A Short Hike (2019)

ADVENTURE - Play as Claire, a young bird exploring Hawk Peak Provincial Park while awaiting an important phone call. As she hikes, flies, and climbs her way to the mountain's summit, she meets other hikers, uncovers hidden treasures, and enjoys the beauty of the serene, open world.

PROS:

++ Worthwhile exploration. The premise of the game is really simple: climb the mountain. But this goal quickly became secondary the moment you start exploring the Park. There are just so many people to talk to and so many things to get distracted with. Interacting with the locals was often funny and it never failed to put a grin on my face. These locals are what gives life to the game. Playing beachstickball with some kids, racing up to the peak of the mountain with a person who forgot to register for that day's race, taking a bored kid out on the boat to have some fun, learning how to fish from an old man, joining the climbing club (of which there are "thousands" of members), collecting for a kid who deals in shells, trying to find the lucky headband of a runner, or trying to encourage an artist who is anxious and discouraged of his own work. All of these were very memorable and joyful moments.

++ Simple, but fun, gameplay. It controls like a simple platformer. You can run and sprint, climb up walls, glide and dive, and soar high in the skies. Nothing ground-breaking, but I still enjoyed the movement progression nonetheless. I found flying to be especially great.

++ Cozy atmosphere. All in all, it was a very relaxing and chill experience. It made me feel like a child while playing, and that is a feeling that I rarely get nowadays. The music greatly helped in setting that cozy game atmosphere.

++ Cute visuals. Simple but very adorable and cute. Vibrant colours too!

CONS:

-- Camera. My only gripe (and it's very minor) with this game is that the camera can at times be uncooperative. Specifically when Claire is flying.

A Short Hike almost doesn’t get a chance to become addictive due to how short its playtime is. They weren’t kidding when they chose the title. Even if you take your time, the game will run you about 2 hours, which may be too short an experience for some. But if done right, I think games in this length range can become awesome palate cleansers. That’s exactly what this particular title delivers, and then some.

A Short Hike, an ‘open world’ platformer of sorts, is quite an engrossing game. From its cute art style to its relaxing music, from its likeable characters to its laudable, often self-aware dialogue and humour, it oozes charm at every turn. The premise couldn’t be simpler: you’re a bird, and like the title implies, you’re going on a hike. But the accomplishment lies in how this is done. You are given complete freedom to fully explore the map, and this is rooted in a great sense of mobility, since you are given abilities like flying or gliding that can be improved as you go through the paces. This means traversing the map is never a bore, but there’s more hidden in the game’s alluring world than meets the eye at first. Aside from the main goal, you have several side activities you can engage with - collecting, treasure hunting, driving a boat, playing ‘beachstickball’, even fishing. All of them offer something different and, push you forward into exploration mode, and because you can keep playing after beating the game, add a flavourful gameplay layer to it. Once you get enough gold feathers (meaning you can propel yourself higher), flying through A Short Hike’s deceptively filled world is a pleasure. And the heartwarming way the game deals with these activities, as well as its main journey and ending, is the cherry on top of a wholesome, rewarding experience.

Length aside, there are some slight annoyances with the camera that are worth mentioning. But on the whole, there’s nothing that would stop this from being an easy blanket recommendation, unless you really don’t this type of aesthetics. I, for one, definitely enjoyed my time with A Short Hike. It might not be long enough to stick with you for long, but it still brings palpable fun to the time you spend with it. And I can certainly see myself coming back for a playthrough every now and then. 7.5/10

This game embodies everything a game needs to be. it's simple but satisfying, approachable, the moment to moment gameplay is pleasant, it has a point, it gives you some extra things to do, but it doesn't overstay it's welcome.

I did everything this game has to offer in a sitting, more or less. and I don't feel bad about that. it advertises itself as short, and it is. but there is no wasted time, no wasted space, no filler, no grind. it's nothing but delight.

you make your way up the hill to receive a phone call. that's all the prompt you get. you gather tools and meet characters, and there's a few laughs and some fun mini games and side activities, as you do everything you need to do in order to arrive at the top. Most activities and side quests give you new tools to go back and use to discover more things, or they give you feathers, ultimately what you need. each feather lets you jump and climb higher, making it easier to overcome a few more obstacles, discover more things. taking the tools you find you backtrack some and you discover what is left.

