Review: The Path
- Thread starter Susan Arendt
- Start date
Ah, such a good game. I'm really happy that Tale of Tales is continuing with the themes they developed with The Graveyard and pushing the envelope of what a game can be. And kudos for not getting sucked into the rape or murder argument, you'd think people had never seen a metaphor in a game before.
Cool beans. Kind of figured since there was the scene with the controls displayed in the video, but figured I'd ask since I thought I saw a Playstation-esque controller there, too.Slycne said:
I like experiments, and this sounds like a good one. Certainly something to appeal to the "storytelling over mechanics" indie gamers (like I). Still, I´m a bit doubtful about that free wandering. It can be really frustrating in a long run. Have to give it a shot and then judge. This is something I´ll gladly try.
I can see what they were trying to do, but all I took away from The Path was the impression of condescension and self-importance. Sure, doing things without a stated or given goal is certainly not wrong, there's also no motivation to do so.
There's not much to see or do at all that would make you actually want to bother straying from the path, yet having it display proudly that you've "failed"? That's hardly goalless, especially since the product (I'm reluctant to call it a game) fails to give you any motivation to engage it.
Sure, saying I've failed for deciding not to resist "The Man" (presumably whatever stated that I shouldn't stray from the path) is part of the idea that you shouldn't simply do what you were told, but they've given me nothing in exchange. All I got was a boring (but pretty) forest to walk around in at a snail's pace. If I'm not supposed to do what I'm told, why am I following the Girl in White, and why does said girl force me back to the path if I decide to just stand around? Wasn't I supposed to be doing what I wanted?
The product contradicts itself repeatedly. It wants me to explore on my own, and yet sends an agent to point me towards whatever it thinks is important. It keeps telling me to do what I want, and yet claims I've failed if I do (in case I actually wanted to stick to the path). It all just strikes me as terribly one-sided. It tells me to use my "active imagination" and yet gives me little that piques my imagination beyond the pretty visuals (though I suppose that might be enough in some situations). It's like an artist that reacts badly when you tell him that you can't appreciate his latest piece, looking down his nose at you and saying "Well, I never expected you too, because it's not FOR you. Now get out of my gallery, you've failed."
Don't get me wrong, I like experimental games. The fact alone that The Path exist and that there are people willing to pay for it is a positive thing, but I just don't think it's very good. In a way, The Path couldn't manage to follow its own path.
There's not much to see or do at all that would make you actually want to bother straying from the path, yet having it display proudly that you've "failed"? That's hardly goalless, especially since the product (I'm reluctant to call it a game) fails to give you any motivation to engage it.
Sure, saying I've failed for deciding not to resist "The Man" (presumably whatever stated that I shouldn't stray from the path) is part of the idea that you shouldn't simply do what you were told, but they've given me nothing in exchange. All I got was a boring (but pretty) forest to walk around in at a snail's pace. If I'm not supposed to do what I'm told, why am I following the Girl in White, and why does said girl force me back to the path if I decide to just stand around? Wasn't I supposed to be doing what I wanted?
The product contradicts itself repeatedly. It wants me to explore on my own, and yet sends an agent to point me towards whatever it thinks is important. It keeps telling me to do what I want, and yet claims I've failed if I do (in case I actually wanted to stick to the path). It all just strikes me as terribly one-sided. It tells me to use my "active imagination" and yet gives me little that piques my imagination beyond the pretty visuals (though I suppose that might be enough in some situations). It's like an artist that reacts badly when you tell him that you can't appreciate his latest piece, looking down his nose at you and saying "Well, I never expected you too, because it's not FOR you. Now get out of my gallery, you've failed."
Don't get me wrong, I like experimental games. The fact alone that The Path exist and that there are people willing to pay for it is a positive thing, but I just don't think it's very good. In a way, The Path couldn't manage to follow its own path.
As someone that actually bought this game and played a fair bit, I have to say, if you really let yourself get involved into the game, and get sucked into the atmosphere, it can be one of the most horrific games you've ever played. I mean, it really did leave me shaken at points, and it's not like there's any scary parts, just horror. It took me a while to figure out exactly what I was supposed to do, but once I figured it out and just started walking around, it really started worming its way into my head. I have to say, hearing the music and those chains again in the video supplement was actually enough to make me a bit frightened, just from the memories of it.
Hm... now I want to play it even more. I talked to Xi about this just after he had played it, and it seems this is what I would call a Horror game. Anything else that tries seems more like a scare game in comparison. Now, I have played a couple of "Horror" games, like Resident Evil (the first and the remake, which were genuinely scary for me), Silent Hill and Condemned. And yes, they were scary and masterful. But did I feel much horror? No.
I have a feeling I will when I get around to play this. Of course, most of it will be left up to my imagination. And that thought, my friends, is what frightens me. Instead of being delivered what the developers feel is scary or what is generally accepted as scary, my own imagination will the largest factor in the experience. Like a book. I am having chills already.
The good kind.
I have a feeling I will when I get around to play this. Of course, most of it will be left up to my imagination. And that thought, my friends, is what frightens me. Instead of being delivered what the developers feel is scary or what is generally accepted as scary, my own imagination will the largest factor in the experience. Like a book. I am having chills already.
The good kind.
I´m sure this game requires a lot from the player. Nothing, not even the goal, is given, only hinted and whispered (that´s the impression I got). Exactly that may put some players off. I may not be the right person to say, but many today´s game seem a bit easy to handle and digest. Cinematic cut scenes and traditional plot development make games look more like movies and thus players become more like viewers than participants (a point made several times in different discussions here.) Maybe we as gamers are becoming too lazy to build our own experiences. This game at least seems to put more emphasis on active participation.xitel said:
Don´t get me wrong now; I´m not against linear stories and cut scenes. Not every game has to be deep and artistic. Let us not forget about having simple fun (the source of fun is relative, of course). It´s just good to see something different for a change.
