A Short Hike is a small exploration adventure by solo developer Adam Robinson-Yu. It debuted through Humble Monthly on 5 April 2019 and released on Steam and itch.io on 30 July 2019.1 A quiet landmark of the cozy canon, it won the Independent Games Festival's top prize in 2020.2

Gameplay

The player hikes, climbs and soars through the peaceful mountainside of Hawk Peak Provincial Park on the way to the summit — free to follow the marked trails or wander off the beaten path, meeting fellow hikers and finding hidden treasures along the way.3

Development and release

Robinson-Yu is credited as the game's creator, programmer and artist, with an original soundtrack by Mark Sparling and additional art and writing contributions from a small group of collaborators.1 He built the game in Unity, using Yarn Spinner for its dialogue trees and InControl for controller support.4

After its PC release, A Short Hike came to Nintendo Switch on 18 August 2020,1 and to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on 16 November 2021.56

Reception

At the 22nd Independent Games Festival Awards in 2020, A Short Hike won the Seumas McNally Grand Prize for Best Independent Game (a $10,000 award) and the publicly voted Audience Award.2 It also received three nominations at the 23rd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards: Family Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game, and Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction.1

References

  1. Adam Robinson-Yu. "A Short Hike — press kit" — ashorthike.com. Retrieved 9 July 2026. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  2. Game Developers Conference. "A Short Hike wins Grand Prize at the 2020 Independent Games Festival!" — GDC / Informa. Retrieved 9 July 2026. ↩ ↩2

  3. Valve. "A Short Hike" — Steam store data. Retrieved 9 July 2026. ↩

  4. Game Developer. "Road to the IGF: Adam Robinson-Yu's A Short Hike" — Game Developer. Retrieved 9 July 2026. ↩

  5. Adam Robinson-Yu. "The award-winning A Short Hike hits PS4 November 16" — PlayStation.Blog, 13 November 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2026. ↩

  6. PlayStation LifeStyle. "Award-Winning Adventure, A Short Hike, Headed to PS4 and Xbox One on November 16" — PlayStation LifeStyle, 14 November 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2026. ↩