Games To Play If You Loved Night In The Woods

Highlights

• Night in the Woods is a unique indie game known for its comedy, narrative, characters, and art style. It stands as one of the best indie adventure games out there.
• Oxenfree is a coming-of-age story with supernatural elements, multiple endings, and richly developed characters. It shares similarities with Night in the Woods.
• Celeste is a platformer with heavy themes and LGBTQIA2s+ representation. While it plays differently from Night in the Woods, it offers a satisfying narrative experience.

Night in the Woods was released back in 2017, with players and critics both falling in love with its comedy, narrative, characters, and art style. It is known to be one of the more unique video games out there in its themes of mystery and growing up. The story also has moments of incredible emotional depth, as well as humorous dialogue. It stands as one of the best indie adventure game titles out there.

With autumn now falling upon us, many gamers are nostalgic for Night in the Woods, which is a game that has autumn scenes and intrigue around every corner. It can be difficult for a Night in the Woods fan to find a similar game. Luckily, Night in the Woods stands now as an inspiration for other games. Not only that, but there are similar hidden gems that fans should definitely look into.

Updated on January 20, 2024, by Mark Sammut: The specifications have been added for every recommended game like Night in the Woods.

13 Oxenfree

Coming Of Age Tale

Oxenfree is similar to Night in the Woods for various reasons. It is also a coming-of-age story, but one that also tells a story that is a supernatural adventure mystery. Players follow Alex and a group of teenage friends who visit an island for a weekend party. All of them are rich in personality and carry some baggage/drama due to some past events.

The friends discover a dimensional rift, and everything falls apart. There are time loops, possession, and many other supernatural occurrences. Playing as Alex, players get to choose how to handle various situations and her dialogue. The game has multiple endings depending on your choices.

The sequel is also great.

12 Celeste

Heavy Themes

Considered to be one of the best games to come out in 2018, Celeste is about a young woman climbing a mountain. However, it is much more than that, as the young girl does so while confronting inner demons.

Like Night in the Woods, the story and characters are the best part of Celeste, and its themes are reflected by the gameplay. Players can easily identify with the protagonist and feel a great sense of satisfaction at the end. Also, in a similar taste to Night in the Woods, the game has LGBTQIA2s+ representation. While they share similarities in their narratives, Celeste is a hard-as-nails platformer, so it plays nothing like Night in the Woods; consequently, fans of the latter should be ready for a fairly different mechanical experience.

11 Kentucky Route Zero

Engaging Story With Distinctive Visual Style

Released in early 2020, Kentucky Route Zero is a point-and-click adventure. Just like Night in the Woods, it was crowdfunded from the platform, Kickstarter. That is a big deal, as it means a lot of people saw and had faith in the game. The game received critical acclaim for many of the same reasons as Night in the Woods, including its visual art, characters, themes, and atmosphere.

The narrative follows a truck driver named Conway as he meets people along his journey down the fictional Route Zero of Kentucky. The campaign has a total of five acts.

10 Mutazione

Small Town Story

This creative story takes place 100 years after a meteor dropped on a resort and mutated the local populace. Those that survived made a small town, and that is where the game takes place. The players play the role of a 15-year-old named Kai, who is caring for her ailing grandfather.

The game centers on small town gossip, drama, and mystery. Like Night in the Woods, Mutazione is a quirky point-and-click adventure. Like many of the games of its kind, it is short but lovingly made.

9 Undertale

Indie Juggernaut With Fantastic Writing

Undertale transcends gaming. Nearly the entire game was made by one man, Toby Fox, and became a sensation for its hilarious as well as heartfelt writing. It has been called a cult video game by many publications due to the fandom that rose from its creation.

It doesn’t share much with Night in the Woods in terms of gameplay and mechanics, but it does share similar humor, wit, and deep moments. If someone is a completionist, Undertale will also take much longer to beat.

8 If Found

Emotional Storytelling

Loved for its abstract art style, emotional story, music, and LGTQIA2S+ representation, If Found is a game that works like an interactive visual novel. The game is about Kasio, and her destroying her diary. Players get to explore her experiences throughout the month of December 1993.

This story can bring some tears to the eye, as it carries an emotional weight that can hit home with many players. If Found is quite short, which can be disappointing, but it makes the most of every second.

7 Unforeseen Incidents

Blend Of Humor & Sincerity

This point-and-click adventure game was released in 2018. Players control a local handyman, Harper, who investigates a mysterious virus that is killing the citizens of Yelltown.

Like Night in the Woods, the game creates a great balance between serious and funny content. Another similarity, the game has a distinct visual style that separates it from many other games. Unlike Night in the Woods, it also has superb voice acting.

6 Knights And Bikes

Great Core Friendship

Unlike other games similar to Night in the Woods, Knights and Bikes has the ability to be a co-op game for two players. Players take the roles of Nessa and Demelza, childhood friends who are exploring and adventuring together with their goofy antics and imagination.

Knights and Bikes can be compared to Night in the Woods for its basic gameplay and incredibly strong narrative. Nessa and Demelza are adorable and chaotic, and the game matches their imagination by mixing their own adventure stories with reality.

5 Thimbleweed Park

A Thrilling Mystery

This is another title that was crowdfunded through a Kickstarter. It was released in 2017 and got high ratings for its humor, setting, and interesting characters. A Kotaku review described the game as combining “the creepiness of Twin Peaks with the humor of Monkey Island in one stylish, successful package.”

Players don’t play just one, but five characters in this story. It is a neo-noir mystery set in 1987 with a bizarre world to explore and many mysteries to solve.

4 Life Is Strange 1 & 2

Impeccable Character-Driven Storytelling

Both Life is Strange and its sequel are coming-of-age stories with a supernatural twist. Both games follow teenagers whose lives get turned upside down due to the discovery of superpowers. As to which game is better, that is a debate.

What majorly sets itself apart from Night in the Woods is the Life is Strange franchise takes itself more seriously in its tragedies and brutal moments. What they have in common is memorable young characters against the world of adults. They are also both choice-oriented games.

3 Jenny LeClue – Detectivu

An Unorthodox Detective

Jenny LeClue – Detectivu‘s story is set in a sleepy town and stars Jenny, whose life gets turned around when her mother is accused of murder. Jenny sets out on a quest to clear her mother’s name.

Like Night in the Woods, this game is cute, funny, heartwarming, and sometimes scary. Unlike Night in the Woods, it also has voice acting. Now, Jenny LeClue loses some steam towards the end, resulting in a slightly polarizing conclusion; however, the journey to get there is worthwhile.

2 The Darkside Detective

Quirky Humor With Fun Cases

Released in 2017, this point-and-click adventure game has the player taking on the role of Detective Francis McQueen. McQueen is the lead investigator of the Darkside Division at Twin Lakes. He investigates the most bizarre and wacky cases, which offer an amusing mix of horror and comedy.

Like Night in the Woods, The Darkside Detective‘s narrative and dialogue can be cheeky and contain a lot of laughs. Players can easily find themselves clicking on every object just to see what amusing statements will pop up.

1 Firewatch

Slow-Burn Mystery

At first, Firewatch can seem quite different from Night in the Woods. Players play an older man and don’t see other characters in person as they work in the middle of nowhere to look out for fires in the Shoshone National Forest.

However, he has his walkie-talkie and can have very amusing talks/flirtations with his boss. Like Night in the Woods, the narrative slowly turns into a thrilling mystery. It stands as one of the best indie games to come out this past decade.