A Short Hike

it was ok. short as stated, but I didn't really engage with the story so much. writing wasn't for me

Perfect game for a chill night. It's really fun just flying arround and exploring the island. Plus it has an unique artstyle I've never seen before.

so after beating this game i can confirm it is a short hike they sure weren't lying. The journey to get to the peak was so surreal and incredible. definitely recommend as i was invested the whole way through this cozy game. this is the only cozy game that has ever existed, nobody has ever tried to make a cozy game before. no other video game has fishing and cute graphics, in fact this is the only indie game. ever, like no other indie game exists. buy this game on sale as it will go for quite cheap, though i recommend buying every game on sale. 9/10 instant classic i fr have nothing wrong to say about it, probably better than pikuniku tbh but play that one as well.

This is a delightful indie game that blends exploration and adventure in a charming open world. You play as Claire, a bird on a journey to reach the summit of a mountain, where you can explore at your own pace, discover hidden treasures, and interact with other characters. The game’s simple yet beautiful art style, relaxing soundtrack, and easy-to-grasp mechanics make it a soothing experience. It’s perfect for those looking for a calming, uplifting game that still offers a sense of discovery and adventure.

A Short Hike feels like a warm hug. It is a simple game that reminds you of simpler times.


There are so many faces to meet and characters to help, with so many different things to share with you. Saying "stories" feels too shallow, because these characters feel like real people. Many of them made me laugh and were very kind, but many of them also made me ache and sympathize. They have real struggles, struggles I myself relate to, and as Claire I was able to help and support them.

But Claire also struggles. From the start, when talking to Aunt May, it’s clear Claire is anxious about a phone call she’s awaiting. Aunt May suggests she hikes up to Hawk Peak, both to get reception to her phones but most of all to take her mind off of things. And thus, both Claire and the player start exploring. And soon enough, the awaited phone call is fully forgotten. The anxiety has been replaced by a sense of calm, curiosity and joy. Both for Claire, and the player.

This game allowed me, as Claire, to help characters I met in the world. But the characters in this world, through helping Claire, also helped me. They made me feel calm, safe, included and appreciated. They made me appreciate the now of both their world and my own.

And I don't know about you, but I really enjoyed My (Short) Time as a carefree kid again.


Thank you for the hug adamgryu

Relaxed game about exploring, easily get lost for a few hours whilst playing it. Works great on Steamdeck

A very relaxing and peaceful adventure game. I played this mainly while I was sick, and found the peaceful pace of it to be fun and rewarding. Getting to explore the whole island and surroundings was enjoyable. It's not a super long game, but the quality of the time played is high and worth it.

Music is relaxing as well, good soundtrack.

best game ive ever played
fun cute and cozy
ill prob revisit in a couple of months to relive playing it for the first time

I don't know if I can do this game justice in words in a review. I may have had a short playthrough, but I definitely want to come back to it again one day. Hawk Peak Island is a beautiful place, this game has such a serene and cozy vibe, the music and atmosphere feel tranquil, and you can go at your own pace and explore. I love everything this game has, it feels like nothing is wasted and there's a secret on every nook and cranny of the island. Pick it up and play it, you'll love it.

Lovely, lovely game! The visuals are so cute, and the interaction with npcs are either heartwarming or funny as hell. I had such a wonderful time completing this game c: I'll definitely look into the dev's games cause A Short Hike was totally my type of cozy, cute game.

Brilliant, simple, charming, exploring, learning game. May be too simple for some but its right up my street.

really fun and chill game. loved the visuals and the story, as well as getting all the achievements. definintely worth the price :)

i love this game. it might be short for the main goal, but it will keep you a while longer if you aim to 100% it, which is quite fun actually, mainly because it doesn't feel like you're doing it just for the achievements, but actually like its meant to be done normally, so i recommend you to do it if you're already at it. as for the game itself, its a very capturing emotional experience, beautiful music that copes well with the atmosphere and colors, lots of cute dialogues with personality to them, very fun gameplay mechanics to play around with, and i just love the cute artstyle (don't worry, it doesn't have to be pixelated). this game is very relaxing, and it really shows emotion, it just seems like the creator really gave their heart into the game. i cant even explain it, but the game just made me really connect to it, and it really got my emotions. it might not be for everyone, but i just love it. truly a rare game, and one of my favorites

Gorgeous experience.

