Night in the Woods is an interesting game. It's a more narrative game. It's kind of hard to describe its genre, really.
In some ways, I want to call the game a 2D walking simulator, but I don't think that's giving it enough credit. It's strange. There are platforming elements and light usage of minigames (all of which feel natural and embedded within the game's world) but ultimately, the game's about dialogue and narrative. So I wouldn't call this a walking simulator, but definitely wouldn't recommend it to anyone looking for gameplay first.
I've seen it compared to Life is Strange, but I can't really make my own comparison here as I haven't played Life is Strange.
Plot-wise, you open as a college dropout returning to her parents' house in a "crumbling former mining town", with some supernatural elements.
The story's tone is interesting. It all feels depressing throughout the story, and more-so at certain points. The crumbling town, the problems of the main characters (and especially your character), and more all contribute to this. There are themes of existentialism as well. Yet I wouldn't say the story's a downer.
Actually, an interesting comparison I thought of while playing it was the webcomic
Broodhollow, which is about strange horrifying things going on in a small town. Of course, it's not
too similar, but contrasting the two is something.
I'd definitely recommend it; it's roughly 9 hours and is $20.
I just kind of wish I could talk about it with other people! That's my problem with this kind of narrative-focused media. I always really like discussing it with others and feel very mildly depressed (in a way) when it's over. And with NitW it's not the most popular of games, which makes this
even worse.