This was the first game I bought with my own money. I related to Mae so much and the story itself felt like a friend I could always come to if I needed a bit of comfort or a little advice
Yeah... Perpetual failure I am, the only almost good decision I made was not going into college debt. Still wonder if it'd be a good idea to take maybe a welding class or something. But money is forever a problem anyway.
I also remember being 13 when this game came out. Mae’s speech about seeing the people and things she once loved as “shapes” really hit me back then because I was struggling with depression and dissociation. It was the first time I thought, “Oh my god, someone gets it”
I was 13, too! And I'd actually just started to RECOVER from a severe depression I'd fallen into at age 8. I switched to a new class, I made a trio of really good friends who I still talk to now (at least, 2/3?) and for once... I actually felt like I was living a youth worth remembering. I remember relating to Angus the most due to his story, and I listen to the OST from it all the time. It's funny, though. Because instead of somebody's Angus, I grew up to be a lot more like Gregg.
As someone who played this game at 22 after dropping out of college: This game fucking destroyed me and at the same time it helped me start putting myself back together. I don't think I exagerate when I say I doubt I'd be in the same position I'm in today if it weren't for this game. This is, without a shadow of a doubt, the most influencial piece of media in my life. Thank you for covering it. I'm a bit fearful of what you'll say, which I know is dumb cause everyone has their own opinions and the right to have them.
It's understandable to be affected by what people say about a piece of media that is close to your heart, I don't think that's dumb at all. And congrats on the progress you've made, I hope you continue growing and learning.
I feel the same about this game. Being broken then put back together. This game is also one of the things that me and my crush bonded over... And we're getting married in October! We are even getting a tattoo of something from the game as a wedding gift to ourselves
This is exactly what happened to me. It didn’t affect me at all on my first playthrough (probably because I wasn’t in a place where I could fully relate to/understand the characters) but I picked up the game a couple years later at a very different stage in life. It felt so strange because it was simultaneously giving me more anxiety and resolving some of my inner turmoil at the same time. I felt uneasy playing it but finishing it and hearing Mae’s speech in the cave gave me this weird sense of closure. Replayed it so many times since then and it will forever be one of my fave games 💗
fun fact: on certain days, you can find two musicians playing by themselves. if you reunite them, you'll learn about the band known as the DHH, a group of 4 musicians whos legacy would end with them dying in the woods. the description of each musician matches with the ones you can find during mae's dreams, despite mae not knowing about the DHH prior
@@YARGGG_GG Okay I apologize but. I was wrong. It was evidence to suggest he was a part of a secret society not the cult. In the library where you find newspaper articles near the end you can find one titled Tale of Teeth. That detailed how miners made a secret society after pulling their boss's teeth out. And Mae can find a tooth in an old safe in the crawlspace.
@@blazeofficial3885 oh right. yeah, that was more a workers rights thing than a sacrificing kids to a demon thing. i can see how you'd mix it up though, it's pretty morbid.
So a fun bit of cut content info was that in the original drafts of this game, it was going to be much more clear what was going on with Mae and their weird dreams, mental issues, and the sudden sickness. It was written to be made clear that Mae was having supernatural experiences with things greater than themselves. However, this aspect was dropped, as the writer felt that the ambiguity served the story better, and the supernatural elements just got in the way of where the real message of the story lied. He realize the much better story was instead in one coping with their life and returning to their small, nowhere town in the coal belt without a clue what to do with themselves. And thus all the supernatural elements were pushed into a place, where they might be real, or well, Mae might just be a person with poor mental health having fever dreams due to being physically ill. There's no wrong answer there, and I love to ask people after they finish the game; "Did Mae have special powers?" just to read their reactions. I also love when people try to figure out who the members of the group at the end were, by looking at who's not in town anymore in the final scene.
I personally like to think that Mae has both mental issues AND psychic powers, and that the two influenced each other. I say that last part because I think the idea of her powers being the cause of her issues would be very reductive to the game’s messaging, but I do think the two are interlinked. Like, one may exacerbate the other
That was a good call. Having it ambiguous is better than just saying that all the supernatural stuff is real. I believe that the dreams are just dreams, but I also believe that the black goat is real and that the Janitor is also a god
I feel that the supernatural aspects were real, but The Goat was having an influence on Mae. Her fragile mental state made her highly susceptible to this and it was what was causing the dreams and headaches. I don't feel she had any actual powers, but it was just The Goat acting on her mental issues. It's obviously based off of a Cthulu styled Old One, and that's an aspect of the Old Ones. Influencing those with weak or compromised mental states. It's obvious there was some supernatural shenanigans going on, with the final scene with Eide being the big tell with that. There was NO way he could have gotten up that shaft after the gang had taken the elevator, just like he went through the fence.
Not a college dropout but as a kid who was "gifted" their whole life that ignored being extremely depressed and AuDHD, freshman year college was so horrible for me and after coming home for the summer where everyone was in the same state where we grew up, i felt so . nonexistant. Mae's journey is really similar to how i ended up figuring things out... it only took years to end up getting there. We're gonna make it out guys!
My crash was freshman year of high school! Now, 10 years later, I got diagnosed just a few weeks ago. I feel you so much. I’m grateful my younger sister will have better resources and less stigma
Night in the woods is what made me get into art. For so long i was thought art was just entertainment but when i played life is strange and thought it was good, then immediately played nights in the woods i said "oh... so this is just life is strange but actually good..." and ever since ive been into art critique and writting. It sucks becuase i cant "turn off my brain" anymore so I can't enjoy bad art at all but the highs of good art is better than any drug.
Yo I used to be in the same boat with the “not turning off your brain to enjoy bad art”…. But when you get to the point where you acquire that skill too, it’s amazing. Enjoying bad art for the good it does have, or just because it’s fun to YOU… it’s great. In my case, I have a game that is so into its retro 70s future vibe, with great music, voice acting and story that I can’t help but adore it despite being very broken, buggy and repetitive. Like it is in my top five games of all time, beside actual good games lol
@@zachanikwano most definitely. It's good to have that skill to see the good in bad, but it also sometimes means you find things bad everybody sees as good and you feel like a freaking hipster but you can't deny how bad it is
This game saved me last year, more specifically the song Die Anywhere Else. I was living with my family after a failed engagement and ended up stuck for 3 years just spinning my wheels. At the end of the song I could and can only think of Mae's line to the black goat "I want it to hurt." I lost most of who I was, and only lost more by stagnating, this game got me to move forward, to get attached and allow myself to feel because the pain of loss shows it means something.
What I love about the game is backstory, everyone has problems in the game and they don't have it easy. Just like in real life. This game is so well done. The main character hits me as someone who had to drop out of college for a while, it was a mix of the pandemic among other things. I'm trying to get back in just to get something for a job.
going into this i was admittedly a little scared. night in the woods is such an important game for me (i make sure to play it every year, even more so try to play it for halloween), and i was worried that mae might get misinterpreted as an objectively bad person (as i've seen that happen before). but seeing that you recognized that while mae has flaws she very much cares for her friends and family cured my faith in humanity. this was a wonderful overview of the game that even gave me more insight on some scenes that i hadn't realized before, and showed me some cool details i've missed (like mae dissolving into shapes at the end of her dreams). now i wish fall would hurry up for my yearly replay of this game thanks to this video :3
I think my favorite thing about this game is that it outright *promises* that you *will* get through this, you *will* put yourself back together again, and it *will* hurt, but it's *worth it.*
The soundtrack to this game will probably live with me for the rest of my life. There's something whimsically depressing and nostalgic about it that just makes it oddly great to listen to when on a walk. Having recently played through the game again for the second time 7 years later, it still hits me in the feels hard. And when I play it again 10 years from now, I can almost guarantee it's gonna hit me the same way.