A Short Hike is wonderful because you just get to run around exploring and, eventually, expand your wings across the island. I think the gameplay is unique in that way and I don't remember playing a game quite like this. Worth the the hype, a lot of fun, lovely art style, funny characters. Can't praise it highly enough.

One of the best games I have ever played I think everyone should give this game a chance and it will take your A minute to get used To the graphics

Adorable little game with some interesting gameplay mechanics.
And also cute animal folks.

A charming, simple and cozy game. worth the price on sale. 9/10 - knows exactly what it wants to achieve.

Absolutely loved this game. Great experience, beautiful chill music score, surprisingly deeper content than originally anticipated, and just a short, sweet, cozy game with a lot of things done well with polish and thought. Even almost a metroidvania in the way that some things can be obtained out of order if you're skillful and clever enough. My only two gripes with this game as pure feedback for the developer: first, the camera angle and its self-adjustments are a little disorienting and annoying at times especially when flying around close to cliffs and tall structures. Second, I get that the game is supposed to feel like an adventure and exploration is at the top for encouraged gameplay elements, but a map or mini-map would have been helpful to guide the player once they have located things so they could better navigate when they needed to go to a specific place. I would have even been okay with it being an item you have to obtain, even in pieces to complete as a mission so that by the time the game is near the end, you would be able to have enjoyed the freedom of exploration without really knowing where you were but once you wanted to go for 100% completion, you could easily navigate yourself to where you need to go by orienting yourself with the map. Other than that, this game was amazing and I highly recommend it especially when on sale for $5 which is what I picked it up at. Give it a shot, I'm pretty certain most people would also love this experience as I have.

i think this is the first singleplayer game i loved enough to want to 100% (i got stuck on beackstickball though because i suck)... it's such a sweet and spunky little game though; i'd recommend it to anyone. i actually got so sad when i finished it because i knew the adventure had ended u_u... anyway. go check it out :)

I thought it was a pixel game, which was one of my preferences, but the dev actually gave you options to choose the resolution and that was nice. The graphics, pixel or not, was quite pleasing to my eyes. The gameplay was fun and I enjoyed finding and collecting stuffs. The story was simple but gave you a warm feeling at the end. Hopefully the dev can make some more similar games in the future coz I quite like their style.

A short, cozy game with a beautiful art style and soundtrack that make exploring the island an absolute joy.

This game is incredibly enjoyable and calming for the price point it is at. It has a design and feel similar to Animal Crossing, while being less grind focused, and more focused on casual goals and achievements. Some of the achievements in the subplots are more complex than that of the main plot such as the Boat Race and Beachstickball, but they don't take away from the enjoyment of the game. It is hard not to giggle at the slow-mo boat ramp stunt, GTA-style, or the concept of volleying a beach-ball with a stick. The main plot of this game can be achieved by reaching the summit at the end of the short hike, but please relax and enjoy this game by participating in the subplots along the way.

Lovely little experience. Bloody buy it. Bloody buy it in a second if it's on sale. Do it. It's relaxing, it's pretty, it's nostalgic, it's simply sunshine in a bottle.

I've played it twice.I think the producer must be a nice person.
BTW the soundtrack is very relaxing.
10 out of 10 i think

indeed a short hike, but this game's been one of my favourites for a while! even though it's been sitting in my library at 100% for a while, i find myself coming back to it every now and then just to glide around and fish. each character's dialogue is filled with personality and the art style and music design makes the game feel so warm :) highly recommend!

I'm going to keep this review short, (like the game!) and very bare bones to try give explain why this game was so cozy and excellent:

Short but sweet, calming game, well written dialogue, interesting story and characters, beautiful open world with tons to explore and do and to top it all off a beautiful bittersweet ending. A overall cozy game with a wonderful sound track. There is truly nothing to hate about this game.

10/10 honestly a must play for me (especially for the price)

Everything you could ask for in a casual indie game. Experience a heartwarming story with a cute soundtrack and prepare to get distracted by loads of side content.

