A Short Hike multiplayer mode is available to anyone with a copy of the game on PC, and no, this isn't an April Fool's joke.
The mod comes courtesy of Adam Robinson-Yu, who created A Short Hike. Robinson-Yu explained in a tweet that the mod was originally supposed to be an April Fool's joke, but now it's a real thing you can download and play.
To be clear, although it allows up to 99 players to join a single game together, this isn't a battle royale mod and there's no combat of any kind. In fact, since only the player state is synced up, you can't really interact with any other players either. It's just a silly little novelty that lets you see other players wandering around Hawk Peak, which is a lovely freebie for fans of the game. Robinson-Yu also clarified that it won't become an official game mode, saying this is all "just a fun experiment."
The developer says A Short Hike's multiplayer mod will stay online for two weeks, but after that you'll still be able to make your own server to keep the magic alive. If you own A Short Hike on Steam, Itch.io, GOG, or Epic and have the latest version installed, you can follow the instructions laid out here to download the mod and start your serene multiplayer hike. The webpage also explains how to set up your own server once the official one goes offline.
For everything on the horizon, check out our extensive guide to new indie games of 2022.
