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The Path is what I would like to describe as the re-fanging of the original Grimm Fairy Tale of Little Red Ridinghood. Set in a modern day setting (sort of), you take control of one of six versions of Little Red Ridinghood, ranging from tomboy to mother figure, and are given a simple message: "Go to Grandmother's House, and stay on The Path." That is all you get in terms of exposition, certain variations of character specific text aside, because there is no dialogue in The Path. Which is for the best because if you're not familiar with Little Red Ridinghood you shouldn't be playing this game. For those of you who are familiar, you will know that the one rule in the game is meant to be broken. Screw The Path, mess around in the woods and see what you can find... and watch out for the Big Bad Wolf.
Gameplay in The Path is simple, regardless of what gameplay method you prefer. The game supports keyboard, mouse, or even a connected Xbox 360 Controller. You press one button to make Red move, press another one to make her sprint, and to interact with whatever is around you, don't press anything. If the game was any simpler it would play itself. In addition to movement controls, there is a small safety net when you venture too far off The Path, a character known as the Girl in White. The Girl in White wanders in the dark woods and helps point Red towards things of interest and, if absolutely needed, will guide Red back to The Path. This is a good thing because it is very easy to get lost in the woods and almost never return to The Path. In order to help give one the feeling of being helpless and alone while off The Path, the game becomes cold, off-putting, even surreal in appearance. Also, the game experiments with messing with the player's active imagination using subtle images and sounds to put you in a perpetual state of dread. It works for the most part but might come off as annoying to some.
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It is very difficult for me as a game reviewer to criticize The Path because it seems to follow its own rules. The only way to win the game is to go to Granny's House and, in accordance with the tale, lose. You are gently encouraged to venture off the safety of the Path to go into the unknown and, almost to contradict itself, the game prompts you in terms of visuals and sound to go further into the woods instead of sticking to The Path. If it weren't for the horror themes, the game would feel almost like a series of fetch quests without a map or reason. Come to think of it, that's pretty much what gives The Path its own personal fire, it exists for its own sake. There's no high budget backing to it and no real goal other than to give the player an interesting experience.
Of course, this being an independently made title, certain minor issues shine a lot brighter than usual. The framerate chugs at times, even on a high performance PC. The haunting music that occasionally plays in The Path gets a little too loud and sounds like the recording software was subpar, and there was more than one moment where Red noclipped herself through a tree.
The argument I can give for getting The Path is that it is something different and if you're a fan of artistically made games that are off the beaten path (Irony!), then The Path is definitely worth its ten dollar price tag on Steam.
Coming soon! Rahu reviews Alan Wake