I remember relating to Mae heavily when I first played the game. In high school, I had a mental breakdown where I started to feel like nothing around me was real, like I was outside of my body and looking at myself going through life without actually experiencing it. I had to be home schooled after having a full blown panic attack in the middle of a crowded hallway. I didn’t leave my house for eight years because I developed a fear of people and I still experienced those dreamlike moments where nothing felt real to me. The way Mae describes seeing others as shapes is exactly how it felt. I was finally diagnosed with complex post traumatic stress disorder, which I think Mae might be experiencing too. Given the hints to her dad being a violent drunk, it’s entirely likely.
The part about Bea and Mae both feeling trapped in their own way... _god_ , I felt that so hard. I've felt trapped in my small town for over a decade, after getting swindled into a crappy art "college" that I wasn't even allowed to drop out of when it got too much for me in the next-to-last semester. I can't get a job for any number of reasons, the one time I did I got fired after a week, so I can't make any money to move out on my own much less skip town or even get out of this state. We recently moved out to the middle of nowhere because dad wanted to return home to his nostalgic farmland, not giving a shit about how that was _my and mom's home_ and how this place is absolute garbage for my mental health as I learned while away in "college" that I feel best in an urban environment. And now, even if I could find stable work and get the money saved up to do so, I still can't just leave because no one would be here to take care of the puppy when Mom and Dad are at work, no lunch, no twice daily walks, definitely no weekly visit to Petco to see his buddies. Not to mention I'm openly atheist, leftist, and _very_ queer in a state that's about as red as the plumage of its state bird politically-speaking, so unless some major changes in its citizenry's values and the political candidate selection happen I could be one stray signature away from being legally rendered a second-class citizen or worse. There might come a time when I _need_ to gtfo for my own safety and I _can't_ and it hurts so bad that I can't, especially when the most likely safe area I know of is also where my best friend lives and I also wanna be with her so much it nearly kills me sometimes. I feel like I'm doomed to die in the place I grew up when I swore to myself I would get out of here, having accomplished nothing that I ever wanted to do with my life, and it tears me up inside whenever I can't distract myself from that feeling anymore. .......sorry for dumping all that on your video about the funnie spoopy aminal game.
@@themothman3133 Ngl I forgot I even made this rambly comment to begin with, and to randomly get reminded at 20 past midnight my time that most people do in fact care about the randos they might stumble across on the internet like this...almost started crying, thank you for the kindness ;o;
MOOD. I was diagnosed with an incurable illness and in my twenties. My college/career dreams had just up and died. The game was very relevant. Played the game during sleepless nights. A lot of dreams about cults those few days...
I haven’t experienced the feeling of living in a dying small town and wanting to leave. I painfully relate to Mae and realizing she isn’t really a bad person makes me feel safe and seen in a way I can barely articulate. Her dropping out of college, being so socially anxious and not knowing anyone. That’s familiar. Almost too familiar. Granted I finished my associates but it was pretty bad. The way she derealizes isn’t too far from my own experience. I don’t know what I’m saying or if I’m saying anything but this is/was a pleasant video to see. Night In The Woods has been very important to me and saved me on more than one occasion.
I did not expect something with such a cute aesthetic to be a full Lovecraftian horror story complete with a cult of Shub-Niggurath. I should give it a shot.
I was actually watching a playthrough of this game when I had to drop out of college due to a problematic living situation and no more financial support. I always think about this game during a hectic time in my life.
Night In the Woods saved my life; it was a huge source of comfort for me during my last year of highschool, as I was grappling with being abused and sexually assaulted by someone who was supposed to be my high school sweetheart. I was terrified that I would never amount to anything, that I wouldn't make it through the year and to my college in New York. Mae's internal dialouge, doubts, and struggles with dissociation felt so incredibly real to me. While we don't have the same pasts and conflicts exactly, all of the characters felt like parts of me (especially Angus, we...share a lot of similarities.) and it just meant so much to me to see my own mental battles presented so empathetically. So yeah. Thank you.
This game really destroyed my life recently, it’s opened my eyes to the fact I’ve been kinda desperately trying to attach some sort of meaning to these “shapes”. Idk, it’s been a wild ride. This game is an amazing thing, that has changed not just mine but so many people’s lives. Here’s to you, Night in the Woods. You’re not lost, you’re here!
Night in the Woods will forever have a place in my heart. I feel so connected to Mae, I did at 15 and I still do at 22. The terrifying reality of growing up and things changing around you while you're dealing with your own mental illness and life struggles. I remember being up very late one night after finishing some homework for college and I was playing the game on my laptop. My mom got up for her late night smoke outside and asked me to come out with her. She was never interested in any of that stuff but she watched me play and asked me questions. I will never forget about that, it's one of the good memories I have after she passed.
It's a game I've wanted to play myself but never really been able to, and even watching it has to be done in short bursts. Mainly because I relate far too much to Mae, and it's hard not to cry watching how her life has gone with the uncertainty she feels about her future.
Having played this game at a really tough transition period in my life, it resonated much more than I could've ever expected. The tired hopes of betterment with the Bea route felt like a knife driven right into my gut, having experienced similar instances to her in my life. This game will always stay a timeless masterpiece of storytelling, and I hope that the studio's next game will match these feelings of 'just trying to make it' in life that gave me a new viewpoint on moving on with my life. Besides all that rambling, perfect video detailing the little things that make this game so great, and I definitely agree that this game should be given a try by everyone watching this. Keep up the quality stuff! :D
i haven't played this game since i was like, 14... you're definitely right about the characters becoming more relatable as you get older, haha. i always really liked how mae's psychosis is portrayed from her point of view. i had to drop out of school for similar mental issues, and i don't think i've ever been able to explain it so well myself. it's a very human game despite the furry characters.
I played this game when i was 19, a fresh college dropout, and hot off a mental break where i ruined all of my major friendships for years. I came back to it recently, and it's aged like a fine wine. One of my favorite games of all time, thanks for the video!
I remember when I played Night in the Woods for the first time I was immediately attached to the game because of how realistic it felt to me. Every interaction I encountered felt so genuine plus with the soundtrack I felt pretty cozy. Definitely one of my favorite games I've played so far
Ahh wow your overview of the situation at 18:40 ish rly struck a chord with me, just because of how much it mirrors stuff I've been experiencing in my own life recently. For several years I isolated myself because I assumed that if people met me and learned about my circumstances they would judge me for them and they would not want anything to do with me. "huh so you've been leeching off your parents and playing video games all day from the age of 18-26? that's fucking pathetic, you need to grow up" that's how I assumed any social interaction would go. for some reason I found the courage/desire to try to meet new people this year. turns out most people are understanding and supportive. It's been making me understand how warped my perspective of myself is. I'm not a bad person for struggling with depression, anxiety, and ADHD. Mae isn't a bad person for struggling with her mental health issues. Bea isn't a bad person for saying some shitty things to Mae in that scene. What matters is that they both continue to try to understand each other, and that Mae in particular wants to grow and improve. a bad person would make excuses for their behavior and never grow until the day they die.
I'm so glad people are still talking about this game! I was 23 when I first played it in 2017; I had just moved back home after barely making it through college and being hospitalized after a mental breakdown, so I found a lot of comfort in Mae's story. I play it at least once a year every year now, and I have Mae tattooed on my arm with the phrase "Nightmare Eyes" 🖤🖤🖤
I remember buying this game after I had flunked a whole year of a college I wasn't too passionate for. I went out of state, I wasn't in the healthiest mindset (it was after covid) and I was going for a major that my parents mostly wanted me to get into, not because of something I wanted to do myself. I returned back home much like Mae, and seeing that my home town is moving along, continuing: places shut down and news from my friends that either they're already settling or they've acquired their own job. The troubles I've had alone made things hard to deal with, but playing through NITW, it's given me a punch of reality and a sense of relief. That I'm not the only fool who had to deal with these circumstances. Because of the impact it had on me, I've put it on a pedestal. Right along with Celeste and Hollow Knight on my Steam account.
