A short hike - Review

After this month's Wide Ocean Big Jacket, camping and the woods has definitely been on my mind and I managed to remember about A short hike, Adam Gyru's excellent hiking and flying game that exhibits a chill and easy going atmosphere that I loved. Every part of the island the game is set on feels made for a purpose, which made the experience of hiking up the mountain even more enjoyable, even if the hike wasn't very long.

Gameplay
The hike might be a little off-putting for some, but this isn't just a plain walking simulator(although I do love me some "dear esther"). You will be hiking, climbing, flying, and many other things up the trail, such as playing made up games by other campers or fishing. All the mechanics feel really good, especially the climbing and flying. At the beginning of the game, all you are able to do is glide and walk, but eventually you will begin getting golden feathers, which will allow you to climb and fly. The first half hour of the game is mostly you getting golden feathers as you prepare to hike up to hawk peak, which at the very beginning of the trail states that you will need 7 golden feathers. I enjoyed the new-found freedom of the feathers as you were able to go off the trail and into wherever you want, whether it be the peak or one of few islands. I won't spoil too much, but there is never a time where you will be lacking things to do.

Forestry
One of my favorite elements of this game was simply walking around the island, which would not have been fun had there not been a high level of attention and care to the island. I loved hanging out at the peak and gliding off to the updraft, or running in the blackwood forest while talking with runners preparing for a marathon at meteor lake. It was a delightful experience, and one that I definitely will not be forgetting. There is something to open world games about smaller and more compacted worlds that works a lot better than larger and less detailed worlds. All the trails are short, but they aren't repetitive and never get boring.

Story
A short hike isn't heavy on backstory, other than the fact that you have to get to hawk peak to get cellphone service so that you can hear if your mom's surgery went fine. It is a goal, but it isn't stopping you from doing anything else. The more interesting part is hearing everyone else's stories, such as a slightly greedy seller of golden feathers whose trying to raise 400 dollars for his tuition. The dialogue was short and sweet, making no conversations drag on too far, but long enough to where it felt substantive.

Graphics and Audio
This game's graphics are one of the areas that it shines in. I love the pixelated 3d look that it brings to the table, and I feel like it works in the advantage of the game to have this kind of look to it. The color palette is also very clean and forest-like, with a range of bright but relevant colors that belong in this little world. The music is done by Mark Sparling, and the mostly acoustic and bright songs are just so pleasant. I loved the soundtrack so much that I downloaded it to my phone which I have downloaded almost no other songs to. The graphics and music combine to make this bright atmosphere that I have almost never see in games.

For Fans Of
1. Wide Ocean Big Jacket. Wide Ocean Big Jacket gives off a very similar vibe to a short hike, with a short but very bright story set in the woods that will surely make fans of WOBJ enjoy a short hike.
2. Feather. Samurai Punk's bird flying game has a very similar flying technique that will please fans of both games, especially with the going up of high distances and then crashing back down into the earth.
3. Dear Esther. Dear Esther's hiking in organic areas shares many similarities with A short hike's hiking, which will definitely please fans of Dear Esther.

Verdict
A short hike is a rare game that will surely bring a smile to everyone's face as they play through the well-crafted but short hikes. I give it a 9.5/10, as I would have enjoyed a longer game.

You can buy a short hike on Steam or Itch.io