#the game is set around 12 days plus a prologue and an epilogue

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Night in the Woods and Pathologic 2 are literally the same game, beyond a few superficial contrasts in presentation there isn’t a single difference.

#this is a vaguepost @ my sister #it is a joke but also if you try to challenge this statement i WILL defend it #*ahem* in this game you play as someone returning to their small town after having left for college (which they did not complete) #the character is honestly great. sarcastic little shit who might stab you but has a heart of gold and is a hero of the people. #the town is a part of you but you're also separate. your home feels like it changed but maybe you're the one who's different. #the town itself is a character. the autumnal atmosphere is not only beautiful but also perfectly ties in with the story's themes of change #the central conflict to the setting of course being the tensions between the past/tradition and the future/progress #drastic measures are employed in order to fight back against all the inevitabilities of industrialization involving ancient powers that be #and you're left to unravel its secrets and address it in just under two weeks before more people get killed #the game is set around 12 days plus a prologue and an epilogue #anyway. you arrive in town and go to your parents house and get in touch with three childhood friends. nothing is the same as when you left. #day 1 will also slap you in the face with a murder mystery but it's far too early for the full scope of the story to be revealed #in the following few days you get to explore the town and choose which npc's to spend time with #the game is designed so that you never have the time to do everything. many events will be locked forever if you don't do them on given days #your character is brash and possibly even violent but still finds themself mentoring kids and showing kindness to strangers #you also talk with a number of older more engrained members of the community and learn about the town's history and spirituality from them #there's a stark contrast between the full and bustling streets vs the abundance of abandoned spaces and empty buildings #you'll also discover that your dreams are packed with meaning and symbolism and will sometimes even see you commune with supernatural forces #tensions will rise as you uncover more and more pieces of the mystery. this ultimately culminates in a journey into the earth below the town #your character visits the magical pit that resides there where you learn the final truths of the story and can finally put it all together #you make a fateful choice in hopes of saving the town and the game ends allowing you to wander it one last time to see the results #you can take your time and when you're ready to end the game you return to a stage you've visited so often for your final goodbyes #of course the similarities don't end there. the weather. the rats. earth/sky dichotomies. the discussions of labor movements. #the church conspicuously lacking any christian iconography. the giant animals as a representation of god but also not. the color palettes. #the human characters who look like stylized dogs and birds. the empty theater. man i could go on forever. #they even each have a side story where you play as a traveling scholar trying to unravel the secrets that lie beyond the veil of death #if i were a games youtuber i would make this into a 20 minute video with spliced footage from both games #for those who don't get the joke nitw has the coziest vibes my side of gaming despite its inherent sadness and patho2 is a survival horror