I literally just finished this game today and legit, as a 20 year old, alot of- well, EVERYTHING hurt. The characters are so well written, the interactions so genuine and the MUSIC WAS SO GOOD! Super glad this popped up for me right as I finished the game- both to recap the story bc I didn't do it all in one go lol so I forgot some things here and there, and to hear other folks thoughts and feelings on this game. It was such a great experience And I hope me from 2017 is pleased I finally experienced it LMAO
I have never been more excited to watch a video in my life! NitW is one of my fav games of all time but goes sadly unnoticed in horror gaming circles, so nothing makes me happier than it getting coverage! Ty Ben :)
MAN NIGHT IN THE WOODS...... this game is SO important to me, it resonated so strongly with me during such a rough time in my life. i still listen to die anywhere else frequently, that song hit me so hard, with the lyrics especially
This game is my comfort game. My friends bought it for me on steam for my birthday this year and i bawled my eyes out because of how in love with the story i am and how it also helped me out while i was in college.
I played Night in the Woods for the first time when I was in high school, and I loved it so much that I used to play it every fall until I left for college. I’ve been meaning to play it again, because I know I would love it even more now that I’m older. I can’t wait for fall now.
It's so terribly upsetting what happened to the creator of Night in the Woods. He made such a lovely game and he unfortunately took his life only a few years later after he made this. It's so sad that we'll never see anything more. Anyways, thank you for covering the games of my childhood! I always get so friggin excited when I see you post something new!
He was falsely accused by a well know shit stirrer. I will never play this game because they didnt have his back when he was being accused and after he took his life they tried to sweep it under the rug.
@@Omega14289 Honestly, the situation was so messed up. It was making news everywhere around the internet, about the accusations. Everyone immediately jumped the wagon. Even his own damn family was on the accuser's side. Then when he took his own life, and it was revealed that the accusations were made up, no one cared. It was barely, if at all, talked about in news and by youtubers. And the accuser never faced justice. Not just that, they're still a big figure in gamedev. It's been years but the feelings are still fresh in my mind. It's literally unforgivable.
@@lighttheangel7955 You seem to know the old and wrong version of events. Not your fault though. Try reading on it now when everything has been settled.
this just hurt, as someone who dropped out of collage, had two years of trying to work a normal job and finally getting somewhere in my life at 22 its just.. so real. Trauma, depression and anxiety are all real things impacting anyone and this game managed to show that in a gorgeous and good way. i remember watching a lets play of it years back when it came out but just like you it felt harder to understand and grasp than now. great video and thanks for reminding me this gem exists
It has probably been repeated in several videos, but your videos are lowkey the only exception where I am happy to see the ad sponsor segment. The transition is so seamless, and the presentation of the ads are neat. Actually was tempted to get Nord VPN for once lmao.
good video, Night in the Woods might not have been as influential to me as it was to many other people, but it’s a still a nice heartwarming story about trusting the people who care about you.
I was also a young teen (about 13 / 14) when this game first did the rounds online, and god it hit hard as someone who felt like an outcast. This game saw me through college, university, dropping out of university (Mae’s story hit all the harder during that playthrough lol) and my second go at uni. It means everything to me. I even have a physical version of the game! Seeing this video in my recommended made me so happy, I’m so glad people are still talking about it!
I really relate to May. I spent the better part of the last two to three years realizing, coping, and dealing with dissociation. She's not some spitting image of what I'm dealing with, but she's about as close as I'll probably see in media. I woke up daily feeling like nothing was real, I'd look at people and see nothing more than moving flesh making noises. Even friends and family weren't real to me. on top of my fear of change and losing people close to me. May really hit close to home, and will probably continue to be one of my favorite characters ever for a long while.
A beautiful game about tragedy, with even more tragedy outside of it. Hope you're well and happy wherever you are Alec. Glad that even today this work of art is still being celebrated.
I'll Never forget this game, it did so much for my mental health when I was at my lowest years ago, it saved my life and even changed the way I viewed life, I can't even put into words how much this cute dark little game means to me.
I played this game back in high school and while I haven't played it in years, I must say it's one of my most favorite games of all time. Everything from the art to the characters and the music, helped me through some tough times and still do to this day. Thanks for covering it
A friend of mine compared me to Mae a couple weeks ago, I didn't think too hard about it before... took it as a compliment cause I thought Mae was cute Learning more about her, that was a more loaded comparison than I realized
I relate way too much to these characters, i went to college. I had aspirations and hopes to go to university but i couldnt instead i started working. I've always in the back of my head been sorta jealous of my friends, they all managed to go to uni they all finding new friends. It feels like im being left behind, i wanna support them with all my heart but part of me is still envious. I'm stuck in the same place, while they are all living their life. I get what Bee said ive been forced to grow up cause of many things, from losing loved ones, to set backs and hardships. Life hasn't really given me a break and i know no matter what i can't escape either
I had graduated college in 2017 when the game came out but didn't learn about it until near the end of 2017. I remember thinking after seeing videos of it and memes on fb being interesting. The simple children book like illustrations of the game, cast of characters, small town feels, and that feeling of having no direction in life at that age really resonated with me. I spent 6 years in college bc I switched majors, and even though I was glad to be finished and having a job right out of college, I remember the loneliness I felt sometimes in college and how it wasn't easy to really talk about even though I had plenty of friends. I never thought about dropping out but definitely felt a hopelessness with classes I really tried in but was getting by the minimum. I didn't grow up in a small town, but my city in the Midwest where I live has small town feels. Even though I've never had mental health like Mae, I've had moments where stress from work and life builds up and you just break down. What I love overall about nitw is how like in life, you come back to things in life you may have not resolved when they happened, come to some closure or not, and move forward with a new perspective.
Thank you very much for your videos, Ben!! Most likely this is your last video that I will be able to watch from Russia, because UA-cam is being banned here, and its “analogs” can’t stand even 200 people under someone’s stream :') The last three years have been very difficult for me, the situation in the world, exams, fear of the future - made me feel terrible. But it was thanks to your videos that it was easier for me to cope with all this and I am incredibly grateful to you for that! You and your friends lifted my spirits in the darkest moments, made me laugh and smile when I had no strength for anything else. It’s sad that I may not see your new videos anymore, but I will fondly remember and replay in my head the ones that I have already watched. Thank you so much, Ben. Really, thank you very much for what you do.
Crying while reading everyone’s comments. I’ve never felt so understood. I’m sorry you experienced those things and I’m proud of you all for still being here to recount it
This has to be my absolute favorite video game, the style and music with the story it tells are absolute perfect. I wish I could experience this game for the first time again.
Your video was the reason I gave this game a chance and I'm so happy that it did since this game has now become one of my absolute favourite games with 40 hours on it after 100%ing it and just enjoying all that the game has to offer. This game hit hard with the story and was insanely relatable in so many aspects :]
This video was just as good as I imagined if not better. UA-cam used to have a lot of these channels but sigh 😔. I'm glad I found this channel can't wait for the next one
a few weeks ago I was feeling a lot of things. I don't know what I was feeling, I didn't then either, it just felt like a *lot*. An overwhelming blur or static that filled my chest in all the wrong ways. I thought, somehow, that I had a song in my playlist that correlated with these feelings. I didn't know which one, just *something* that reminded me of it. I searched for 20 minutes before finding a song from the Night In The Woods OST that I had downloaded around 5 years ago. And it just felt right. It's my birthday today, and I'm feeling the same. So this was a beautiful birthday gift. Thanks.
this game came out right as I was in senior year and dear god how relatable the game is to anyone around high school going to college or just the sense of growing up, it captures the world of adulthood well with a little mystery and great story telling. I'm so glad the game still comes up with new youtubers time and time again
I was an adult i think when this came out- it was one of the first and best kickstarters I ever backed! I havent visited it in awhile, makes me want to play it again-! Thanks for sharing your enjoyment for old and new fans!
I noticed, that in the begining and in the end we met Janitor, who says that his job is to fix broken things. You know, I come back to this game when feeling broken, and Mae came back to her town because of it. Janitor explained whole game just with one line
Thank you so much for making this video. I always hear bits and pieces about this game's story and how much people love other aspects of the game; but I never really got on the train while it was popular. You're essentially giving me a second chance to appreciate the game, and it's much more fun now that I'm also Mae's age.
