Set in a world of zoomorphic humans,[1] the story follows a young feline person named Mae,[1] who drops out of college and returns to her hometown to find unexpected changes, alongside Bea, a gothic crocodile woman and her childhood best friend.

[5] An extended version of the game, titled the Weird Autumn edition, was released for Windows, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on December 13, 2017, and also for Nintendo Switch on February 1, 2018.

Paste magazine describes the themes covered as "mental illness, depression, the stagnancy of the middle and lower classes, and the slow death of small town America.

"[9] Margaret "Mae" Borowski is a 20-year-old college dropout, who relocates back to her Rust Belt-inspired hometown of Possum Springs, where the closure of local coal mines has led to visible economic stagnation.

She meets up with her old friends, including gloomy but intelligent Beatrice "Bea" Santello, hyperactive delinquent Greggory "Gregg" Lee, and his quiet, sensible boyfriend Angus Delaney.

Mae spends several days exploring Possum Springs and hanging out with her friends, but she also begins to have strange and vivid dreams.

At the town's autumn "Harfest" (Halloween) festival, she witnesses a teenager being kidnapped by a mysterious figure, whom Mae believes is a ghost; her friends are skeptical.

Mae is rescued by churchgoers, then eventually wakes up and returns to her friends, where she reveals that she dropped out due to her increasing dissociation from people and the world, seeing everything as mere shapes.

The next day, depending on whom the player interacted with the most throughout the course of the game, Mae sits down with either Bea or Gregg and discusses the events of the previous night, and all the happenings in Possum Springs.

[13] Benson names Chris Ware, Mike Mignola, Mary Blair, Flannery O’Connor, and Richard Scarry as influences on his work on Night in the Woods.

[14][15] He later stated the name was taken from the first song in The World/Inferno Friendship Society's album The Bridgewater Astral League, which influenced certain themes in the game, as well.

[20][21] In January 2018, the game was officially announced for the Nintendo Switch, and was released for the console the following month, including all content from the Weird Autumn edition.

In Japan, where the PlayStation 4 and Switch versions were ported and published by Playism on March 28, 2019,[39] Famitsu gave them each a score of one nine and three eights for a total of 33 out of 40.

[52] Penelope Scott's 2020 song "Rät" references the game in its lyrics, specifically Selmers' dream of leaving Possum Springs and burning down Silicon Valley.

[69][70] In May 2023, Revenant Hill was announced by The Glory Society, a cooperative game development studio that included Benson and Hockenberry.