A Short Hike [Xbox]
Developed by Adamgryu, A Short Hike has you take on the role of Claire, who has travelled with her Aunt May to Hawk Peak Provincial Park. Claire is unhappy with the lack of signal for her mobile phone as she’s due an important phone call, so May suggests that she climbs to the top of Hawk Peak, since it’s only ‘a short hike away’. It’s a peaceful exploration game that has plenty to see and do, and really pulls you in. You have the freedom to take things at your own pace, completing tasks for the folk you’ll meet around the park, spending some time fishing, or just wandering around to take in the sights and glide off of the highest peaks you can find. It’s a very satisfying, relaxing game to pass the time with, whilst uncovering everything that Hawk Peak has to offer.
You can run, climb and glide around the island, with Golden Feathers being the wind beneath your wings, so to speak. The more feathers you own, the more stamina you’ve got - whether that is for running, climbing or gaining additional flaps of your wings to gain some height whilst gliding. There are a couple of Silver Feathers available too, and these will improve your speed, but the Golden Feathers are definitely the more important of the two (and the more easy to come by).
With six different ‘Pixel Size’ options, A Short Hike is somehow very visually pleasing no matter which one you choose. With the ‘big and crunchy’ option having an overly pixelated look that still manages to look gorgeous, and ‘minimum’ at the opposite end giving everything a very clean look, it’s hard to decide where on the spectrum you want to land. The world itself is stunning, and the map is densely packed. Dialogue is filled with humour, with sassy little quips from many of the characters you’ll meet, and the soundtrack is lovely and peaceful, with tones that evolve as you progress further up the mountain.
Making sure to speak to everyone is important, as there’s so much to do; some characters will need help to find items, or they’ll give you hints to various points of interest. You can purchase Golden Feathers from a few places, as well as finding them out in the world too - and you’ll also be able to purchase clothing items or gain them as a reward for assisting NPCs. Additionally, you will find a bunch of different tools to help you as you progress, with pickaxes to break open shortcuts, a shovel to dig up treasure and a bucket to water Rubber Flowers to give you a little bit of bounce to get further up the mountain.
There’s tonnes of additional things to keep you busy, from treasure maps with slight riddles to figure out the location of their rewards; parkour races to race Avery from one part of the map to another; and Beachstickball, which is essentially volleyball but with sticks, to name just a few. All of these things feel enjoyable to do, and never feel like a chore to complete. There’s even the ability to rent a Motorboat to take for a spin, and this too feels satisfying and fun.
A Short Hike may be short - able to be fully completed in just a couple of hours - but it’s a worthwhile couple of hours. We had played it previously on Switch, and were always excited about the idea that it might one day come to Xbox - because who doesn’t love nabbing achievements as they explore!? Priced at £6.69 on the Xbox Store, it’s a phenomenal price for what it offers, and we’d highly recommend it to anyone looking for a new game with chilled vibes to peacefully pass the time with.
In the end, we decided to give A Short Hike the Collecting Asylum rating of 10/10.
Have you played A Short Hike yet? What did you think of it?
Let us know in the comments below!
- V x
Thank you to Popagenda for the A Short Hike Xbox review code!