YOOOO NITW COVERAGE IN 2024?? NO WAY!!!! BEN YOU ARE SO COOL PLS DON'T DIE ON AUGUST 6TH!!!! but seriously this game means a lot to me. it changed the way i see certain things and also gave me a sense of comfort. this game feels like home. my home. i resonate with mae and her friends a lot, but mostly mae. we are both had troubled time in college, came back to their small and unknown towns, old friends grew up, physically and mentally, they're moving on, they have jobs, they have dreams, and you're just....you're just here. you don't know what to do, how to live, how to find a job and it makes you feel embarrassed, sad and pathetic, but you just cover it up by being "cool and reckless". you try your hardest to change but it still not enough. and it feels like you're drowning. and that's the main reason why this game is so important to my heart. it may sound corny but i replay it like every few months to just get this feeling of being somewhere where you supposed to be. i just hope that one day i could figure stuff out in my life and could move on just like mae and her friends..or at least try haha thanks again for making this video, like really thank you. you did a fantastic job and I can't wait to see more!! don't forget to rest and have a great night or day! 💥
I played this game a while back and I’m happy I got to experience the story for myself. I found the story to be interesting and I find the ending to be feel good. Also, the fact that Mae and the others cared when they find out that Casey’s been kidnapped and sacrificed to the Black Goat and the fact that Mae’s friends care enough about her that they accompany her into the woods and save her when one of the cult members tried to kidnap her demonstrate that they will always be people who care about you even if you don’t believe it.
It so interesting to see other people's take on this game I had just re-entered college after having dropped out 2 years prior when this game came out so I saw a lot of my past self in Mae.
I think this was the very first game I purchased myself when I was 17. I immediately connected with Mae despite not even being old enough to start college let alone drop out. Little did I know at the age of 25 I'd be in Mae's exact position ever since I became an adult... I've even had the argument about not having enough experience to give advice despite having good intentions.
This is one of my favorite games of all time, as I found it at a difficult time in my life. Seeing you cover it and truly portray what the game intended made my day, thank you Ben :)
**Maybe Spoilers?** At the end of the game you get a shot of Bea on her couch but her dad isn't there. I always thought that maybe he was in the cult in the mines, and based on the camera shot, Bea knows. It's been a whole seven years since I played it, so I might be mis-remembering. But man is that soundtrack awesome to revisit. Props to Alec Holowka.
How actually dare you remind me of this wonderful game. My friend gifted it to me last year, it's the game that brought him and his beau together many moons ago. And they got to talking about it while listening to the life is strange soundtrack together, the same way I happened to find that same friend! Never got around to my second run, but I look forward to it when I finally do. Also my name is opo so possum springs and the lil cirtters Mae takes care of were wonderful touches. I'm gonna wish my friend well tonight, and you, and everyone else in the comments! Enjoy Billy Cobb's cover of Die Anywhere Else for me for the first time if you haven't yet n take care
YO!!! Die Anywhere Else definitely caused some of my current taste in music! I forgot about this game until recently and behold! You upload a video! good timing!
Everything you said, I pretty much 100% agree with. I’m much older than the characters in the game (I’m late 40s), but what Mae goes through struck a very strong chord with me as my son went through very similar experiences. He passed away in 2020, but NITW feels like a little window back to when he was still here.
Replaying this stellar game with my own less-than-stellar college experience under my belt has really reshaped it in my head. Despite the supernatural elements of the game, it manages to feel very grounded and real. If there are any supernatural elements at all is really up to the individual, honestly. I love that.
I try not to think about it, maybe out of fear, but i used to have these... episodes (idk what to call them) where i would feel like my body was falling apart. Like i was disintegrating, turning into sand, dust, particles. And just cascading onto myself and into the ground. I could rationalize all day that it wasn't real or possible, but my body still felt it. Spooks me to this day. I played this game around the peak of these episodes, and Mae's explaination about the shapes made me feel seen, like i wasn't crazy or at least not alone in these kinds of dissociative feelings. And seeing others on the internet connect with that part as well only deepened that. So im grateful to the game, its creators, and the people who decided to share that they had gone through similar feelings, including the folks in these comments. Thanks for helping me feel less alone 🙂 And thank you for this video. It was great ✨
Night in the Woods is so good. There are few games that *sit* with me, and that is one of them. I haven't played the game in 7 years and it still makes me feel things so few other games have made me feel. This game will forever hold a place in my heart.
I love this game! My best friend watched me play it and we voiced the various characters. I have a lot of fond memories because of it. Glad you covered it
As others have said, I played this as a 19yo depressed person without any plans for the future and frankly it may have saved me in ways I didn't know I needed. Such a good piece of media.
Honestly, this game means a lot to me. I could ramble on and on about it, but it's nice to see you cover it! Great video as always, I love revisiting NITW every so often.
I first encountered this game through a walkthrough. I was roughly around 11-12 at the time, and just as you had, I also fell in love with it. The visuals are gorgeous and well made, the characters are fantastic to talk to, and the story tugs at the heartstrings in all the right ways for a teen/young adult, and even more! After my first watching of the game, I soon after had picked it up off steam, and now have over 30 hours spent replaying this absolutely beautiful masterpiece. I've shared it with family and friends, and I'm so happy to see more people have fallen in love with this game just like I did those 7 years ago. Thanks for covering this positively spectacular game, and I hope to see more content from you soon!
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Ben again (again) new videos
Pleas play in stars and time, its criminally underrated and i know you'd love it, pleas
Do you plan to do The Cat Lady from Harvester Games? 🐈⬛
I've recently been on an outer Wilds reaction binge and would love to see you cover that game and it's DLC
the transhitsin into the ad was rellay good well done
As an actual 20 something college dropout from a small town. This game hurts. And it's so good.
Can you say,
“It hurts so good”?
Edit: it appears only 7 people got the reference
I remember crying playing this game and telling all my friends "she's literally me"
This was the first game I bought with my own money. I related to Mae so much and the story itself felt like a friend I could always come to if I needed a bit of comfort or a little advice
Yikes
Yeah... Perpetual failure I am, the only almost good decision I made was not going into college debt. Still wonder if it'd be a good idea to take maybe a welding class or something. But money is forever a problem anyway.
I also remember being 13 when this game came out. Mae’s speech about seeing the people and things she once loved as “shapes” really hit me back then because I was struggling with depression and dissociation. It was the first time I thought, “Oh my god, someone gets it”
same + that line really stuck with me too it's the main one I remembered all this time
I found it embarrassing to see myself in Mae. The only difference is that I ended up alone and it was my fault.
I was 13, too! And I'd actually just started to RECOVER from a severe depression I'd fallen into at age 8. I switched to a new class, I made a trio of really good friends who I still talk to now (at least, 2/3?) and for once... I actually felt like I was living a youth worth remembering. I remember relating to Angus the most due to his story, and I listen to the OST from it all the time. It's funny, though. Because instead of somebody's Angus, I grew up to be a lot more like Gregg.
As someone who played this game at 22 after dropping out of college: This game fucking destroyed me and at the same time it helped me start putting myself back together.
I don't think I exagerate when I say I doubt I'd be in the same position I'm in today if it weren't for this game.
This is, without a shadow of a doubt, the most influencial piece of media in my life. Thank you for covering it. I'm a bit fearful of what you'll say, which I know is dumb cause everyone has their own opinions and the right to have them.
Good job on getting your life back together
It's understandable to be affected by what people say about a piece of media that is close to your heart, I don't think that's dumb at all. And congrats on the progress you've made, I hope you continue growing and learning.
I feel the same about this game. Being broken then put back together. This game is also one of the things that me and my crush bonded over... And we're getting married in October! We are even getting a tattoo of something from the game as a wedding gift to ourselves
@@MintyFreshCupcakes Ok, this is the sweetest thing I've read today.
