I finally got around to sitting down and playing A Short Hike last night, and before I knew it I was halfway through it. Not because it's all that short of a trip, but because it pulled me in, letting me forget time and stress.

Gaming has been a tough proposition for me lately. Between stress, loud neighbors driving me to insomnia again this past month and a general sense of uneasiness preventing me from just starting up a new game, it's been difficult for me to simply sit down and enjoy what's coming for me.
That's the situation I was in for a long while with this game: Keeping it installed for months, but never feeling in the right mindset to properly appreciate what has been widely regarded as a great, earnest indie title.

Booting it up was more on a whim than any conscious decision on my part. I just happened to do it. And then I didn't quit for ages, something few games these days achieve. And even when I reached a point where I thought I had enough for the time being.... it didn't last. I went out to get a cup of hot chocolate, go to the bathroom, and when I got back to the PC, I found myself just booting the game back up.

Even when I found myself getting frustrated on being two seconds over the required boat race time for an achievement (and knowing it was my own silly mistake that cost me that victory!) I only shut it down for maybe half an hour, watching a brief video on Youtube, before going back to the island and trying again. And succeeding.

I finished the entire game in a single night, sans a PC clock-dependent achievement I unlocked just a bit ago, putting the game officially at 100% completion. And I feel myself both happy at the short, unhurried, relaxing experience, and wishing there had been another adventure to bring me back right now.

Turns out I was wrong. You don't need the perfect mindset to go into A Short Hike. You just need to bring yourself to attend - the game does the rest. It'll put you in that bright mindset through its own charms, its character writing, the atmosphere of the island and its lack of intrinsic pressures. It'll go at your pace, instead of demanding you make that effort yourself. It'll leave you to wander and explore, to meet characters that turn out to be lovable, quirky people that - at the end of the day - mean nobody any harm. There are no debbie downers - even characters you may instinctively dislike (scalping is bad, yo) turn out to have valid, personal reasons for doing what they're doing... and when you offer them kindness instead of bitterness, you both win.

I think that's my biggest takeaway from A Short Hike: The kindness within every single person you meet. No matter how competitive they might be, they're never malicious. They'll support their rivals instead of wallowing in Schadenfreude. They'll reflect on their own actions and choices, their own preconceptions. They'll overcome self-doubt with the help of a little bit of encouragement from the player-character Claire.

Claire herself may start out feeling a little snarky and disinterested in her surroundings - you could even say cynical - but once she steps out of the house and goes on her hike, she starts to see the island and the people inhabiting it the way it actually is: Beautiful and harmonious.
I was lucky enough to share both that sense of trepidation going into the game, and that sense of wonder inherent in its exploration. And reaching the top of the mountain, I felt kinship with Claire - we made this hike a success! It was only then that I recalled the reason for it all when Claire's phone rang, right there at the peak - the only point with cellphone reception on the island.

And I cried over the dialogue that followed.

It was a sort of fulfillment that made the experience all the more worthwhile. It explained Claire's initial frustration, while framing it not as rooted in boredom or a rejection of the island, but instead in her kind heart. It made all the friends made along the way feel even more meaningful in hindsight.

But the game didn't end there. With the climb achieved, I felt like the island opened up to me even more than before - when really, it hadn't changed, outside of character dialogue advancing here and there. I'd achieved Claire's own, personal goal... but there were still others who hadn't fulfilled their own. And I got to help them getting there now.

By the end of the adventure, Claire has the chance to talk to her aunt back at their cabin. She tells her of this and that adventure, all things you could achieve throughout the game. She's gushing about what a great time she had. And both Claire and myself could've gone on for far longer than she actually did in those lines of dialogue.
Because there were more little things not explicitly mentioned, more meaningful moments, treasures, people, experiences that I was happy I had made that night I beat A Short Hike on a whim.

I finally got around to sitting down and playing A Short Hike last night, and before I knew it I was halfway through it. Not because it's all [i]that[/i] short of a trip, but because it pulled me in, letting me forget time and stress. Gaming has been a tough proposition for me lately. Between stress, loud neighbors driving me to insomnia again this past month and a general sense of uneasiness preventing me from [i]just starting up a new game[/i], it's been difficult for me to simply sit down and enjoy what's coming for me. That's the situation I was in for a long while with this game: Keeping it installed for months, but never feeling in the right mindset to properly appreciate what has been widely regarded as a great, earnest indie title. Booting it up was more on a whim than any conscious decision on my part. I just happened to do it. And then I didn't quit for ages, something few games these days achieve. And even [i]when[/i] I reached a point where I thought I had enough for the time being.... it didn't last. I went out to get a cup of hot chocolate, go to the bathroom, and when I got back to the PC, I found myself just booting the game back up. Even when I found myself getting frustrated on being two seconds over the required boat race time for an achievement (and knowing it was my own silly mistake that cost me that victory!) I only shut it down for maybe half an hour, watching a brief video on Youtube, before going back to the island and trying again. And succeeding. I finished the entire game in a single night, sans a PC clock-dependent achievement I unlocked just a bit ago, putting the game officially at 100% completion. And I feel myself both happy at the short, unhurried, relaxing experience, and wishing there had been another adventure to bring me back right now. Turns out I was wrong. You don't need the perfect mindset to go into A Short Hike. You just need to bring yourself to attend - the game does the rest. It'll put you in that bright mindset through its own charms, its character writing, the atmosphere of the island and its lack of intrinsic pressures. It'll go at [i]your[/i] pace, instead of demanding [i]you[/i] make that effort yourself. It'll leave you to wander and explore, to meet characters that turn out to be lovable, quirky people that - at the end of the day - mean nobody any harm. There are no debbie downers - even characters you may instinctively dislike (scalping is bad, yo) turn out to have valid, personal reasons for doing what they're doing... and when you offer them kindness instead of bitterness, you both win. I think that's my biggest takeaway from A Short Hike: The kindness within every single person you meet. No matter how competitive they might be, they're never malicious. They'll support their rivals instead of wallowing in Schadenfreude. They'll reflect on their own actions and choices, their own preconceptions. They'll overcome self-doubt with the help of a little bit of encouragement from the player-character Claire. Claire herself may start out feeling a little snarky and disinterested in her surroundings - you could even say cynical - but once she steps out of the house and goes on her hike, she starts to see the island and the people inhabiting it the way it actually is: Beautiful and harmonious. I was lucky enough to share both that sense of trepidation going into the game, and that sense of wonder inherent in its exploration. And reaching the top of the mountain, I felt kinship with Claire - we made this hike a success! It was only then that I recalled the reason for it all when Claire's phone rang, right there at the peak - the only point with cellphone reception on the island. And I cried over the dialogue that followed. It was a sort of fulfillment that made the experience all the more worthwhile. It explained Claire's initial frustration, while framing it not as rooted in boredom or a rejection of the island, but instead in her kind heart. It made all the friends made along the way feel even more meaningful in hindsight. But the game didn't end there. With the climb achieved, I felt like the island opened up to me even more than before - when really, it hadn't changed, outside of character dialogue advancing here and there. I'd achieved Claire's own, personal goal... but there were still others who hadn't fulfilled their own. And I got to help them getting there now. By the end of the adventure, Claire has the chance to talk to her aunt back at their cabin. She tells her of this and that adventure, all things you could achieve throughout the game. She's gushing about what a great time she had. And both Claire and myself could've gone on for far longer than she actually did in those lines of dialogue. Because there were more little things not explicitly mentioned, more meaningful moments, treasures, people, experiences that I was happy I had made that night I beat A Short Hike on a whim.