The Path

Well, this blog seems to be alive again. And since we have a large Omega symbol at the top of the page, and the word “Extremists” is plural, I have a nagging feeling of responsibility to at least make an effort to contribute. Although I would like to comment on my annoyance that, when Damios makes a post filled with girls he considers attractive, the responses are “Hawt” and “I’d tap that”, yet whenever I do something similar, the responses instead are “You sick bastard!” and “I’m calling Chris Hansen!” Seriously, what gives?

Anyways, onto the subject. “The Path” is an art/horror computer game created by Tales of Tales, which can be downloaded online for $10. The game confuses me; at the start, I am given a choice of six girls to play as, all with names based on “Red”. You appear on a path in the middle of a forest, with the instructions to go to Grandma’s house, and not leave the path. Being the obedient person I am, I have consistently followed these instructions to the letter, going straight down the path, for the 1-2 minutes it takes to reach the house. Then the game ends, and tells me that I failed. Very confusing. But at least I have the comfort in knowing that I did what I was told.

Okay, serious review now. Technically, everything I said above is true. In case “Grandma’s House” and the names based on red didn’t tip you off, the game is (another) gothic take on Little Red Riding Hood. The only way to actually play the game is to completely disregard your instructions, and leave the path to explore the forest. Exploring the forest makes up the core of the gameplay, although gameplay may not be the correct term. The Path isn’t a traditional game; there are no enemies, puzzles, or challenges at all really. The goals are vague, especially since the ones stated by the game aren’t the ones you’re supposed to actually follow. Most of your time is spent just wandering around the woods, looking for landmarks. Depending on the girl you’re playing as, approaching different objects/landmarks may trigger a reaction from her, and let you read her thoughts (which is where a lot of the characterization for each girl comes from). If you wander enough (Or if you’re feeling lazy, and just make a beeline for the wolf paw print on your screen) you’ll encounter the Wolf. Each girl has a different Wolf, and for only one of them is it an actual wolf. After meeting the Wolf, a cutscene plays, and the screen fades to black. When gameplay resumes, the girl is lying outside Grandma’s house, except now the color is drained, she moves slowly, and everything is even more bleak and depressing than it was before. When you enter Grandma’s house, inside things get…. Weird. Then, after reaching the end of the house, you’re given a grade depending on how much stuff you found exploring (the grade really doesn’t mean anything at all), and you can try again with a different girl. So, it isn’t really a video game. What is it then?

Well, The Path is what happens when someone, upon learning about metaphor and symbolism during English Class, started taking their use way to seriously, and built up an entire game around it. I’ve heard The Path described as the Rorschach test of video games, and I believe that to be a fitting title. I have read flame wars online between people debating the meaning of each girl’s story. Some of the girls have pretty basic ones which everyone can agree on (Carmen), others tend to be a bit more confusing (Ginger) and others left me with filled with WTFery at the end (Rose). If you try to take a literal approach to the game, you will be confused, and likely won’t be enjoying your time playing. If you go for a metaphorical outlook, you’ll still likely be confused, but at least the game won’t just seem like a bunch of random nonsense.

It’s hard to give a definitive statement on how good the game is. The Path suffers from a massive case of Your Mileage May Vary. I personally liked it, but it has some glaring flaws. Gameplay is incredibly repetitive. There’s only a single map, most of which is a featureless forest. The girls move at different speeds, but some of them feel horribly slow, which only accentuates the blandness of the map. Controls, while simple, can get a bit iffy at times, and the collision detection is absolutely horrible. Graphics aren’t very good, and no matter how high you put the graphic settings on the game, they will never be as high quality as the screenshots from the official website. Another thing the website lies about: The genre. It claims to be horror, but there really isn’t anything scary in it. Creepy, yes. Surreal, yes. Disturbing, yes. But nothing there that would actually scare the player. It’s like they set up the atmosphere for a horror game, but then didn’t add the actual horror. Plus, the lack of instructions can lead to some confusing situations where you sit around having absolutely no idea what you’re supposed to be doing.

But as I said before, I still enjoyed it. First off, I love exploring in video games. I’m one of those freaks who loved sailing in Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, and who end most game playthroughs with near 100% completion, even when I’m not doing a 100% run. As such, I really didn’t mind the repetitive exploring of the forest, even if I did find myself critiquing the running forms of some of the girls while exploring. Also, I, as an English major, love to analyze things. Trying to figure out the meaning behind the use of the greenish light hue during Scarlet’s walkthrough of Grandma’s house? Fun times! While we’re at it, we can debate about how much Freudian imagery is in the game! It’ll be a party!

In conclusion: If you’re a very strange person like me, who enjoys overanalyzing symbolism and trying to figure out just what a story really means, you’ll enjoy the game, and I’d recommend checking it out. After all, it’s only $10. Otherwise, avoid it.


P.S. After reading Damios’s review, I watched Sengoku Basara. Awesomeness ensued. If you’re ever feeling in the mood for something epic, watch it. I’d put it as the second most inspiring show to watch, behind (and I know Damios will disagree here) Gurren Lagann. And it’s half as long as Gurren Lagann, so you’re able to get the epic inspiration in a faster time!