One Night Stand (PlayStation 4) Review

During the opening moments of One Night Stand, it would be easy to assume you're about to have a bad time. This is all text choices after all, so when an early typo results in a weird line of dialogue, it might come off like the proofreading (or lack thereof) is in the pudding. Fortunately, this is the only noticeable gaffe in the whole lot, at least in terms of grammar. One Night Stand is also a short experience, which in and of itself isn't bad. You're likely to uncover every one of the game's nine endings in a little over an hour. The real issue here is that, unless you time your saves well, the opening will need to be endured fairly frequently. It's very short, and the dialogue can be skipped as long as you've already seen it. Still, it can be a bit frustrating having to go through the early moments over and over again.

This feeling of repetition is more noticeable during the endings, which often feels very similar, if not almost identical. Ending up naked and in a precarious situation is funny the first time, and rarely after that. This isn't helped by the summarization of events in the final moments, as outcomes don't always feel special or even justified in the things that make them supposedly different. Consider the complaints finished, though, because One Night Stand is fantastic in every other department.

Beginning with the actual gameplay, it's fairly standard choose-your-own-adventure fare. Upon meeting the owner of the bed you're laying in, choices need to be made in order to complete the conversations that follow. She will occasionally leave, giving the player time to search around her room for his/her clothes, and clues to what happened, and who this person is.

It would be easy for the game to enter judge-y territory, but it never tries to. Instead, it's a very matter-of-fact experience, simply allowing the events from the previous night, and the players own intentions and choices, to unfold in a very organic way. If you snoop where you shouldn't, the girl reacts accordingly (though the option to never tell her of said snooping is always available). Thanks to the short run time, it's easy to make choices, retain the knowledge of the outcome, then plan accordingly for next time. Some of the endings actually require a bit of conversational tight rope walking, which is also nice, because this really manages to make you care about these two people.

That's not to say the temptation to be a jerk isn't there. Again, this really doesn't force you into any particular direction, and while the finales can feel a bit the same, they do give off a sense of accomplishment or failure that is impressive. Getting to know the girl is fantastic, and often it's easy to feel especially bad when the morning after goes wrong, considering how close the two characters got in previous runs.

A special shout out to the game's sense of humor, which is charming to say the least. While you won't be on the floor clutching your sides, it helps further make the moments feel human. Cracking jokes is a popular defence mechanism, and One Night Stand, if nothing else, absolutely nails human flaws and insecurities, so the subtle comedy feels nice. The art style here is also really nice, though it won't be everyone's cup of tea. While physical details are scarce, it actually works really well to further bathe this in a sense of confusion. Furthermore, it really makes the few animations you'll stumble across pop, feeling like these emotive moments have been earned, regardless if they are good or bad.