Until you reach the top and you find out what the call is about. it's a little more than you might have expected. then you have a fun glide back down.

great way to spend a couple hours.

A Short Hike

Finished 2022-07-07

A Short Hike is a platformer/walking simulator with cute 3d pixelated visuals. It’s an indie game developed by Adamgryu, released 2019. I bought it on the Steam sale, regular price is €6.59.

I played for 106 minutes. Including playing a bit more after beating it.

Premise

You play as a bird named Claire, who traveled to hawk peak with her aunt. She wants to reach the peak.

Gameplay

You run around exploring and talking to other animals around the island. You can glide in the air and later unlock more abilities like climbing, flapping and running. There are a bunch of side activities that you can do around the island. Like fishing, racing and doing quests for the other animals. I did not do everything, there is replayability if you want all achievements!

What I liked

The game was cute and cozy. And the story gets a little sad (but good) when you reach the peak. It’s not too hard and it's a very short game. Maybe too short? The questing and exploring felt rewarding. The music was very chill and fit the game perfectly. At first the pixel filter hurt my eyes, but you can tweak it in the settings! So props for that!

What I didn’t like

I didn’t spend that much money on it so it’s hard to complain. It’s a very small and focused experience, so it might not be for everyone. I did not enjoy it as much as others though, the game sits at overwhelmingly positive on Steam. And I didn’t like it THAT much. Maybe I missed the good part of the game? Oops.

Score 3.3/5

A Short Hike combines chill tunes, aesthetically very pleasing graphics and free exploration into a very nice bite-sized experience. I got almost everything done in the game in one evening but missed some quests and characters on my 3-4 hour long session. I was on a schedule though, sort of, and I can easily see how just fishing on the river banks or collecting treasure might add few more hours to the playthrough.

Now that I think of it I want to go back and experience the whole thing again! What a lovely game. A Short Hike was on 8th place on my top 10 of 2021.

-- Part of my Itch.io Bundle Project - Attempting to play and rate every game in the 2020 Bundle for Racial Justice --

• Rating: 9.7 / 10
• Year played: 2020
• Playtime: 2-3 hours
• Completion level: Main story + all achievements
• Verdict: YES. PLAY THIS.

Absolutely gorgeous little exploration experience that made me smile so so much. The graphics are charming, the music is beautiful and fades in and out with your movements, the dialogue is sweet and funny and heart-warming, and the controls are tight - it feels amazing to climb to a high point and glide your way around the island.

My only tiny gripe is the camera, it's mostly out of your control and there were times I wished I could just tweak the viewing angle just a slight bit more, or where the camera changed itself mid-climb and messed up my movements.

Still, this was a beautiful experience that made my heart feel so full. I loved it and would recommend it wholeheartedly.

I'm happy I played this and had a good time with it, but it just didn't click for me as the revelation it did for so many others. It feels like a good first town in a game. In that way, it does live up to its promise of a short hike. However, I've come to realize I don't want a short hike. I want a long one. Or a short one that is a part of something greater.

I won't lie. Game length CAN be a sticking point for me. And while it wasn't my only issue with this game*, it was ONE of my issues with the game. But here are some short games where the length did not bother me (and their length according to HLTB).

1. Gris (Three and a half hours)
2. Inside (Three and a half hours)
3. Portal (Three hours)
4. Gato Roboto (Three hours)
5. Her Story (Two and a half hours)
6. Journey (Two hours)
7. Old Man's Journey (an hour and a half)
8. Florence (41 minutes)

Florence is perhaps the best example of what I prefer. Not only is it shorter than A Short Hike, it does a better job making the tasks fit in with the central struggle of the game AND the tasks in Florence are IMO more fun.

Anyway, if you are upset that this game isn't a five for me, just know that I bought this game twice now and have supported the dev in a way that probably offsets my lower-than-average score.

*I don't know if I find any of the quests to reward mastery nor do they have a depth to master. Also, if you are going to give me a boat, there should be cool stuff to do with that boat

The best thing about nature is the escape part, being able to disconnect and reconnect. Similar to what video games do to me. A Short Hike sounds like what he it sounds, but it’s journey to the destination is what matters. With beautiful colors and graphics going with relaxing music. A Short Hike is a game what gamers must experience for all especially taking break from slashing and killing demons. Put that down and take a hike.

Must play game.