Play at your own risk.
Honestly, Roblox used to give me the ick. There was something about its LEGO-like character models, flat colors, and seemingly simple gameplay concepts that made me steer clear of the platform entirely. That changed when I actually tried it–and became sickeningly OBSESSED with it.
Now, Roblox is massive and, at first glance, generic. It’s the largest gaming platform in the world by far, easily doubling Steam’s daily concurrent player count. Its library continues to improve every year, offering some genuinely incredible experiences. Sure, there’s plenty of brain-rot–literally and figuratively–with half-baked gameplay and cash-grabby premises. But that’s the trade-off of a platform that allows developers of any scale to create whatever they want. And within that chaotic sea of games are beautifully crafted gems that deserve recognition far beyond the Roblox shell.
I’ve had my fun with Grow A Garden, sharpened my fashion sense in Dress To Impress, and survived deadly adventures in Expedition Antarctica. But the game that blew my mind, and remains etched deep in my brain, is 99 Nights In The Forest.
This survival horror game is truly built different
99 Nights In The Forest is arguably the most popular game on Roblox right now, and for pretty good reason too.
It drops you into an open-world forest where your goal is to rescue four trapped kids before the 99-night deadline–but they’re guarded by ferocious wolves and bears. Step outside your campfire’s safe zone at night, and unkillable monsters will hunt you down. Every few nights, cultists also attack your camp, forcing you to defend the base you’ve built.
Before you can be a hero, you’ll need to grind. You chop wood, gather scraps, hunt for food, and slowly build yourself up. Upgrading your campfire expands the map, revealing more danger but better loot. Resources are used to construct machines, defenses, and structures. You scavenge for bandages, weapons, and anything useful that might help you survive another night.
While the game's core objective remain the same, starting a new run in 99 Nights rarely feels repetitive. The map evolves constantly through updates that introduce new monsters, biomes, and events, keeping the experience fresh. The addition of Classes–which are unlockable with Diamonds, the game’s in-game currency–adds another layer of depth with unique perks and weapons.
Once you rescue all four kids, you’re rewarded with Diamonds, and the main objective is marked complete. In truth, however, the game has only just begun.
Welcome to Hotel California
99 Nights In The Forest is designed to never truly end.
One hundred days take roughly an hour of real time, and it’s entirely possible to push your survival count into the thousands. You become obsessed with the pursuit of longer survival streaks, especially as your record will be permanently displayed on your profile.
It also helps that you have a decently-sized map to explore with many side objectives to do–driving you to play longer. Over time, players amass resources and transform their base from a bare shack into an elaborate, personalised home. However, with no pause function, or any way to save your game, leaving becomes VERY difficult.
Logging off from the game means scrapping away your hard-earned progress, excluding any Diamonds and other currencies you might have gathered. Your base, a result of hours of decorating and organising, makes walking away feels devastating–knowing you can never return to that exact version of “home.”
Players have found themselves hooked for hours. In my case, I've neared 18 hours of continuous gameplay in a single day. As if that's not enough, I would log in the next morning and start all over again, wondering when the loop would finally break, and when the game might finally lose its hold on me.
But my addiction overpowered my conscience, as I found myself repeatedly inviting my friends to “break our previous record.” I was obsessed with achieving many “late game” tasks–like taming a mammoth or fishing for rare creatures. I wanted to explore the map to the fullest and continue improving my base. So I just kept on playing until my body gave way.
99 Nights is finely seasoned with addictive design, quietly siphoning away hours and days beyond your control, akin to a Hotel California that you just can't escape.
You might deem me dramatic, but the game's impact was REAL. Roblox is now embedded in my brain, and I will always look back at 99 Nights as a truly insane experience.
99 Nights was easily the game that impressed me the most this year, leaving a lasting mark that I didn’t expect from a simple Roblox experience. It’s surprising how a game without flashy visuals or massive budgets managed to pull me in so completely–but that’s the magic of Roblox.
Earlier in 2025, Grow a Garden captured the spotlight with its simple yet addictive gardening loop, right before 99 Nights took over as the new standout. As the year comes to a close, I’m excited to see what innovative Roblox games might emerge next, and inevitably pull me right back into the platform's clutches.
