PC User Reviews

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.

Clunky, unintuitive controls with poor animations and sounds make this a drawn out chore rather than an enjoyable experience. Its trying to be different and for innovation i give it 2 points but its just so tedious and poorly executed to be given any more.

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 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.

I never, ever, rate a game a zero. I will likely never rate another game a zero again either. This game shouldn't even be available on steam. Freaking psychopaths made this game. The first time I played, I obeyed the rules, and stayed on the path. It takes an extremely long time to get to your objective, and then the game ends and you get an F for obeying the rules. The second time I played, I went off the path, found a guy burying a dead guy, I think I got **** (a little kid girl got ****) but you didn't see that, you were knocked out. I got back to my objective point (grandmother's house) only to have this house turn all funky and then my head was smashed between a wall and a giant piece of metal. A little girl's head, smashed between 2 objects. Oh and I got a C+ that time. You get a better grade based on how horribly you kill these little girls? No. No.. This game isn't right. No.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Pretentiousness: The Movie: The Game

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.

Imagine that you're deaf and a complete stranger is trying to tell you about a series of dreams they had. Also, they'll only continue telling you about the dreams as long as you're jogging backwards on a treadmill in snow-shoes. That's about as confusing, frustrating, unfulfilling, unimpressive and cohesive as the experience known as "The Path" is. All that being said, it does give it a modicum of novelty and I suppose that's worth something.

While being an absolutely amazing piece of art visually, this game doesn't provide any entertainment value. It's painfully slow (e.g. you even have to watch the same cutscene which can't be skipped at the beginning of each new game). Your character walks slowly, and when you attempt to run the camera gets positioned at an inconvenient angle, as if punishing you. This game makes an impression that it was done not for the players (who actually paid for the game) but for the devs themselves. Guys, it's not painting where you make some picture, put it up in an exhibition and wait for a rich guy to come and buy it. This is entertainment software. If it doesn't entertain, don't call it a game. Yes, the game is notable as a message in the lines of "we wanted to do it different" and I get this message, but the product itself is not playable.

Beautiful and mystical with a depressing theme and always a sad ending. Nothing could be better. The concept works so well, I instantly fell in love with this game. You can tell each girl has her own distinct personality and hauntings. Beautiful emptiness in the forest with gorgeous music to discover a piece of the character with every turn. Fantastic!

This is pretty much an unintentional parody of indie games. If you're the most pretentious person at your Hop Topic and want to experience the most convoluted adventure game logic this side of Sierra and also hate yourself I strongly recommend this game.

Boring, slow, pretentious. You walk along a path, moving really really slowly. If you walk for long enough, you reach grandmother's house and the game starts over. If you walk off the path, some weird and completely arbitrary events are triggered (ex. I found a woman playing piano in a gazebo, and the game gave me some philosophical one-liners about living life the way I want to, or something). There's no storyline or entertainment of any kind. Don't waste your time.

I really enjoyed this game, and I can't wait for Tale of Tales to create more! This is a very calming game to play, calm yet creepy. I wish more games would take us to a place that The Path takes us. The music is deliciously creepy, I had downloaded the soundtrack. I jumped on this band wagon a little late, but I really hope that some time in the future Tale of Tales releases more merchandise for The Path. I'd love to purchase it. Thank you Tale of Tales!

Beautiful and darker. Is not a videogame, neither an interactive story. It's an experience, a trip into your soul and your mind. Walk into the world created for this "game" and ask yourself WHAT you REALLY seek and see. Another person would see the same thing you have seen?

In terms of the recent crop of interactive-computer-art (Esther, Fatale, The Graveyard), this certainly comes out best in better interactivity, better use of one's own imagination, less linearity (though still there), and interesting music. Think of it as going to see a modern art piece, liking it, and buying your own copy to interact with at home. It does fall slightly in terms of controls (what's with the running change of angle, or just walking through things), but overall, taken in small 10-15 minute doses, a different way to spend one's time and imagination. Quite good.

This is not a horror game even though it is listed under the horror genre. The game was too different to properly fit into any category. The game would be ignored if it wasn't in any category so horror was chosen. This game is art. Players are suppose to wander the woods, taking in the atmosphere. Watching how each girl, all with their own personalities, react to the same object or situation. There is no shooting or any main goals to accomplish. I've had no bugs with this game.

It's sad to see so many bad reviews for this. Clearly, a misunderstood gem, this software goes beyond gaming and turns into art as soon as you realize that your actions are a consequence of decisions very similar to those one would take in a real situation. Curiosity, ability to awe and imagination are a requirement to unlock the full potential of this art piece that demands a user interaction in order to achieve its narrative goal. Granted, graphics are not bleeding edge and controls could be slightly better, but the heavy aesthetic and psychological value are priceless, and beyond anything else has attempted before. While Amnesia: The Dark Descent keeps the prize as Best Horror game, The Path secures a solid second place thanks to very dark, macabre and disturbing content... which is almost in its entirety imagined by you. There's where its genius resides. If you get bored, well, most likely you're the type of person that gets bored in museums as well.

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.

A wonderful artistic game that shows how impactful a game can be. The demo is horrible, showing off none of the highlights of the game while showing off all of the tedium. While very slow to play and rather simple, it makes a very heavy statement on each play-through that had me fighting to complete as much of the game as possible. Worth a play but very dark, brooding, tedious, and depressing much of the time.

Beautiful, bug free, captivating, and oh so indie. This game is, amazingly, only 488mb large.. and given the amount of moving, interacting art in this game, I'd say that alone is a huge accomplishment. For those with a creative mind, give this game a try! You can't solve any of this game's goals with an MP5, it requires thought and the payoff is a dark and thoughtful twist on an old tale reborn.