It’s the Freakin’ Weekend! So What are You Playing?

Friday! Video games! Let’s talk!

I finished up Night in the Woods on the Switch last night, which is a 2D adventure game that plays out like those between-mission segments in Mass Effect 2 where you run around the Normandy and talk with all of your squadmates. Featuring an entire cast of bipedal animals, it takes place in the small fictional town of Possum Springs. You play as Mae, a 20-year-old catgirl who returns home after dropping out of college, much to the disappointment of her family. Most of her friends still reside there, working at the local Snack Falcon or running the family business, and every day is spent exploring the town and conversing with its inhabitants.

There’s a mystery element at play, where the friends discover a severed arm outside of the local diner, but 90% of the adventure is waking up the next day and seeing what everyone in town has to say. Mae can choose which friend to hang out with — the goth crocodile Bea, the old best friend *slash* irresponsible delinquent fox Gregg, and on occasion, Gregg’s boyfriend Angus. These play out as little side-stories, which further the friendships and tinker with ones and zeroes in the background to determine who appears in late-game cutscenes. There’s also rhythm mini-games since Mae and company used to be in a band back in high school, along with between-day dream sequences in which Mae must locate four hidden characters in order to summon a gigantic dream creature that startles her awake the following morning.

That’s… basically it. It’s definitely a narrative game more than an adventure since there’s no traditional inventory management and very minimal item collection or puzzle solving. It’s incredibly well written and charming, and I loved the small-town mystery surrounding Possum Springs. I always looked forward to waking up the next day and scaling the rooftops to stargaze with an old science teacher, speak with mom on her way to work, learn about Mae’s deceased grandfather from an aging friend down in the sewer, salvaging for junk, playing bass guitar, and diving into an in-game retro game called Demontower on Mae’s laptop. Watching the narrative unfold as I befriended the understandably cranky and sad Bea provided some intense and relatable dialogue between the two struggling young adults, and the story as a whole should hit home with just about anyone who moved away from wherever they grew up and later returned, only to discover everything was… different. If you struggled to understand what “being normal” meant as you transitioned into adulthood (and still do) this is the game for you.

If one of your favorite aspects of Mass Effect was simply talking to your crew aboard the Normandy, then I definitely urge you to check out Night in the Woods at your earliest convenience. The art style, the music, the writing… it’s all fantastic. There isn’t much “game” here, just an 8-hour story to walk yourself through, but it was a great way to cap off the last four nights and I’m kinda sad it’s over.

Next on the list is The Fall Part 2: Unbound, which is the sequel to one of my favorite sci-fi games of all time, The Fall. It follows the same 2D point-and-click/action shooter hybrid formula of the original, but the reception has been surprisingly mixed thus far. The Fall didn’t play very well, particularly the shooting bits and interacting with the environment, but the writing was top notch and it featured a stellar ending that I didn’t smell around every corner. I fully expect Unbound to have the same ups and downs.

I also picked up Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology for the 3DS yesterday, which I’ll dive into after The Fall Part 2 is over. I wasn’t expecting such a big box, but I’m always a fan of extra goodies packed in with my new RPG purchases.

I was hungry for an RPG on my Switch, so I caved and picked up Mercenaries Saga Chronicles earlier in the week. This collection packs together all three SRPGs into a generously priced $15 download. The first game was only released on mobile devices, but the second and third made their way to the 3DS’s eShop over the last few years. The Switch ports look pretty good! However, after picking the game up, I just never found the time to play it… and now I have Radiant Historia to scratch that RPG itch. I’m not sure when I’ll get around to Merc Saga, but it was cheap and I don’t mind supporting the console’s RPG market if the price is right.

*CHEAP PLUG*

If you’ve got a load of free time over the weekend and the Final Fantasy series holds a special place in your heart, then I urge you to check out Final Fantasy: A Crystal Compendium! Spearheaded by Well-Red Mage, A Crystal Compendium features the work of over two-dozen writers and spans the entire Final Fantasy series. I contributed an article on the dark and uneven spin-off Type-0 HD and the WordPress community at large has been hard at work detailing their own personal journies with one of the longest-running, most successful RPG franchises of all time.

*END CHEAP PLUG*

What about you, folks? Have any gaming plans this weekend? Hopefully some of you out there are playing the Switch ports of Bayonetta 1 & 2!