The Pathless
Giant Squid resurfaces, but can it thrive on dry land?
iOS, PC, PS4, Xbox One
There are two ways to interpret that title. It seems to hint at an untrodden wilderness filled with discoveries, just waiting to be explored. It suggests freedom, too; in the absence of paths, presumably we can carve our own. Equally, such a place could leave us feeling lost, or lacking in direction. As the Byron-inspired title no doubt hopes to imply, there is pleasure in these woods, and you don’t have to look too hard to find it. But (and no one is more surprised than us to say this) it doesn’t last – even for the short duration of a time-limited demo.
When it begins, it’s immediately clear we’re in more conventional territory than Abzû’s tranquil waters. A trail of floating targets stretches into the distance; the bow on our veiled hunter’s back makes it obvious what comes next. We hold the right trigger as we trot along and a reticule shoots over to a nearby target; we release it to loose an arrow that zips towards its destination, landing a split-second later to fill our energy meter. Squeezing the left trigger now sets us into a run, and we repeat the trick before we can slow down. The foreground becomes a blur as we chain hit after hit with minimal effort and reach an exhilarating pace, skidding between the trees, our pet eagle flying alongside us.
Then we jump and the bird grabs our hands in its talons as we fly towards a higher target and take aim. This time the angle isn’t quite right – or do we take our finger off the trigger a split-second too soon? – and the arrow doesn’t land true. We glide along for a moment, tapping the jump button again hopefully, but evidently we’re not quite as lightweight as we look. Those elegant wings flash to let us know it’s time to land, and we tap Square to start a petting minigame, softly stroking the eagle’s feathers to help it recover. It’s a cute touch, though stopping entirely feels like an admission of defeat, the everpresent targets a nagging reminder that you’re supposed to be shooting and sprinting your way through this world at all times.
We return several times, and come to the same conclusion. The Pathless is at its best when you’re grounded, despite the occasional whiffed arrow when the reticule shoots out of view and it’s unclear that there’s an obstacle between us and the target it’s selected. But unless we’re missing something, its air game needs work. Any time we need to reach higher ground – and that’s fairly often given that our mission involves visiting a series of tall but otherwise nondescript-looking towers – we end up wrestling with the camera and bemoaning a curious sluggishness while gliding and flapping. A powerful updraught that carries us straight to the top of one ruin comes as blessed relief. Here, we deposit three artefacts we’ve collected from other towers, activating a stone plinth as the camera rises towards an island high above that resembles an upside-down volcano. Is this our ultimate destination? Or a disaster we need to stop?
No doubt the finished game will answer those questions, but we’re left with plenty more. We could yet feel rapture by the time we reach The Pathless’ lonely shores – if, indeed, its action spreads beyond the forest’s edges. It may be that it simply doesn’t demo well, that without a handler to elaborate on what’s left unsaid we’re left more adrift than we otherwise would be. Its stop-start rhythm could well smooth out over the course of the game, with possible upgrades to our winged ally. Given a longer period of adjustment, it might start to make more sense, or when we learn more about our mission beyond what little we’re given to go off here. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps – but for not the only time this month we walk away from an Annapurna game with our usual sense of anticipation tinged with a dash of concern.
You’re supposed to be shooting and sprinting through this world at all times