Tenderness and simplicity as virtues to move us to a place where we can disconnect and stop thinking, where reality is less harsh. Optimism message.
What does a headband need to be a lucky headband? These are the questions that you usually ask yourself in the world of A Short Hike, a place where you can disconnect, regain strength and return to that life that takes a pace that you do not choose, where setbacks are irremediable. Because Claire, despite her youth, needs to rest… and she doesn’t know how. You need to get away from day to day, feel like the phone is off or out of range. Re-tune in to herself.
One day, her Aunt May recommends that they go to an island that she knows very well, that she will really be able to rest and take a good rest in that difficult summer. A life that will surely keep many reminiscences with that of any of us. The virtue of A Short Hike, developed by the talented Canadian Adam Robinson Ryu, is its ability to transport us to an unknown place that feels deeply familiar. The trip, of just two hours based on reaching the top of the mountain, is the essence of the journey. And it is in the same where everything happens. The result? A well-deserved break from which we can learn many things.
Exploration and discovery, ideas that guide us to move forward
Despite the slow pace of this short adventure, everything happens very quickly. In a matter of minutes, the rest of the characters in this placid place are telling you about their problems, their hobbies, what they have lost and what they are looking for. A very Animal Crossing touch that, why not say it, suits you wonderfully. From fishing to swimming through jumping and flying. It is these last two that really give meaning to this comfortable gameplay, because the scenario is not only explored through the fish that hide in the deep sea or what is inside that chest behind a tree, but also from above. down. Verticality is the backbone of progress and, with little hints, you don’t get lost. You always discover something new.
You are lost, but somehow you know how to carry on. There is no rush, we choose how, where and when. The important thing is not to rush, but to learn everything this place has to teach us to, at the end of the day, gain momentum, run and… fly.
“Now that I’ve learned to fish, what do I do?”
There are goals, however. There are secrets. From the character who asks us for a favor to the mere pleasure of being patient while we try to catch a fish or play basketball. Little by little we are discovering new ways of interacting with the environment, revisiting what we saw in the past and, thanks to the golden feathers (each one that we find allows one more jump), reaching previously unattainable environments; challenge that other animal with a passion for parkour to a race; run with the champion turtle of the regional championships; climb to the top of the club’s climbing wall “with members in half the world.”
Short Hike asks you a lot of questions, but doesn’t answer you by taking yourself too seriously. In fact, Robinson Ryu paddles upstream and justifies everything in the most earthly way possible. Credible. The game of laughs at current video game conventions, at its vices and formulas used to exhaustion. Experience wants you to recover; not so much offering new mechanics, but moving you to a place where you can feel at peace. It is perhaps an exercise in reflection, why we give so much importance to things that really do not have it. That is why it poses day-to-day dilemmas that, in a place that is not plagued by industrialization, losing a tiara is the last straw. That is why people wonder what luck is and how we can become lucky. Maybe again, you need to take a break from time to time and just stop, because that other life – the real one – of Claire has problems that she cannot solve, including the problems of the people she loves.
The characters give us objects that translate into new mechanics, abilities …
On top of Falcon Peak
But the road continues and Claire still has the goal of reaching the top of the mountain. You have to recognize how extremely satisfying it is to fly, know that with that fifth golden feather you can now give no less than five impulses and literally run into the clouds. You can climb more and for longer. In the distance, a kind of castle. What will be there? And you go. And you lose yourself. And you don’t care. You keep going up, you buy a hat, you fish, you have a run. You are coming.
What will be hiding in that hole? If you get a shovel you can find out
Artistically it speaks for itself. With so little much has been achieved, a claim to simplicity, to be able to transmit without barely saying a word. A Short Hike puts color first and uses small white strokes to indicate the direction of the wind. Simplicity has not been an obstacle to being expressive and detailed; not to mention the excellent sound composition provided by Mark Sparlin where the piano is the main protagonist. The arrival of A Short Hike on Nintendo Switch is a celebration because it implies that PC sales have been enough to work on this remarkable adaptation work. It looks exactly as good as it does on PC and, as a recommendation, don’t hesitate to play it in portable mode.
Basketball
He does not see who has the best vision, but the one with the widest eyes. A Short Hike makes you feel awake.
CONCLUSION
A Short Hike is one of those video games that show off the true magic of the independent scene, of making the limitation of resources a virtue and justifying why it is a video game and not another artistic manifestation. Claire needs to clear up, but she does it with us, who accompany her on this climb through familiar mechanics, a constant little challenge surrounded by memories and familiar tools in other genres and titles. The personality it gives off is, however, its greatest virtue, because it is easy to see yourself represented in front of so much metaphor. Because among so much imagination a great dose of reality hides. Recommended for all types of audiences.
THE BEST
- The world, cozy and full of secrets
- Fly and climb, you own the space
- The message you want to convey
- Artistic section, a sum of hits
WORST
- The constant feeling that it ends too fast
Very good
A game with a remarkable finish that we will enjoy and remember. A good buy, highly recommended for lovers of the genre. It is well cared for at all levels.