Congrats for everything, and best wishes for you and your fiance!
This is exactly what happened to me. It didn’t affect me at all on my first playthrough (probably because I wasn’t in a place where I could fully relate to/understand the characters) but I picked up the game a couple years later at a very different stage in life. It felt so strange because it was simultaneously giving me more anxiety and resolving some of my inner turmoil at the same time. I felt uneasy playing it but finishing it and hearing Mae’s speech in the cave gave me this weird sense of closure. Replayed it so many times since then and it will forever be one of my fave games 💗
fun fact: on certain days, you can find two musicians playing by themselves. if you reunite them, you'll learn about the band known as the DHH, a group of 4 musicians whos legacy would end with them dying in the woods. the description of each musician matches with the ones you can find during mae's dreams, despite mae not knowing about the DHH prior
that’s so cool,
do you think it symbolizes mae angus bea and gregg ?
If I remember correctly there is a hidden piece of evidence you can find that suggests Mae's own grandfather was a part of the cult I believe.
that's wild, do you remember what the evidence was?
@@YARGGG_GG Okay I apologize but. I was wrong. It was evidence to suggest he was a part of a secret society not the cult. In the library where you find newspaper articles near the end you can find one titled Tale of Teeth. That detailed how miners made a secret society after pulling their boss's teeth out. And Mae can find a tooth in an old safe in the crawlspace.
@@blazeofficial3885 oh right. yeah, that was more a workers rights thing than a sacrificing kids to a demon thing. i can see how you'd mix it up though, it's pretty morbid.
@@blazeofficial3885 oh thank god
@@blazeofficial3885 that secret society is probably the cult..?
So a fun bit of cut content info was that in the original drafts of this game, it was going to be much more clear what was going on with Mae and their weird dreams, mental issues, and the sudden sickness. It was written to be made clear that Mae was having supernatural experiences with things greater than themselves. However, this aspect was dropped, as the writer felt that the ambiguity served the story better, and the supernatural elements just got in the way of where the real message of the story lied. He realize the much better story was instead in one coping with their life and returning to their small, nowhere town in the coal belt without a clue what to do with themselves. And thus all the supernatural elements were pushed into a place, where they might be real, or well, Mae might just be a person with poor mental health having fever dreams due to being physically ill. There's no wrong answer there, and I love to ask people after they finish the game; "Did Mae have special powers?" just to read their reactions.
I also love when people try to figure out who the members of the group at the end were, by looking at who's not in town anymore in the final scene.
I personally like to think that Mae has both mental issues AND psychic powers, and that the two influenced each other. I say that last part because I think the idea of her powers being the cause of her issues would be very reductive to the game’s messaging, but I do think the two are interlinked. Like, one may exacerbate the other
That was a good call. Having it ambiguous is better than just saying that all the supernatural stuff is real. I believe that the dreams are just dreams, but I also believe that the black goat is real and that the Janitor is also a god
I feel that the supernatural aspects were real, but The Goat was having an influence on Mae. Her fragile mental state made her highly susceptible to this and it was what was causing the dreams and headaches. I don't feel she had any actual powers, but it was just The Goat acting on her mental issues. It's obviously based off of a Cthulu styled Old One, and that's an aspect of the Old Ones. Influencing those with weak or compromised mental states. It's obvious there was some supernatural shenanigans going on, with the final scene with Eide being the big tell with that. There was NO way he could have gotten up that shaft after the gang had taken the elevator, just like he went through the fence.
Not a college dropout but as a kid who was "gifted" their whole life that ignored being extremely depressed and AuDHD, freshman year college was so horrible for me and after coming home for the summer where everyone was in the same state where we grew up, i felt so . nonexistant. Mae's journey is really similar to how i ended up figuring things out... it only took years to end up getting there. We're gonna make it out guys!
My crash was freshman year of high school! Now, 10 years later, I got diagnosed just a few weeks ago. I feel you so much. I’m grateful my younger sister will have better resources and less stigma
Night in the woods is what made me get into art. For so long i was thought art was just entertainment but when i played life is strange and thought it was good, then immediately played nights in the woods i said "oh... so this is just life is strange but actually good..." and ever since ive been into art critique and writting. It sucks becuase i cant "turn off my brain" anymore so I can't enjoy bad art at all but the highs of good art is better than any drug.
I feel you exactly, especially about the last part! I'm so glad I found someone who feels the same.
Yo I used to be in the same boat with the “not turning off your brain to enjoy bad art”…. But when you get to the point where you acquire that skill too, it’s amazing. Enjoying bad art for the good it does have, or just because it’s fun to YOU… it’s great.
In my case, I have a game that is so into its retro 70s future vibe, with great music, voice acting and story that I can’t help but adore it despite being very broken, buggy and repetitive.
Like it is in my top five games of all time, beside actual good games lol
@@zachanikwano most definitely. It's good to have that skill to see the good in bad, but it also sometimes means you find things bad everybody sees as good and you feel like a freaking hipster but you can't deny how bad it is
@zachanikwano what game is it please please please pretty please beautiful please gorgeous please ugly please 🙏🙏🙏🥺🥺🥺
Same, this game inspired me to became an artist
This game saved me last year, more specifically the song Die Anywhere Else. I was living with my family after a failed engagement and ended up stuck for 3 years just spinning my wheels. At the end of the song I could and can only think of Mae's line to the black goat "I want it to hurt." I lost most of who I was, and only lost more by stagnating, this game got me to move forward, to get attached and allow myself to feel because the pain of loss shows it means something.
What I love about the game is backstory, everyone has problems in the game and they don't have it easy. Just like in real life. This game is so well done.
The main character hits me as someone who had to drop out of college for a while, it was a mix of the pandemic among other things. I'm trying to get back in just to get something for a job.
going into this i was admittedly a little scared. night in the woods is such an important game for me (i make sure to play it every year, even more so try to play it for halloween), and i was worried that mae might get misinterpreted as an objectively bad person (as i've seen that happen before). but seeing that you recognized that while mae has flaws she very much cares for her friends and family cured my faith in humanity. this was a wonderful overview of the game that even gave me more insight on some scenes that i hadn't realized before, and showed me some cool details i've missed (like mae dissolving into shapes at the end of her dreams). now i wish fall would hurry up for my yearly replay of this game thanks to this video :3
I think my favorite thing about this game is that it outright *promises* that you *will* get through this, you *will* put yourself back together again, and it *will* hurt, but it's *worth it.*
The soundtrack to this game will probably live with me for the rest of my life. There's something whimsically depressing and nostalgic about it that just makes it oddly great to listen to when on a walk. Having recently played through the game again for the second time 7 years later, it still hits me in the feels hard. And when I play it again 10 years from now, I can almost guarantee it's gonna hit me the same way.
Hey its the horror boundary break guy
Alec Hollowka made Nitw the way it is with his song. Rip. I still remember the week after that day... everyone that played the game weeped...
I remember relating to Mae heavily when I first played the game. In high school, I had a mental breakdown where I started to feel like nothing around me was real, like I was outside of my body and looking at myself going through life without actually experiencing it. I had to be home schooled after having a full blown panic attack in the middle of a crowded hallway. I didn’t leave my house for eight years because I developed a fear of people and I still experienced those dreamlike moments where nothing felt real to me. The way Mae describes seeing others as shapes is exactly how it felt. I was finally diagnosed with complex post traumatic stress disorder, which I think Mae might be experiencing too. Given the hints to her dad being a violent drunk, it’s entirely likely.