TL;DR: This is easily one of my favorite feel-good games. You can probably complete the main objective in an afternoon, but there are so many easter eggs and collectibles that you'll easily get several more hours of play time out of it. I have a couple gripes with the controls and UI, but all in all it's a pretty perfect game.

---- More thoughts if you want 'em ----

This game hit the same chord for me as Haven Park (in a good way). So if you liked HP, you'll like this game. And if you loved A Short Hike and want more of the same vibes, HP would be a great game to check out!

Sound: The soundtrack is simple and matches the adventuring-but-also-super-chill vibes of the world. SFX were cute and unobtrusive. Main theme is a bit repetitive, but good enough that I don't mind hearing it over and over. 8/10

Graphics/Design: Really unique and fun. 9/10

Story: There isn't really much story unless you go looking for it, so make sure to chat with the NPCs if you're into that sort of thing. It's all very light and fun, and the dialogues perfectly strike a balance of funny/quirky, not too long, and uplifting without being super corny. 9.5/10

Controls:[b] Highly recommend playing with a controller (mouse/keyboard made me seasick). They were pretty intuitive, and the flying controls felt super smooth and satisfying. Only gripe is that the button to jump/fly is also the button to interact with NPCs/objects. This is intuitive and works great 95% of the time, but makes it very easy to accidentally trigger, and I couldn't find a way to skip or close out of them. It got a bit annoying for some of the longer convos you'd already heard, and was super frustrating during timed tasks ( I had to do the race to the peak several times because I'd get stuck talking to the campfire bear and Avery would take the lead) 7.5/10

[b]UI: Just ok. I found the menus weirdly unintuitive despite their simplicity. Also, a lot of the landscape is really repetitive, so it's easy to get turned around. I get that exploring is part of the experience, but it would be amazing if you could unlock a map at some point (e.g. a reward for a task or something to buy). I had a hard time visualizing where places were relative to other places, so I'd seen the whole island several times over and usually knew exactly where I wanted to go, but still had to wander around aimlessly trying to find it. 6/10

Value: Worth every penny. I probably would've paid twice the price. 10/10

Achievement Hunting: A little grindy at times, but not in a frustrating way; I loved just hanging out in the world. I checked most of them off by just by exploring and talking to NPCs, but I had to look up a couple of the hidden achievements to satisfy the completionist monster who lives inside me.

Amazing game but i have to spend 1 hrs each for boat and baseball achievements still it is a relaxing and fun game for a short play as its a short hike

A Short and Lovely Hike

This review is from the perspective of someone who 100%s games on Steam

A Short Hike is a beautiful game. It is also, as the title might suggest, quite a short one. The game does not try to pad out its runtime. There are a good number of side quests and optional objectives on the island, but at the end of the day, you can 100% complete this game in less than 5 hours. With that being said, it is worth every penny.
As I grow older as a gamer, I find that the amount of hours you can squeeze out of a game does not equate to its value. I would rather play a well-crafted, 5-hour game than a 60-100 hour, padded-out open-world “experience.” A Short Hike is a perfect example of this.

This review will break down several aspects of A Short Hike, but I will avoid any spoilers or details that could ruin your first experience with the game. I will share my thoughts on the story, the gameplay, other miscellaneous topics, and finally the 100% achievement experience. If you just want my TL;DR, it is that A Short Hike is a sweet, cozy game that makes me feel as if I was dropped on one of the islands from Wii Sports and just told to mess around. It is definitely worth the buy.

Story

A Short Hike has a main story, but I personally would say it is a stretch to consider it one of the main draws of the game. It primarily exists to motivate you to climb the mountain. So, because of this, I want to instead use this section to highlight my love for the little side stories that A Short Hike tells.

This game has a fairly large cast of NPCs you can run into on your way up and around the mountain. I found all of them to be likable, with well-written and funny dialogue. The game also does a great job of using these NPCs to encourage you to engage with different parts of the island. Whether it be an NPC challenging you to races that force you to find the optimal path, an NPC who just wants to go out boating, or an NPC who will trade fish for currency, there wasn’t one character that I would say stood out as “weak.” Many of their little quirks or stories stand out to me as highlights of the game.

