Night in the Woods
The Best Indie Games of February 2017
February may have given us some excellent AAA titles to enjoy, but when it comes to indie games, it was a little bit quieter. While there aren’t quite as many indie games for us to recommend as usual, that doesn’t mean there are none to look back on. Check out our picks for the best indie games to release in February 2017.
Night in the Woods puts you in control of college dropout cat, Mae Borowski, as she returns to the crumbling former mining town of Possum Springs. Though determined to reconnect with her friends and resume her quiet existence in her hometown, Mae ends up finding that a lot of things have changed since she was last in Possum Springs, and it’s down to you to explore the world, interact with other colorful, adorable characters, and just experience its story.
Night in the Woods tackles some hard-hitting and sensitive subjects like mental health, responsibility, and relationships, yet still manages to inject a good dose of humor into proceedings. The beauty of Night in the Woods is the freedom you’re given to explore and do as you wish whenever you like. After all, Mae is a dropout and has no other plans for her life, so you can smash stuff up, get drunk, and play bass to your heart’s content.
While the game suffers from some lengthy load times and a bit of a lackluster ending, these slight hitches aren’t enough to stop it from being a game you have to experience. It may be telling the story of Mae Borowski and Possum Springs, but you’ll likely come away having learned a little about yourself by the end, and that’s most definitely a sign of stellar storytelling.
