I have always been a fan of horror games. Immersing myself in a frightening world makes for a compelling title that has the nasty side-effect of terrifying me of all hospitals, schoolyards, and abandoned mansions I’ll ever encounter. And now thanks to The Path, I can add the woods to that list.
The Path is a horror adventure loosely based on the fable Little Red Riding Hood. You are tasked with guiding six girls separately through the forest to Grandmother’s house and warned to not stray from the path. In no time curiosity will get the better of you, and you will spend the majority of the game wandering through the woods discovering abandoned playgrounds, cemeteries, and other typical horror settings. While adventuring you’re subjected to eerie violin music, distant sounds of wolves attacking, and an overall feeling of uneasiness as you navigate the never-ending forest. Eventually you’ll reach grandmother’s house and, spoiler warning, witness each girl meet an untimely end at the hands of a wolf. Shocking, I know.
Playing The Path alone in a dark room will quickly reveal why it is a horror title. Traversing through the forest felt tense and frightening. The never-ending woods provides the perfect setting to utilize one’s natural fear of being lost in the unknown. That coupled with bizarre sounds as well as various textures and symbols provided the perfect amount of nervous tension which urged me to rush headlong for fear of what was behind.
Despite being a traditional tale, the developers have innovated the story by using each of the six girls to present an interesting way in which a ‘wolf’ may appear in one’s life. Whether it be curiosity, promiscuity, or a bullheaded drive towards success, The Path uses the setting of the mysterious woods to convey all of these characteristics as a potential meal for a wolf. Watching as each character’s traits eventually became her downfall was a satisfying experience. I especially enjoyed the underlying theme of a loss of innocence found within the title. Without spoiling too much, one can argue a direct correlation between each girl’s demise and how growing up is often thrust upon us due to our own inexperience and careless acts of immaturity. I loved this concept and thought it is here where The Path shines its brightest.
It’s unfortunate that for such a promising title, The Path is crippled by its controls which felt sluggish and stiff. Interacting with an object is done by walking near it and releasing the controls which triggers a self-guided action. While this seems to be a simple technique, each girl often got stuck on a bush or tree and struggled as her attempts to navigate around it were for not. I also had difficultly changing my direction while in motion, which got very aggravating over time. It often felt reminiscent of the clunky controls of the original Resident Evil.
The gameplay also suffers from repetition. While each character has a unique story, the play is identical. Once I reached the last character’s quest to Grandmother’s house, I was bored of the scare tactics and had grown quite comfortable with the dark woods. I found myself looking for the quickest way to finish the adventure and move the story onward. It’s a shame because the character development still had me enthralled; I just couldn’t stand the gameplay between plot points.
As for the length of The Path, it is difficult to gauge. Since you are wandering lost through the woods, it comes down to luck to determine when you discover the scattered objects and locales. In some cases I completed my journey in a few minutes. Other times I spent hours lost just attempting to gain my bearings. Even with my smattering of luck it took me 10-11 hours to complete the game, but I could have easily completed the game in 2-3 hours if I skipped my explorations. Clearly The Path has a rich a world that will give as much as you put into it, but with the repetitive gameplay one wonders the trade-off.
