How to Save the Cats at the Dark Forest in Mineko’s Night Market

If you’re unlocking new locations in Mineko’s Night Market in order of tool cost, then odds are the Wood Axe and Dark Forest will be the fourth place you go. There are only six cats captured by agents here. Also, half of them involve timing your movements to avoid flashlights when agents movie. However, a few of the challenges might be a bit tricky.

How to Access the Dark Forest in Mineko’s Night Market

Like Birch Forest, you need to buy an axe to gain access to this new Mineko’s Night Market area. The $800 Wood Axe is the one you need. Once you purchase it from the town hunk’s tool store, you can get on the bus and select the Dark Forest from the map. Once there, you need to rescue its captured cats to open up the area for good.

How to Save the 6 Cats in the Dark Forest in Mineko’s Night Market

Unlike The Docks, there are no gimmicks with the Dark Forest in Mineko’s Night Market. This is a straightforward section where saving the six cats is mostly about timing. The only two exceptions involve three specific agents. One is surrounded by twigs that will snap if you walk normally, requiring you to “creep” using the left trigger to get by. Another involves blowing out a torch to scare them away, which also nets you the walkie talking you need for the third odd-one-out in this situation. 

Since many of these sections involve quickly running in when the timing is right to save the cats, I’m only going to focus on the “trickiest” ones to save. First, there’s the one with rubble on the ground around him. You’ll find this agent in the northeast corner. Hold down the left trigger on the Switch. Once an icon appears showing you can interact with the cat cage, do so. Then, sneak away while holding the trigger down.

The next one involves the agent constantly shining a light on the cat cage in the southeast corner. There’s a bright lantern nearby. Walk by without getting in the flashlight line. Select the lantern and choose to blow it out. When the agent leaves, save the cat and pick up the walkie talkie.

This next possibly tricky spot involves the two agents walking in a circle around the lake. You want to be as close to one of them as possible. This is because it takes a few seconds to select and set the cat by the cabin free, and you need that extra window of time to make sure the second agent doesn’t catch you. The position I have in the screenshot below should work for you.

The last part of the daring cat rescue in the Mineko’s Night Market Dark Forest involves the one at the north part of the map. There is an agent here holding a walkie talkie while watching a cat. You want to bring up your inventory. (On Switch, this is done via the Y button.) In this menu, select the walkie talkie you found earlier and use it. You’ll get four options. Choose “Hello?” to get the agent to leave.

There’s one last task before this area is clear. Head to the lake and go to the cabin where you saved the cat before. Choose to bust the door down. Agents will run out, and Mineko will get another artifact. You’ll also open up the area for chopping wood from tree stumps and fishing from the lake. (Note that you can get flying fish at this point randomly.)

Mineko’s Night Market is available on the Nintendo Switch and PC. It will be on the PS4, PS5, and Xbox One on October 26, 2023.