The part about Bea and Mae both feeling trapped in their own way... _god_ , I felt that so hard. I've felt trapped in my small town for over a decade, after getting swindled into a crappy art "college" that I wasn't even allowed to drop out of when it got too much for me in the next-to-last semester. I can't get a job for any number of reasons, the one time I did I got fired after a week, so I can't make any money to move out on my own much less skip town or even get out of this state. We recently moved out to the middle of nowhere because dad wanted to return home to his nostalgic farmland, not giving a shit about how that was _my and mom's home_ and how this place is absolute garbage for my mental health as I learned while away in "college" that I feel best in an urban environment. And now, even if I could find stable work and get the money saved up to do so, I still can't just leave because no one would be here to take care of the puppy when Mom and Dad are at work, no lunch, no twice daily walks, definitely no weekly visit to Petco to see his buddies. Not to mention I'm openly atheist, leftist, and _very_ queer in a state that's about as red as the plumage of its state bird politically-speaking, so unless some major changes in its citizenry's values and the political candidate selection happen I could be one stray signature away from being legally rendered a second-class citizen or worse. There might come a time when I _need_ to gtfo for my own safety and I _can't_ and it hurts so bad that I can't, especially when the most likely safe area I know of is also where my best friend lives and I also wanna be with her so much it nearly kills me sometimes. I feel like I'm doomed to die in the place I grew up when I swore to myself I would get out of here, having accomplished nothing that I ever wanted to do with my life, and it tears me up inside whenever I can't distract myself from that feeling anymore.
.......sorry for dumping all that on your video about the funnie spoopy aminal game.
Im rooting for you! You will get through this
@@themothman3133 Ngl I forgot I even made this rambly comment to begin with, and to randomly get reminded at 20 past midnight my time that most people do in fact care about the randos they might stumble across on the internet like this...almost started crying, thank you for the kindness ;o;
@@PuppyLuver256 heyyy please take care. Like all bad things this too will pass. You can do it !!
@@chillyoil528 Thank you ;w;
Hearing "now that I'm 20" hurts and makes me feel old considering that I was 20 myself when the game came out
MOOD. I was diagnosed with an incurable illness and in my twenties. My college/career dreams had just up and died. The game was very relevant. Played the game during sleepless nights.
A lot of dreams about cults those few days...
I was 29!!!!
I haven’t experienced the feeling of living in a dying small town and wanting to leave. I painfully relate to Mae and realizing she isn’t really a bad person makes me feel safe and seen in a way I can barely articulate.
Her dropping out of college, being so socially anxious and not knowing anyone. That’s familiar. Almost too familiar. Granted I finished my associates but it was pretty bad. The way she derealizes isn’t too far from my own experience.
I don’t know what I’m saying or if I’m saying anything but this is/was a pleasant video to see. Night In The Woods has been very important to me and saved me on more than one occasion.
I did not expect something with such a cute aesthetic to be a full Lovecraftian horror story complete with a cult of Shub-Niggurath. I should give it a shot.
something i never expected you to cover, and a welcome surprise.
I was actually watching a playthrough of this game when I had to drop out of college due to a problematic living situation and no more financial support.
I always think about this game during a hectic time in my life.
Night In the Woods saved my life; it was a huge source of comfort for me during my last year of highschool, as I was grappling with being abused and sexually assaulted by someone who was supposed to be my high school sweetheart. I was terrified that I would never amount to anything, that I wouldn't make it through the year and to my college in New York. Mae's internal dialouge, doubts, and struggles with dissociation felt so incredibly real to me. While we don't have the same pasts and conflicts exactly, all of the characters felt like parts of me (especially Angus, we...share a lot of similarities.) and it just meant so much to me to see my own mental battles presented so empathetically. So yeah. Thank you.
Ironic since the NitW devs were responsible for Alec Holowka taking his own life.
@@NIMPAK1 That's an objective lie. Shame on you.
@@NIMPAK1 Bro is both victim blaming and removing the agency of people who end themselves
0:27 haha oh that’s silly 2017 wasn’t seven years ago-
COVID was almost 5 years ago....I remember being quarantined like it was last week. Time is screwed asf man.
@@shoobzy3431 No it wasn’t. It just wasn’t. Nope. No.
This game really destroyed my life recently, it’s opened my eyes to the fact I’ve been kinda desperately trying to attach some sort of meaning to these “shapes”.
Idk, it’s been a wild ride.
This game is an amazing thing, that has changed not just mine but so many people’s lives.
Here’s to you, Night in the Woods.
You’re not lost, you’re here!
Night in the Woods will forever have a place in my heart. I feel so connected to Mae, I did at 15 and I still do at 22. The terrifying reality of growing up and things changing around you while you're dealing with your own mental illness and life struggles. I remember being up very late one night after finishing some homework for college and I was playing the game on my laptop. My mom got up for her late night smoke outside and asked me to come out with her. She was never interested in any of that stuff but she watched me play and asked me questions. I will never forget about that, it's one of the good memories I have after she passed.
It's a game I've wanted to play myself but never really been able to, and even watching it has to be done in short bursts. Mainly because I relate far too much to Mae, and it's hard not to cry watching how her life has gone with the uncertainty she feels about her future.
Having played this game at a really tough transition period in my life, it resonated much more than I could've ever expected. The tired hopes of betterment with the Bea route felt like a knife driven right into my gut, having experienced similar instances to her in my life. This game will always stay a timeless masterpiece of storytelling, and I hope that the studio's next game will match these feelings of 'just trying to make it' in life that gave me a new viewpoint on moving on with my life.
Besides all that rambling, perfect video detailing the little things that make this game so great, and I definitely agree that this game should be given a try by everyone watching this. Keep up the quality stuff! :D
i haven't played this game since i was like, 14... you're definitely right about the characters becoming more relatable as you get older, haha. i always really liked how mae's psychosis is portrayed from her point of view. i had to drop out of school for similar mental issues, and i don't think i've ever been able to explain it so well myself. it's a very human game despite the furry characters.
im really happy that this game is getting talked about again cause it slightly felt like it just came and went im happy that its still rememberd
When I first played the game, I chose Bea to spend time more because I wanted her and Mae to fix their broken friendship
I played this game when i was 19, a fresh college dropout, and hot off a mental break where i ruined all of my major friendships for years. I came back to it recently, and it's aged like a fine wine. One of my favorite games of all time, thanks for the video!
I remember when I played Night in the Woods for the first time I was immediately attached to the game because of how realistic it felt to me. Every interaction I encountered felt so genuine plus with the soundtrack I felt pretty cozy. Definitely one of my favorite games I've played so far
Ahh wow your overview of the situation at 18:40 ish rly struck a chord with me, just because of how much it mirrors stuff I've been experiencing in my own life recently. For several years I isolated myself because I assumed that if people met me and learned about my circumstances they would judge me for them and they would not want anything to do with me. "huh so you've been leeching off your parents and playing video games all day from the age of 18-26? that's fucking pathetic, you need to grow up" that's how I assumed any social interaction would go. for some reason I found the courage/desire to try to meet new people this year. turns out most people are understanding and supportive. It's been making me understand how warped my perspective of myself is. I'm not a bad person for struggling with depression, anxiety, and ADHD.
Mae isn't a bad person for struggling with her mental health issues. Bea isn't a bad person for saying some shitty things to Mae in that scene. What matters is that they both continue to try to understand each other, and that Mae in particular wants to grow and improve. a bad person would make excuses for their behavior and never grow until the day they die.
I remember a piece of art someone did at the elevator moment to match with part of Mae's journal
I'm so glad people are still talking about this game! I was 23 when I first played it in 2017; I had just moved back home after barely making it through college and being hospitalized after a mental breakdown, so I found a lot of comfort in Mae's story. I play it at least once a year every year now, and I have Mae tattooed on my arm with the phrase "Nightmare Eyes" 🖤🖤🖤
now that i'm older, it's been really cool to see how nitw has impacted me creatively. always great to see people covering it all these years later :)
I CAN'T WATCH IT RN BUT OMG- BEN TY FOR COVERING ONE OF MY FAVORITE VIDEO GAMES EVER IM SO EXCITED
I remember buying this game after I had flunked a whole year of a college I wasn't too passionate for. I went out of state, I wasn't in the healthiest mindset (it was after covid) and I was going for a major that my parents mostly wanted me to get into, not because of something I wanted to do myself. I returned back home much like Mae, and seeing that my home town is moving along, continuing: places shut down and news from my friends that either they're already settling or they've acquired their own job. The troubles I've had alone made things hard to deal with, but playing through NITW, it's given me a punch of reality and a sense of relief. That I'm not the only fool who had to deal with these circumstances.