Gameplay

There is a fairly simple gameplay loop present in A Short Hike. You walk around, talk to NPCs, and use your hops or glides to navigate higher and higher up the mountain. This makes sense given the short runtime of the game, and I found that “feathers” (the item you use to upgrade your mobility) provided ample reason for me to explore all of the island and engage with its inhabitants.

The game also does a good job of introducing mini-games and new tools throughout its runtime, which keeps the game fresh. Maybe you’ll unlock a fishing rod, or maybe you will gain access to a speedboat. It felt like most of the major NPCs introduced a new mechanic for me to play around with.

Speaking of side quests, one highlight of the game for me was how some of the side quests would connect with one another. It helped make the island feel like more of a community.

Overall, the gameplay of A Short Hike isn’t very mechanically demanding, but I found it enjoyable to glide around the island and find its most hidden secrets.

MISC

Two quick miscellaneous topics:

First, the music of this game is great. It fits the experience and elevates the game even higher.

Second, the art style. This game is bright, gorgeous, and full of personality. If you aren’t a fan of the super pixelated graphics, there is a setting to reduce the pixelation of the game, and I found it still looked beautiful even on the “smoothest” setting.

Completion Perspective

Speaking from a completionist perspective, the experience was fairly relaxed. You pretty much have to do everything the game has to offer, but there is little that I found to be repetitive or particularly grindy. The hardest part was finding all the different fish you can catch and locating all the different sprouts you can water. There are plenty of resources online, though, to help you with this, and it shouldn’t take too long at all to knock it out.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I loved my time with A Short Hike. I typically am into more action-oriented games, so I found this to be a nice change of pace. I definitely recommend checking it out!
P.S. Feel free to friend request me on Steam if you want to keep up with my completionist journey!

Rating: 9.5/10

"A Short Hike" is the perfect game for anyone looking for a chill and relaxing experience. Despite its short runtime, the game is packed with charm, humor, and a delightful story that quickly draws you in. What makes this game stand out are the hidden achievements scattered throughout the world. Some even correlate to real-time events, adding an unexpected and engaging twist to the gameplay.

Although I initially didn't expect much due to its brevity, the characters, jokes, and lighthearted nature of the story make it an incredibly enjoyable experience. Each character you meet along the way feels unique and adds a sense of warmth to your journey, making the world feel alive.

The game’s length is both its strength and its weakness—it's bittersweet to reach the end so quickly. However, the hidden achievements and collectibles offer an extra layer of gameplay for those who want to extend their adventure and discover more about the characters and world.

In short, "A Short Hike" is a wonderful, bite-sized game that leaves a lasting impression. It's perfect for when you want to unwind, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun and heartwarming journey.

Beautiful and relaxing game, very cute and rewarding. All the NPCs are fun and super nice to talk to and have some back and forth banter. Perfect for a handheld in my opinion, very good to pause and pick up again later - you don't have any "crazy action" that you need to finish on the stop before being able to pause again. Gorgeous graphics, fun story, actually perfect game for what it is. Decent "endgame" content too, and collectible trophies aren't too problematic, though you do need maps and guides for feathers and sprouts if you wanna do them all.

Genuinely one of the nicest relaxation small games I've played

Fun and wholesome adventure with a lot of things to find. Very fun and short game.

Amazing game, made me feel nostalgic for the game while I was playing it. Beautiful music, beautiful graphics, amazing dialogue, and immaculate vibes.

This is the most adorable game I’ve played in a while. It saved my soul. I cannot believe there are devs out there who create something this good and put it out for such a cute price tag. Best time to be alive for sure

Such a sweet game! I loved the music and the graphics style. Its a short game, but for what it lacks in time spent playing it makes up with heart.

