Claire is a young bird visiting Hawk Peak Provincial Park with her aunt. She needs to reach the top of the mountain to get cell reception for an important call. That is the entire premise. Everything else is up to the player.

A Short Hike is a tiny open-world exploration game about a walk up a mountain. Claire can run, climb, swim and glide using feathers collected along the way, each new feather extending how far and high she can soar. The island park is small enough to feel intimate but dense enough that every trail, beach and forest grove holds something worth discovering: a fisherman with a story, a sandcastle competition, a buried treasure map, a stranger who just wants to chat. None of it is urgent. The game has no fail state, no combat and no timer. It takes about an hour and a half to reach the summit; most players spend twice that exploring the island. Adam Robinson-Yu developed the entire game solo and released. It won the IGF Seumas McNally Grand Prize in 2020 and is one of the most warmly received indie games of its era.

Key Features: • Open island to explore at your own pace: beaches, forests, caves and a mountain summit • Gliding and climbing with golden feathers, swimming and friendly NPC encounters • No fail state, no combat, no timer, roughly 90 minutes to summit, longer to explore fully