Because of the impact it had on me, I've put it on a pedestal. Right along with Celeste and Hollow Knight on my Steam account.
I literally just finished this game today and legit, as a 20 year old, alot of- well, EVERYTHING hurt.
The characters are so well written, the interactions so genuine and the MUSIC WAS SO GOOD!
Super glad this popped up for me right as I finished the game- both to recap the story bc I didn't do it all in one go lol so I forgot some things here and there, and to hear other folks thoughts and feelings on this game.
It was such a great experience
And I hope me from 2017 is pleased I finally experienced it LMAO
I have never been more excited to watch a video in my life! NitW is one of my fav games of all time but goes sadly unnoticed in horror gaming circles, so nothing makes me happier than it getting coverage! Ty Ben :)
MAN NIGHT IN THE WOODS...... this game is SO important to me, it resonated so strongly with me during such a rough time in my life. i still listen to die anywhere else frequently, that song hit me so hard, with the lyrics especially
I adore night in the woods with all my being and I’m so glad people still talk about it, thanks Ben!
This game is my comfort game. My friends bought it for me on steam for my birthday this year and i bawled my eyes out because of how in love with the story i am and how it also helped me out while i was in college.
I played Night in the Woods for the first time when I was in high school, and I loved it so much that I used to play it every fall until I left for college. I’ve been meaning to play it again, because I know I would love it even more now that I’m older. I can’t wait for fall now.
It's so terribly upsetting what happened to the creator of Night in the Woods. He made such a lovely game and he unfortunately took his life only a few years later after he made this. It's so sad that we'll never see anything more.
Anyways, thank you for covering the games of my childhood! I always get so friggin excited when I see you post something new!
He was a co-creator. The studio was going to make a new game but they had to cancel production. I can’t remember what for though
He was falsely accused by a well know shit stirrer. I will never play this game because they didnt have his back when he was being accused and after he took his life they tried to sweep it under the rug.
@@Omega14289 Honestly, the situation was so messed up. It was making news everywhere around the internet, about the accusations. Everyone immediately jumped the wagon. Even his own damn family was on the accuser's side. Then when he took his own life, and it was revealed that the accusations were made up, no one cared. It was barely, if at all, talked about in news and by youtubers. And the accuser never faced justice. Not just that, they're still a big figure in gamedev. It's been years but the feelings are still fresh in my mind. It's literally unforgivable.
@@lighttheangel7955 You seem to know the old and wrong version of events. Not your fault though. Try reading on it now when everything has been settled.
I hope he found what he was looking for. All we can ask for now.
As a college kid, i related heavily to mae and gregg.... but as a 30 year old adult, i cant relate to anyone more directly than Bea
Tell me about it.
this just hurt, as someone who dropped out of collage, had two years of trying to work a normal job and finally getting somewhere in my life at 22 its just.. so real.
Trauma, depression and anxiety are all real things impacting anyone and this game managed to show that in a gorgeous and good way.
i remember watching a lets play of it years back when it came out but just like you it felt harder to understand and grasp than now.
great video and thanks for reminding me this gem exists
It has probably been repeated in several videos, but your videos are lowkey the only exception where I am happy to see the ad sponsor segment.
The transition is so seamless, and the presentation of the ads are neat. Actually was tempted to get Nord VPN for once lmao.
so happy for u covering this game its my best friends favourite!! great video as always too :)
good video, Night in the Woods might not have been as influential to me as it was to many other people, but it’s a still a nice heartwarming story about trusting the people who care about you.
I was also a young teen (about 13 / 14) when this game first did the rounds online, and god it hit hard as someone who felt like an outcast. This game saw me through college, university, dropping out of university (Mae’s story hit all the harder during that playthrough lol) and my second go at uni. It means everything to me. I even have a physical version of the game! Seeing this video in my recommended made me so happy, I’m so glad people are still talking about it!
I really relate to May.
I spent the better part of the last two to three years realizing, coping, and dealing with dissociation.
She's not some spitting image of what I'm dealing with, but she's about as close as I'll probably see in media.
I woke up daily feeling like nothing was real, I'd look at people and see nothing more than moving flesh making noises. Even friends and family weren't real to me. on top of my fear of change and losing people close to me.
May really hit close to home, and will probably continue to be one of my favorite characters ever for a long while.
A beautiful game about tragedy, with even more tragedy outside of it.
Hope you're well and happy wherever you are Alec. Glad that even today this work of art is still being celebrated.
I'll Never forget this game, it did so much for my mental health when I was at my lowest years ago, it saved my life and even changed the way I viewed life, I can't even put into words how much this cute dark little game means to me.
Yoooo! Thanks Ben for covering this groovy game! This made my day. Still sad about the cut content with Germ.
I somehow missed this game entirely at the time. So this is my first real exposure to it. No better way than through one of your awesome videos
Thank god people are talking about night in the woods again i praise you my man
I played this game back in high school and while I haven't played it in years, I must say it's one of my most favorite games of all time. Everything from the art to the characters and the music, helped me through some tough times and still do to this day. Thanks for covering it
God i love this game so much. I never expected you to cover it but you did it with such respect and love. Thank you
A friend of mine compared me to Mae a couple weeks ago, I didn't think too hard about it before... took it as a compliment cause I thought Mae was cute
Learning more about her, that was a more loaded comparison than I realized
I relate way too much to these characters, i went to college. I had aspirations and hopes to go to university but i couldnt instead i started working.
I've always in the back of my head been sorta jealous of my friends, they all managed to go to uni they all finding new friends. It feels like im being left behind, i wanna support them with all my heart but part of me is still envious.
I'm stuck in the same place, while they are all living their life. I get what Bee said ive been forced to grow up cause of many things, from losing loved ones, to set backs and hardships.
Life hasn't really given me a break and i know no matter what i can't escape either
I had graduated college in 2017 when the game came out but didn't learn about it until near the end of 2017. I remember thinking after seeing videos of it and memes on fb being interesting. The simple children book like illustrations of the game, cast of characters, small town feels, and that feeling of having no direction in life at that age really resonated with me.
I spent 6 years in college bc I switched majors, and even though I was glad to be finished and having a job right out of college, I remember the loneliness I felt sometimes in college and how it wasn't easy to really talk about even though I had plenty of friends. I never thought about dropping out but definitely felt a hopelessness with classes I really tried in but was getting by the minimum.
I didn't grow up in a small town, but my city in the Midwest where I live has small town feels. Even though I've never had mental health like Mae, I've had moments where stress from work and life builds up and you just break down.
What I love overall about nitw is how like in life, you come back to things in life you may have not resolved when they happened, come to some closure or not, and move forward with a new perspective.
Thank you very much for your videos, Ben!! Most likely this is your last video that I will be able to watch from Russia, because UA-cam is being banned here, and its “analogs” can’t stand even 200 people under someone’s stream :')
The last three years have been very difficult for me, the situation in the world, exams, fear of the future - made me feel terrible. But it was thanks to your videos that it was easier for me to cope with all this and I am incredibly grateful to you for that! You and your friends lifted my spirits in the darkest moments, made me laugh and smile when I had no strength for anything else.
It’s sad that I may not see your new videos anymore, but I will fondly remember and replay in my head the ones that I have already watched. Thank you so much, Ben. Really, thank you very much for what you do.
I do an annual playthrough as my fall tradition. I switch between the two routes. This game is so wholesome and so dark! It's one of my favorites.
Crying while reading everyone’s comments. I’ve never felt so understood. I’m sorry you experienced those things and I’m proud of you all for still being here to recount it
I LOVE NIGHT IN THE WOODS!!! I’m so happy someone is bringing it back up!!