A short hike is a beautiful well crafted project, one that really whisks the player away with it's stunning visuals. Allowing all players to switch at any time between retro or smooth graphics letting you really take in the islands beauty weather you appreciate more clear and modern or old age art styles. Along with the gorgeous sound track while exploring the island in game and even while flying brings a wonderful atmosphere hearing the soundtracks switch seamlessly while you soar across the sky from one biome to another really sets the mood. With lots to see and do you can spend hours meeting all sorts of fun and silly characters and the situations they will put you in. There are very few if any bugs and issues with crashing when playing through this game, but the real thing to take home is it's side quests. The island itself is loaded with them from fishing to collecting feathers and even driving a boat. This game offers a lot of humor and will have any player playing maybe even more than once. The story at first is left more open ended giving the player the freedom to explore from the start, but the ending helps put a nice little emotional bow on everything explaining why our character is at this island in the first place. This game will challenge you, but only in a good way one that makes you want to finish what you started. One thing I loved greatly was the different soundtracks for the diverse areas of the whole island to the rainy area, snowy, and sunny beach side, even to the deep lush forests. One thing that was different from the norm of most games was the camera which opts to follow you on a scroll rather than your back this does take some getting used to. At times the camera can get stuck and have to catch up or even gets super zoomed in if you push against a object, but this isn't anything to worry about. A short hike was clearly made with love and care offering the player a calming and warm experience. 8/10
If you want to see more critical game reviews follow my curator page! https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44835038/

My favorite cozy game of all time. It's a very small open-world with no map, and no yellow line or quest markers to tell you where to go. You're told that your character wants to climb the mountain, but you are not rushed or pressured into doing so. You walk around meeting funny characters and collecting "golden feathers" that allow you to jump/climb higher and higher the more you find.

It also does all the video game-y stuff right. Jumping and climbing is satisfying, there's fun minigames sprinkled around for gameplay variety, the pacing is perfect, and I could go on. As a typically action-oriented gamer, I would highly recommend this game to almost anybody.

A very adorable and memorable game. I took my time and did mostly everything (I think). The controls feel very freeing, especially as you collect many golden feathers and are able to soar around with ease. I love the dynamic music that changes based on location, and how long you've been airborne. It's especially satisfying when you land on the final note of a melody. You could probably race to get to the top of the peak relatively quickly if you managed to get enough feathers early on, but it wouldn't do the game justice to rush through it. I feel that if you take your time as I did, the ascent is far more rewarding.

Really cute and beautiful game. Short but that's the point. Had a lot of fun playing

I was having a tough time when I chose to check this game out, and it helped bring a light into my day. If you're looking for a fairly short but warm and inviting experience, definitely play this.

The scenery, ambiance, and dynamic music while you explore the mountain is beautiful. Despite its name, there is still plenty for you to do and explore, and there *is* a learning curve to the movement that you'll get the hang of as you play. The writing is simple, yet really effective, and brings you empathy for the characters in this world.

If there was a more dynamic rating system for Steam, I'd give this a 5/5. I can't think of anything I actually dislike about the game; it serves its purpose perfectly. No bugs, no flawed designs. Just a really uplifting experience overall that I came to love.

It is so adorable and fun! So worth playing through to meet the adorable characters and beautiful sights. If you love cozy games, this is for you!

Relaxing game that feels very comfortable and makes you feel like you are a kid again. Its a little short but just enough to not get boring. Lots of content and good fluid controls. 10/10

I wish it was just a little bit longer in the hiking part tho, the mountain felt too short.

This is a fun game with plenty to do and serves well as a nice break between other games. It is also a great great game to play on long journeys.

Very cozy game! I loved that i could play this for like an hour a day and continue exactly from where i left off.

Really good game to play in small sessions and getting all achievements was pretty fun too!

Wish more games like this would exist, not in length neccessarily but just games you can quit and continue exactly where you left off whenever while also rewarding exploration similar to a short hike.

This is a clear recommendation to everyone, especially if you already like platformers.

Really fun to run and glide around the island and explore and collect things. Very relaxing, no danger, cute graphics.

The main storyline is so sweet, The gameplay is almost open world with the main quest being hiking the mountain and there's no harm in doing things a little out of order, which I enjoyed. The interactions with NPCs are entertaining and there is a lot of postgame content that you can cozily complete in your own time for the achievements if you're in to that. The art is beautiful, too. Was such a lovely game.