Sights & Sounds
- At this point, I'd be more surprised if a game published by Annapurna weren't pretty to look at. Even by that standard, The Pathless is often a very pretty game
- It's a marked improvement from Giant Squid's previous game, Abzû. It's not that Abzû was unpleasant to look at (on the contrary, it was also quite scenic), but now the spacious environments this team apparently likes to create aren't so barren and featureless. Level designs are peppered with ruins, caves, and forests that often contain puzzles or offer a good viewpoint for getting the lay of the land
- The character and boss designs are also interesting. I like the little motifs like the extra eyeballs and forked tails that unify the way they look
- The music was fairly somber and relaxing. Appropriate for the overall mood of the game, but it's not the type of soundtrack you'll find yourself thinking about days later
Story & Vibes
- Speaking of mood, The Pathless is a pensive, philosophical game that gives you plenty of time to absorb its peaceful settings
- The narrative is dropped progressively as you find and read the last thoughts of the spirits that scatter the almost entirely unpopulated land you explore
- The central thesis of the game's message is essentially summed up in a memorable line towards the end of the game, "The truth is a pathless land." The game's plot mostly serves as an allegorical vehicle to drive that point home
- Beyond that, there's not much meat on the bones, narratively or rhetorically speaking
Playability & Replayability
- As you traverse each of the game's large environments, you're accompanied by your trusty bow and your eagle buddy who helps you solve puzzles, access higher locations, and glide from place to place. Your bow is primarily used for shooting small boost icons that scatter the maps, which cause you to run faster and jump higher. In tandem, these two mechanics can help you navigate swiftly from place to place despite each level's verticality
- Your eagle's flap ability works as an extra jump and is the only upgradeable ability in the game. You obtain experience for it by solving puzzles
- Puzzles can be easily located with a spirit vision ability that highlights points of interest in a glowing fog. In addition to experience, you might also be rewarded with a special crest
- Collecting these crests is important for unlocking the boss sequence in each level. When using your spirit vision to look for puzzles, you'll encounter large towers. You'll have to ascend a certain number of these in each level, insert 1 or 2 crests, and move to the next one
- After lighting all the towers in a level, you'll initiate a chase sequence that requires chasing the boss down and shooting its weak spots while on the run. Succeeding here will take you to the boss fight, where you'll have to dodge and shoot your way to victory
- The boss fights begin to feel repetitive by the end. The chase sequences are all basically identical, and their attacks during the fights also feel fairly similar
- Beyond what I've already mentioned, there's poorly-designed stealth sequences that are fortunatley brief. These are only triggered if you try to enter the roving boss area before lighting each tower (or otherwise find yourself caught in its path as it moves around the map)
- Given the repetition and shallow mechanical depth for every system besides movement, I'm not feeling motivated to replay this anytime soon
Overall Impressions & Performance
- I found myself wanting a little more of everything out of the game. It's pretty and moving around is kinda fun, but more variety in puzzles, bosses, weapons, abilities, or combat would have gone a long way to improve the experience
- Minimalism in game design can be done well when a single idea or mechanic is explored and used creatively, but a game having multiple shallow systems tacked onto one good one just feels unsatisfying
- The game ran flawlessley, but then again, it's not a program that'll work your setup too hard
Final Verdict
- 6.5/10. The game isn't without its charm and the overall message is nice, but like the developer's previous game, it winds up feeling like a pretty experience that lacks substance. Worth a playthrough on a sale if you want a chill action-adventure game that's heavy on the adventure bit, but don't go in expecting too much
- At this point, I'd be more surprised if a game published by Annapurna weren't pretty to look at. Even by that standard, The Pathless is often a very pretty game
- It's a marked improvement from Giant Squid's previous game, Abzû. It's not that Abzû was unpleasant to look at (on the contrary, it was also quite scenic), but now the spacious environments this team apparently likes to create aren't so barren and featureless. Level designs are peppered with ruins, caves, and forests that often contain puzzles or offer a good viewpoint for getting the lay of the land
- The character and boss designs are also interesting. I like the little motifs like the extra eyeballs and forked tails that unify the way they look
- The music was fairly somber and relaxing. Appropriate for the overall mood of the game, but it's not the type of soundtrack you'll find yourself thinking about days later
Story & Vibes
- Speaking of mood, The Pathless is a pensive, philosophical game that gives you plenty of time to absorb its peaceful settings
- The narrative is dropped progressively as you find and read the last thoughts of the spirits that scatter the almost entirely unpopulated land you explore
- The central thesis of the game's message is essentially summed up in a memorable line towards the end of the game, "The truth is a pathless land." The game's plot mostly serves as an allegorical vehicle to drive that point home
- Beyond that, there's not much meat on the bones, narratively or rhetorically speaking
Playability & Replayability
- As you traverse each of the game's large environments, you're accompanied by your trusty bow and your eagle buddy who helps you solve puzzles, access higher locations, and glide from place to place. Your bow is primarily used for shooting small boost icons that scatter the maps, which cause you to run faster and jump higher. In tandem, these two mechanics can help you navigate swiftly from place to place despite each level's verticality
- Your eagle's flap ability works as an extra jump and is the only upgradeable ability in the game. You obtain experience for it by solving puzzles
- Puzzles can be easily located with a spirit vision ability that highlights points of interest in a glowing fog. In addition to experience, you might also be rewarded with a special crest
- Collecting these crests is important for unlocking the boss sequence in each level. When using your spirit vision to look for puzzles, you'll encounter large towers. You'll have to ascend a certain number of these in each level, insert 1 or 2 crests, and move to the next one
- After lighting all the towers in a level, you'll initiate a chase sequence that requires chasing the boss down and shooting its weak spots while on the run. Succeeding here will take you to the boss fight, where you'll have to dodge and shoot your way to victory
- The boss fights begin to feel repetitive by the end. The chase sequences are all basically identical, and their attacks during the fights also feel fairly similar
- Beyond what I've already mentioned, there's poorly-designed stealth sequences that are fortunatley brief. These are only triggered if you try to enter the roving boss area before lighting each tower (or otherwise find yourself caught in its path as it moves around the map)
- Given the repetition and shallow mechanical depth for every system besides movement, I'm not feeling motivated to replay this anytime soon
Overall Impressions & Performance
- I found myself wanting a little more of everything out of the game. It's pretty and moving around is kinda fun, but more variety in puzzles, bosses, weapons, abilities, or combat would have gone a long way to improve the experience
- Minimalism in game design can be done well when a single idea or mechanic is explored and used creatively, but a game having multiple shallow systems tacked onto one good one just feels unsatisfying
- The game ran flawlessley, but then again, it's not a program that'll work your setup too hard
Final Verdict
- 6.5/10. The game isn't without its charm and the overall message is nice, but like the developer's previous game, it winds up feeling like a pretty experience that lacks substance. Worth a playthrough on a sale if you want a chill action-adventure game that's heavy on the adventure bit, but don't go in expecting too much