This has to be my absolute favorite video game, the style and music with the story it tells are absolute perfect. I wish I could experience this game for the first time again.
thank you for covering one of the best games i've ever played, i loved this game enough to name myself after the main character
Your video was the reason I gave this game a chance and I'm so happy that it did since this game has now become one of my absolute favourite games with 40 hours on it after 100%ing it and just enjoying all that the game has to offer. This game hit hard with the story and was insanely relatable in so many aspects :]
"I'm not going over these because it would make the video 6 hours long"
And you think that would be a bad thing?!
The night in the woods is very scary and really spooky! But very cute Artstyle!
Ah, night in the woods, the most beautiful game I've ever seen.
And the best eldritch horror game of all time. (In my opinion.)
sucker for love (real)
This video was just as good as I imagined if not better. UA-cam used to have a lot of these channels but sigh 😔. I'm glad I found this channel can't wait for the next one
One of my favourite UA-camrs talking about one of my favourite games. Jackpot.
a few weeks ago I was feeling a lot of things. I don't know what I was feeling, I didn't then either, it just felt like a *lot*. An overwhelming blur or static that filled my chest in all the wrong ways.
I thought, somehow, that I had a song in my playlist that correlated with these feelings. I didn't know which one, just *something* that reminded me of it. I searched for 20 minutes before finding a song from the Night In The Woods OST that I had downloaded around 5 years ago. And it just felt right.
It's my birthday today, and I'm feeling the same. So this was a beautiful birthday gift. Thanks.
this game came out right as I was in senior year and dear god how relatable the game is to anyone around high school going to college or just the sense of growing up, it captures the world of adulthood well with a little mystery and great story telling. I'm so glad the game still comes up with new youtubers time and time again
I was an adult i think when this came out- it was one of the first and best kickstarters I ever backed! I havent visited it in awhile, makes me want to play it again-! Thanks for sharing your enjoyment for old and new fans!
Greg and Angus really do have a good relationship. They're ome of the highlights of the game for me.
I noticed, that in the begining and in the end we met Janitor, who says that his job is to fix broken things. You know, I come back to this game when feeling broken, and Mae came back to her town because of it. Janitor explained whole game just with one line
Thank you so much for making this video. I always hear bits and pieces about this game's story and how much people love other aspects of the game; but I never really got on the train while it was popular. You're essentially giving me a second chance to appreciate the game, and it's much more fun now that I'm also Mae's age.
YOOOO NITW COVERAGE IN 2024?? NO WAY!!!! BEN YOU ARE SO COOL PLS DON'T DIE ON AUGUST 6TH!!!!
but seriously this game means a lot to me. it changed the way i see certain things and also gave me a sense of comfort. this game feels like home. my home. i resonate with mae and her friends a lot, but mostly mae. we are both had troubled time in college, came back to their small and unknown towns, old friends grew up, physically and mentally, they're moving on, they have jobs, they have dreams, and you're just....you're just here. you don't know what to do, how to live, how to find a job and it makes you feel embarrassed, sad and pathetic, but you just cover it up by being "cool and reckless". you try your hardest to change but it still not enough. and it feels like you're drowning. and that's the main reason why this game is so important to my heart. it may sound corny but i replay it like every few months to just get this feeling of being somewhere where you supposed to be. i just hope that one day i could figure stuff out in my life and could move on just like mae and her friends..or at least try haha
thanks again for making this video, like really thank you. you did a fantastic job and I can't wait to see more!! don't forget to rest and have a great night or day! 💥
I played this game a while back and I’m happy I got to experience the story for myself. I found the story to be interesting and I find the ending to be feel good. Also, the fact that Mae and the others cared when they find out that Casey’s been kidnapped and sacrificed to the Black Goat and the fact that Mae’s friends care enough about her that they accompany her into the woods and save her when one of the cult members tried to kidnap her demonstrate that they will always be people who care about you even if you don’t believe it.
It so interesting to see other people's take on this game I had just re-entered college after having dropped out 2 years prior when this game came out so I saw a lot of my past self in Mae.
I think this was the very first game I purchased myself when I was 17. I immediately connected with Mae despite not even being old enough to start college let alone drop out. Little did I know at the age of 25 I'd be in Mae's exact position ever since I became an adult... I've even had the argument about not having enough experience to give advice despite having good intentions.
This is one of my favorite games of all time, as I found it at a difficult time in my life. Seeing you cover it and truly portray what the game intended made my day, thank you Ben :)
**Maybe Spoilers?**
At the end of the game you get a shot of Bea on her couch but her dad isn't there. I always thought that maybe he was in the cult in the mines, and based on the camera shot, Bea knows.
It's been a whole seven years since I played it, so I might be mis-remembering. But man is that soundtrack awesome to revisit. Props to Alec Holowka.
Oh my god I didn't even think of that
How actually dare you remind me of this wonderful game. My friend gifted it to me last year, it's the game that brought him and his beau together many moons ago. And they got to talking about it while listening to the life is strange soundtrack together, the same way I happened to find that same friend! Never got around to my second run, but I look forward to it when I finally do. Also my name is opo so possum springs and the lil cirtters Mae takes care of were wonderful touches. I'm gonna wish my friend well tonight, and you, and everyone else in the comments! Enjoy Billy Cobb's cover of Die Anywhere Else for me for the first time if you haven't yet n take care
YO!!! Die Anywhere Else definitely caused some of my current taste in music! I forgot about this game until recently and behold! You upload a video! good timing!
Everything you said, I pretty much 100% agree with. I’m much older than the characters in the game (I’m late 40s), but what Mae goes through struck a very strong chord with me as my son went through very similar experiences. He passed away in 2020, but NITW feels like a little window back to when he was still here.
Replaying this stellar game with my own less-than-stellar college experience under my belt has really reshaped it in my head. Despite the supernatural elements of the game, it manages to feel very grounded and real. If there are any supernatural elements at all is really up to the individual, honestly. I love that.
My favorite part is the soundtrack. The characters are wholesome. Angus is my favorite 🐻
I think Angus is what I would look like as a NITW character.
I try not to think about it, maybe out of fear, but i used to have these... episodes (idk what to call them) where i would feel like my body was falling apart. Like i was disintegrating, turning into sand, dust, particles. And just cascading onto myself and into the ground. I could rationalize all day that it wasn't real or possible, but my body still felt it. Spooks me to this day.
I played this game around the peak of these episodes, and Mae's explaination about the shapes made me feel seen, like i wasn't crazy or at least not alone in these kinds of dissociative feelings. And seeing others on the internet connect with that part as well only deepened that.
So im grateful to the game, its creators, and the people who decided to share that they had gone through similar feelings, including the folks in these comments. Thanks for helping me feel less alone 🙂
And thank you for this video. It was great ✨
This game holds a special place near and dear to my heart. I replay it every fall.
Night in the Woods is so good. There are few games that *sit* with me, and that is one of them. I haven't played the game in 7 years and it still makes me feel things so few other games have made me feel. This game will forever hold a place in my heart.
I love this game! My best friend watched me play it and we voiced the various characters. I have a lot of fond memories because of it. Glad you covered it
Me "man this day is great it cant possibly get better!"
UA-cam "ben uploaded a new video"
Me "aint no way"
As others have said, I played this as a 19yo depressed person without any plans for the future and frankly it may have saved me in ways I didn't know I needed. Such a good piece of media.
Honestly, this game means a lot to me. I could ramble on and on about it, but it's nice to see you cover it! Great video as always, I love revisiting NITW every so often.
I first encountered this game through a walkthrough. I was roughly around 11-12 at the time, and just as you had, I also fell in love with it. The visuals are gorgeous and well made, the characters are fantastic to talk to, and the story tugs at the heartstrings in all the right ways for a teen/young adult, and even more!
After my first watching of the game, I soon after had picked it up off steam, and now have over 30 hours spent replaying this absolutely beautiful masterpiece. I've shared it with family and friends, and I'm so happy to see more people have fallen in love with this game just like I did those 7 years ago.
Thanks for covering this positively spectacular game, and I hope to see more content from you soon!