Review: A Short Hike presents a cozy little exploration adventure

If you’re like me, you have a mountain of unplayed games in your Steam library. I’m really good at ignoring that they exist, so I figured it was time to show some love to older games that fell through the cracks.

When I settled on A Short Hike, I was looking for something warm and comfy to sink down into and I feel like I got that out of this quaint little game. 

Take the long way around on A Short Hike

A Short Hike is a fun, chill little game where you play a penguin who is on a quest for cell reception. Unfortunately, the best way to get it is to climb Hawk Peak, a steep and tiring climb.

The controls for this game are straightforward and the tutorial is given in bite-sized pieces as you need to use new mechanics. Personally, I love when games lead you through the tutorial rather than info-dumping everything at the beginning.

Running around the island, it’s immediately obvious that you have full, creative freedom to head in any direction you want. Your end goal may be to get to the peak, but there’s no time limit on achieving that.

As you journey through the trails, you’ll meet other animals who may have benign things to say, or who may ask for things. You’ll learn early on that you need golden feathers to get to the top of the mountain, these feathers are a physical representation of your stamina. As it stands, this is the single requirement to getting to the top of the peak and you don’t even have to find all of them.

Golden Feathers can be obtained in a myriad of ways by either buying them from people or finding them hidden around the island. There are a few different items lying around to snatch up, so you’ll already be rooting around for coins and chests hidden about.

Not only does this game encourage exploration, but it has a few ways that you can race if that’s something you’re into, namely foot racing and boat racing.

Speaking of boats, there are a few hidden islands out in the ocean that you can explore, so don’t limit yourself to just land alone.

Whether it’s fishing, racing, collecting, gliding, questing, or just generally exploring, A Short Hike has what you want.

Listen to the sounds of nature and enjoy the view

The music is serene enough that it doesn’t overtake the game and the sound design was nice for all the atmospheric noises. There was a bit of Animal Crossing whimsy in how the voices sounded and I could see a bit of that inspiration whether it was intended or not.

The art style is exceedingly charming, I loved the fact that it was an island populated by animals. Each character’s design made them recognizably different and the stage design was easily one of the best parts of the game.

The different areas of the island helped to flesh out the ecology of A Short Hike.

Is it Cozy? Heck yeah, it is!

If you’re looking for cozy, then you want to give A Short Hike a try. It was instant cozy vibes on this one.

There seems to be a little bit of something for everyone. Whether you like exploring, questing, or just sitting and fishing, A Short Hike has all of it.

I had the most fun just running around and trying to find all the coins and shells that I could, even after I finished the request of finding 15 shells. I still don’t know what the sticks are for, but I hoarded those too.

Nothing can be perfect, but this gripe is miniscule.

Truly, there is only one con here and that’s the forced camera perspective. 

As you’re playing, the camera will automatically adjust for you. 90% of the time, this is a helpful mechanic, but there are certain places where the camera spins in such a way that you can’t see your character. This creates a situation where you’re kind of just moving and hoping for the best to get back onto the field of vision.

Otherwise, I have zero complaints about the game. 

If you’re not adding this to your library, you’re wrong.

I absolutely, 10,000% recommend that you give A Short Hike a try. It’s not a very long game, but with the option to collect things, do races, etc, you have quite a bit of time in just trying to 100% the game.

Personally, I never did the races because I’m not really into that sort of thing, but it never hurt my ability to play and finish this game. It’s a take what you want and leave what you don’t sort of game.

If you’re looking for something to just calm down with, A Short Hike should be at the top of your list. If you want to try it out, you can find it on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, or Xbox One.

It should be noted that if you have a subscription to Xbox Game Pass, then A Short Hike is also available to play for free!