As a reviewer, it’s hard to really describe The Path. I could write a large number of factually correct statements that wouldn’t really give a good review of the game. The Path is so very different from any other game that it’s hard to find a basis of comparison.

The Path is the latest game by developer Tale of Tales, an independent developer that has developed other unusual and original games. The developers have been proponents of creating Art (with a capital A) using 3D technology. They even wrote a Realtime Art Manifesto describing how developers can use real-time 3D environments to create art. This may help explain some of the non-traditional design aspects found in The Path.

So, bear with me as I try to write a review for a game that seems to be nearly unreviewable. To make my job a bit easier, I’m going to focus on the gameplay elements, then the story elements; it’s not easy because these two elements are heavily intertwined, but in the end, we will see how they fit together.

Also, understand that much of this game depends on the player’s personal experiences, even more than most games. Being a game developer and a writer, I bring different experiences and appreciations to the game that others may not necessarily share.

Gameplay

The Path is all about exploration. The few instructions you’re given are vague and, in one case, misleading. The goal is that the player should explore and discover the mechanics of the game while playing. Although this makes an interesting experience, it can be frustrating for people who just want to play a game.

The game can be controlled by a number of methods: mouse, keyboard or game controller. I preferred the keyboard controls. I initially had some troubles with the controls, when the character would veer off into a specific direction, but I didn’t experience this again in subsequent play sessions.

The gameplay focuses on the theme of exploration. You pick one of six characters and set off on your adventure. You start at the beginning of a path to your grandmother’s house. Once you ignore the misleading instructions to “stay on the path,” you have a beautiful forest to explore. However, you will not be able to walk back on the path and thus find grandmother’s house — without help from an outside source.

Characters can travel through the forest at a walk, or they can run. Walking is slow, but you get a wide view of the forest and can see quite a distance away. Running moves the camera angle so that it is high above the character, making it harder to see in the distance. Some of the items in the forest disappear from view if you run, so you have to walk some of the time to find things.

Within the forest you’ll find different items that you can interact with or collect. Each character can interact with some items but not others. The most common items that any character can collect are 144 yellow “coin-flowers” scattered around the forest. Collect enough and you get a hint as to your larger goal: collecting special items scattered about the forest.

The forest is randomly generated each time you play a character. The items you can find or interact with are placed in different positions. In addition, you will have three “feature areas” out of six possible ones in each trip through the forest. Some characters must visit specific areas to collect all items, so you might have to do several trips if you want to collect everything. Each character also is tied to a specific feature area, where their final boss awaits.

The random placement of the forest tends to frustrate meaningful gameplay. Instead of learning where things are in the forest, you spend a lot of time wandering around hoping to stumble on items. The reduced visibility while running means you’ll be wandering around slowly if you want to find things. Having some of the elements remain static would give the game some more structure to understand.

Each character can only collect specific items in the forest. Collecting an item gives a small bit of text explaining a bit more about the character. The thoughts tend to be rather poetic, weaving a larger story. If the character cannot collect or interact with an item, then an image of a character who can interact with the item briefly flashes on the screen.

Your ultimate goal is to end up at grandmother’s house. Once inside the house, you are treated to a cutscene where you control the pace moving forward. If you haven’t met the final boss for the character in the forest, you’ll often be rewarded with an additional ability to help you in the game. For example, the first ability you get is to know which direction grandmother’s house is while you’re on the path. Some of the items you collect in the forest will open other paths through the house.

If you have met the character’s final boss, you are treated to an alternate trip through grandmother’s house. After this trip, the character will be unavailable until you complete the journey with all the characters.

The game doesn’t give you many rewards in terms of gameplay; most of the rewards you get are related to revealing parts of the story. Collecting all items, for example, doesn’t seem to have any specific reward. The screen showing the score at the end of a character’s exploration seems to be unhelpful if not inaccurate. You should be playing the game for the story, not for the rewards from gameplay.

Now that you know how the game is played, time to provide a bit of context and why the story is worth trying to unlock.