A Short Hike

2026-03-21
Playing A Short Hike feels like self-care. A little gaming vacation everyone should treat themselves to on a bad day -- I felt lighter and happier after playing it. It's effusively charming in that Animal Crossing way with a colorful palette, beach vibes, bubbly soundtrack and a world full of adorable and quirky animals.

The sheer density of characters to meet does a lot of heavy lifting for the vibes. I think in a world devoid of animals, this would be a weirdly sparse and depressing place. Instead the island you find feels like a community of people who know and care about each other. And in the same way, the game treads the line of twee really well with dialogue that despite all its jokes and gags comes off as goofy and endearing rather than try-hard or cringe.

What helps it the most though is the core gameplay. Imagine BOTW compressed to a single small island. You can climb, glide, and--because you're a bird--fly up and over the entire thing. Everywhere there are bits and bobs to collect, little people to talk to with little quests, and power-ups to improve your climbing/flying abilities. It's almost entirely diegetic with no map and only a compass to navigate you. The game trusts you to find your own way and decide how you want to spend your time.

It's a wonderful little toybox with side activities like races up the mountain to "stick volleyball," which as often rewards you with a power-up as a funny hat to wear.

And besides a couple pebbles in the shoe like the camera being finicky--especially when climbing--I found the traversing Hawk Peak Provincial Park to be delightful and pretty precise in a very Nintendo vein. I honestly didn't even realize you could tap jump repeatedly to fly until an hour in and it's one of the single most delightful moments I've had in a game in a long time.

My only complaint is I wish there was more. And yet I'm so happy it's as snackable as it is.