A Short Hike
Year: 2019
Rating: E
Time Played: ~2 hours
I’m starting to like the open-world format of some video games. Sure, there’s a broad goal the player is trying to accomplish, but sometimes the most fun comes from the little sidequests that you encounter along the way. Of course, the best sidequests help the player ultimately achieve the game’s goal by rewarding a useful item or ability. A Short Hike is a prime example of how to do the open-world format. As an indie game, the big-name developers should take notes here.
While the “low quality” visuals initially put me off, you eventually get used to them. This is basically my only gripe with the game, as it’s clearly hiding some of the cut corners of its development. As someone who enjoys hiking to the top of mountains, I liked the gameplay with a somewhat loose motivation to get to the top of this island mountain. Sure, the plot is touching when you get up there, but it’s almost an afterthought. After all, there’s so much to do on this island, and I rarely came across a task that I had to ignore to focus on the plot.
If you’re looking for a relaxing game with some sidequests that might seem at home in an Animal Crossing game, A Short Hike definitely fits the bill. It was fun naturally encountering a sidequest and completing it after a few minutes of dedicated gameplay. Even if I found the task of the sidequest too difficult, there were a half-dozen other quests nearby that I could switch over to so I could gain the necessary feathers to climb the mountain. There’s no need to complete this game 100%, but definitely have fun with it for as long as you want before making your way to the summit.
A relaxing open-world game with plenty of sidequests along the way, I give A Short Hike 4.5 stars out of 5.
1/2
