THE PATHLESS
Creative director Matt Nava draws a map for Giant Squid’s launch title
FORMAT PS5 / ETA 19 NOV PUB SONY / DEV GIANT SQUID
Journey and Abzû creator Matt Nava’s new PS5 launch game takes place in a land filled with longforgotten ruins, where giant, cursed spirits have plunged the world into darkness. They are totally invulnerable – until you relight the obelisks.
Playing as the Hunter, the only way you’re going to find or reach those obelisks is with the help of your eagle. Gesturing with the analogue stick, you can pet and wipe away the dirt from your feathered friend’s wings. Nava says this connection plays an important role in giving the space meaning, and reveals the team drew inspiration from the likes of The Last Guardian for this dynamic.
GET AWAY, FLY AWAY
At the start of development, the team looked at Abzû and, Nava jokes, “[tried to] figure out what was too hard and we didn’t want to do again […] We also talked about what was really fun, and what did we enjoy, and what would make it across to the next game.” He adds, “And we realised through that discussion what our [studio’s strengths were] and what our core games were about.”
Equalling Abzû’s wonderfully fluid movement was the first thing the team set their sights on. As the Hunter, your bow and arrow are not only key to defeating the cursed spirits, they dictate how you travel around the land as well. It’s full of floating talismans that the Hunter can shoot to fill her dash meter. Ideally you’ll be dashing constantly, so the central archery mechanic is about timing rather than accuracy.
The team wanted to emulate the resistance of your bow string through the DualSense’s haptic triggers. As you’re drawing your bow constantly, however, the team looked at how to make the action less fatiguing, but with a sense of rhythm at its core.
“You can do a lot of really interesting things with [the DualSense]. The first time we turned it on, we were like, ‘Okay, let’s make it rumble.’ And then it was, of course, super, superintense. And it was like, ‘well, you have to be subtle with this thing,’” Nava explains.
Ultimately they implemented a subtle rumble to communicate the timing for each shot so that eventually “You don’t have to look at the reticule after a while, you just know.” Nava admits that, after playing with the DualSense for a while, he had to relearn the timing on the DualShock 4.
MELODIES OF LIFE
The open world of The Pathless draws inspiration from the forests of the Pacific Northwest, ancient sites across Mexico and Europe Nava visited as a child, and motifs from everything from Islamic architecture to European Renaissance buildings.
Nava explains, “What we were trying to make with The Pathless is this legend, like a myth, and we wanted it to feel like no matter who you are playing the game, no matter what culture you’re from, it should feel like a mysterious, ancient, distant culture that you’re hearing [and seeing].” You’ll be able to experience this mythmaking for yourself on launch day in November.
“YOUR BOW AND ARROW DICTATE HOW YOU TRAVEL AROUND THE LAND.”