The Path

It will be years before a game made by the big budget software houses like Ubisoft or EA is brave enough to attempt anything remotely similar, but The Path shows promising signs that gaming is starting to grow up.

Not an example of “games as art,” so much as a work of art deftly supported by a game.

It's slow to unfold and simple to play, but you won't soon forget this extraordinary work of interactive fiction.

The Path is a successful experiment and a good example that there are signs of innovation in the games-sector. The fascinating fact about this game is that you will have to use your own fantasy very much.

Flawed, intriguing art-game. [May 2009, p.70]

Whichever way you look at it, The Path is a phenomenal experience that has already generated huge amounts of debate over its adult content on message boards and forums.

If you have a lot of patience, follow The Path. If not, bugger off and pick up an FPS. [Aug 2009, p.75]

Basically, this is either a) one of the best things made with videogame technology ever made, or b) booooorring why can't I shoot anything? The key to understanding this "game" is that it isn't really that (for all the silly joke score at the end of each level). It's an art installation thingee that explores a good number of coming of age themes, as well as some of the not so submerged fears of that period in people's life. Some (see category b) call that "pretentious", by which they mean "I don't like that sort of thing". Others, myself included, see The Path as one of the most important works of the last decade. As they say on the internets, your mileage may vary.

The Path in an arthouse exploration/horror game where you control one of six girls as they make the trek to grandmother's house. You're told to stay on the path and avoid the wolf, but if you do what you're told, you don't get to experience anything this game has to offer. The Path is a mystery that needs to be unraveled. As you explore, you find more things and learn more about each of the girls, and you may bump into the "wolf". For each of the girls, meeting the wolf is a life-changing experience. The game is a very interesting mystery and an engaging metaphor, but when held to the normal standards for a video game, The Path is severely lacking. The controls are completely awful. The aesthetic is nice, but the actual graphic quality is pretty poor. The sound is odd, which is fitting for this game. The gameplay is slow. Really, really slow. You'll need a lot of patience. The game description on Steam should be taken seriously. This game is not for children. The Path is definitely not for everyone. Pick it up if an arthouse title with difficult metaphors interests you, but if you're looking for a fun game, this is not it. $10 is probably a bit much; wait for it to go on sale.

The Path is an original and uncommon adventure game, where you are granted 6 characters, each one of them successively trying to either save Grandma from the Wolf, or meet the Wolf, while wandering a mysterious forest. Each encounter can lead you to different places, and somewhat sets the ending of the chapter. From one character to another, you'll probably revisit the same places. So after you've completed the game main goal, the interest kinda... falls shorts. Of course The Path is not meant to be a space opera, and focuses more on the different emotions you may experience while playing. On my own, I felt this proposition wasn't enougth to get me going and explore more deeply. The game wasn't rewarding enough for my efforts.

Sorry, I just can't recommend this. I wondered around slowly in the forest for a while, picking up objects for no reason that I could discern, found locations triggering events that didn't make much sense. I understand from other reviews that there's likely a story here, but nothing compelled me to keep playing beyond my first couple of tries. Normally I like world exploration, but this was not rewarding. I'm glad I played through it a couple of times in effort to understand what folks were saying about the game, but I just found it slow and unengaging. I liked games like Dear Esther, Gone Home, and Lifeless Planet, so I thought I'd like this. The Path, however, just didn't do much for me.

The whole point of the game is to not follow the path (which is the only instruction the game gives you) which is an interesting concept. However there never feels like there is any reward for exploring the world and instead becomes a frustrating experience of being lost.