A Short Hike multiplayer mod adds many more birds to the mix

The summer getaway just got way bigger

Today is April 1, or April Fool’s Day. Many game studios are publishing jokes and fake-outs of potentially cool ideas that aren’t happening, but some are actually adding neat ideas. Thankfully, that’s the case for A Short Hike, which has a multiplayer mod out today.

A Short Hike developer Adam Robinson-Yu shared the mod on Twitter today. Dubbed A Short Hike 99, this is a PC mod that lets players on Steam, Itch, or GOG set out on their hiking adventure with friends. Up to 99 of them, actually.

???? A Short Hike 99 – a multiplayer mod ????

this was supposed to be some sort of april fools joke but i don’t wanna confuse anyone so I’m just gonna drop some facts

FACTS????
⭐️ it’s a rough mod
???? this won’t be an official game mode (sorry!)
➡️ test it here https://t.co/6t34s45RTP pic.twitter.com/ExUHFDsbRS

— adamgryu (@adamgryu) April 1, 2022

Spurred on by a friend’s recommendation that he should announce a Battle Royale version of the chill summer adventure, Robinson-Yu created the mod. There is no battling though; “just vibing.”

This being April 1, I booted up my Steam version of A Short Hike and opted in through the Betas tab to make sure it was real. And sure enough, I was soon greeted by a bunch of other bird pals, flying around and hopping on each others’ heads.

I still need to play through A Short Hike myself, but this experience may have tipped me over. There was something really enjoyable about not just vibing in the gorgeous world, completing the little quests and activities, but doing so with others. Having random encounters with other players and emoting with each other added a little extra joy to it all.

The instructions for getting into the mod are here, and they’re pretty easy to follow. While Robinson-Yu says he only plans to keep his own server up for two weeks, others can host their own and even run one in the background.

He also clarifies it’s not a beta and it’s rough. Essentially, it’s just a neat thing he got working and has only tested with, according to Robinson-Yu, “max 10 people.” But in the spirit of the holiday, it’s a pretty fun way to re-experience a nice game, or even see it for the first time.

Check out A Short Hike on Steam, Itch, and GOG here.