10 Video Games Way Freakier Than You Thought

Despite its suggestively ominous title, Night in the Woods was largely marketed as a charming adventure indie game in the vein of the Life Is Strange series.

With its sardonic sense of humour, quirky cast of anthropomorphic animal characters, and appealingly cute 2D art-style, it painted itself as the perfect "hangout game" for anyone who wants to relax with a neat narrative experience for a few hours.

And while Night in the Woods is often a joyous experience, it's also one suffused with the pains of growing up, centered around protagonist Mae, a college dropout whose mental state deteriorates over the course of the story.

The game is on one hand a meditation on mental health, class, economics, and politics, but slowly nudges itself in a more heightened direction with the later reveal of a deity-worshipping cult being behind the town's various kidnappings.

It's quite a leap for a game which at first seemed quite tethered to the ground - for one starring animals with human characteristics, at least.