function as an adult. She’s dumb and often inconsiderate. Even though she has a good heart, we come to realize that she’s extremely flawed and lacks a proper support system for her mental problems.
Speaking of support systems, why don’t we take a look at the game’s religious themes?
Black GoaT
In addition to the lurking threat of mental illness and poverty, the game has very interesting discussions about religion - Why do we believe in religion? What does the word ‘god’ mean to you? What is the role of figures like pastors in our communities?
It’s definitely one of my favorite points made about churches in disenfranchised towns and neighborhoods, especially because of Pastor Kate and Mae’s discussion about the local homeless man, Bruce. Pastor Kate is trying to convince the town council to turn abandoned buildings into homeless shelters, but the council refuses because they want to ‘get the attention of the market’. It’s a very sad side-plot with a very sad conclusion-- Not everything works out for everyone, even if we believe in a god with all our hearts. That’s just the reality of the situation.
For Bea, who has been catholic since birth and continues to practice this religion, it means praying for a better life to come and save her from this inescapable hell. Angus has chosen to stop believing in religion and the supernatural, because being able to prove there’s a scientific reason behind everything brings him more comfort than a god ever could while he was a child.
This theme of believing in some higher power in the face of helplessness continues throughout the game. It even stretches into the ‘antagonists’ of this story, a cult beneath the old mines that worships a being at the bottom of the hole. They call this entity “The Black Goat”.
This is the scene where we learn about what really happened to Casey, and likely what also happened to the kid Mae witnessed getting kidnapped earlier in the game. The cult has been taking teens they see as ‘hopeless delinquents’ and tossing them down into the hole, believing it brings new jobs and prosperity to Possum Springs. We also come to learn that the cult is primarily made of what appears to likely be middle-aged men with conservative-aligned views, as one of the members comments, “Immigrants are taking our jobs”. Regardless of how ridiculous this sounds, the peril of not ‘feeding the goat’ is very real to the people of this cult. We know, based on texts from old newspapers and the origins of the mines, that this cult has been around for a very long time.
The mines and the history of Possum Springs bring another prominent theme to the table.
It’s definitely one of my favorite points made about churches in disenfranchised towns and neighborhoods, especially because of Pastor Kate and Mae’s discussion about the local homeless man, Bruce. Pastor Kate is trying to convince the town council to turn abandoned buildings into homeless shelters, but the council refuses because they want to ‘get the attention of the market’. It’s a very sad side-plot with a very sad conclusion-- Not everything works out for everyone, even if we believe in a god with all our hearts. That’s just the reality of the situation.
For Bea, who has been catholic since birth and continues to practice this religion, it means praying for a better life to come and save her from this inescapable hell. Angus has chosen to stop believing in religion and the supernatural, because being able to prove there’s a scientific reason behind everything brings him more comfort than a god ever could while he was a child.
This theme of believing in some higher power in the face of helplessness continues throughout the game. It even stretches into the ‘antagonists’ of this story, a cult beneath the old mines that worships a being at the bottom of the hole. They call this entity “The Black Goat”.
This is the scene where we learn about what really happened to Casey, and likely what also happened to the kid Mae witnessed getting kidnapped earlier in the game. The cult has been taking teens they see as ‘hopeless delinquents’ and tossing them down into the hole, believing it brings new jobs and prosperity to Possum Springs. We also come to learn that the cult is primarily made of what appears to likely be middle-aged men with conservative-aligned views, as one of the members comments, “Immigrants are taking our jobs”. Regardless of how ridiculous this sounds, the peril of not ‘feeding the goat’ is very real to the people of this cult. We know, based on texts from old newspapers and the origins of the mines, that this cult has been around for a very long time.
The mines and the history of Possum Springs bring another prominent theme to the table.
The Unions
For a fictional town, Possum Springs is written with a rich history. We learn about this beautiful town through dialogue from elderly characters, stories and mythos from younger characters, and there’s a section in the game that requires us to read through vintage newspapers for mentions of ‘ghosts’.
The newspapers give us most of the information here, as we learn that Possum Springs was actually quite prosperous beforehand. There was a glass factory and a mine that became the pinnacle of most of the themes of the game.
The game makes sure to bring the workers’ rights issues to the forefront of the historical Possum Springs. There’s the “Possum Massacre”, the flood that took out half the town, gas leaks, strikes, unions, and even a clipping implied to be the beginnings of our Black Goat Cult. I would prefer if you read through this section on your own playthrough, considering it’s one of the most interesting sections of the game, especially if you’re someone who enjoys historical fiction.
The newspapers give us most of the information here, as we learn that Possum Springs was actually quite prosperous beforehand. There was a glass factory and a mine that became the pinnacle of most of the themes of the game.
The game makes sure to bring the workers’ rights issues to the forefront of the historical Possum Springs. There’s the “Possum Massacre”, the flood that took out half the town, gas leaks, strikes, unions, and even a clipping implied to be the beginnings of our Black Goat Cult. I would prefer if you read through this section on your own playthrough, considering it’s one of the most interesting sections of the game, especially if you’re someone who enjoys historical fiction.
The Hole At The Center Of EverythinG
Ending this review, there’s still a lot I missed and wish I could cover, but I’ll leave that for you to discover on your own. I hardly even touched on the portrayal of escalating delusion regarding Mae’s Wild ‘Ghost’ Chases, the intriguing side characters like Lori and Germ, or even the events of the game itself. I’ve played both Bea and Greg’s mainline routes more times than I could count on my hands, and I never get tired of them.
The game is a very touching, unforgettable story with an artstyle that you rarely see in other games. I’m sad the studio, unfortunately, wouldn’t be making any new games anytime soon, but I’ll be ready if they ever rise from the ashes and revamp their cancelled project, Revenant Hill.
Goodnight, and hug your friends. Because you never know when you might be trapped at the bottom of a mine being hunted by a cult.
