The Pathless
THE PATHLESS goes in the right direction.
When your enemy is called The Godslayer, you might hope to have more to hand than a bow and arrow and an eagle. In fact, this is a game notable in part for what it doesn’t have. It’s an open-world game with no minimap, no fast travel, no player deaths, no enemies (apart from bosses), no NPCs and no vehicles. Yet what it does have has been so expertly crafted, that the end result is something truly remarkable.
This isn’t easily comparable to anything else, something that becomes apparent within seconds of taking your first dash across a field. Your sprint is powered by your spirit meter, which is depleted rapidly, but can be constantly topped up by shooting the many floating talismans scattered throughout the entire game.
Even shooting arrows is nothing like a traditional action game. When you get close enough to a target and/or point the camera towards it, it’s automatically highlighted, and all you need to do is to hold down a button for a second or two, and then release.
Traveling on foot at speed is almost an extended (but enjoyable) QTE. You rush to your destination while carefully timing shots to keep that meter active. It makes simply moving from one place to another into a light challenge and a joy.
Your hunter has a special power: Spirit vision. The genius of this idea comes to light once you start trying to work out what to do and where to go. There is no map, and no waypoints. Engage spirit vision, and everything turns a shade of blue, with distant areas of interest pulsing red. There’s often no indication of precisely what might be there, but you can guarantee that it’ll be worthwhile.
The world offers puzzles in place of enemies, and I’ve yet to find a single one I didn’t enjoy.
They test your brain without being obnoxious. This isn’t an indication of puzzles that are too easy, but rather another sign of the developer’s philosophy of allowing the game to be an experience of constant motion.
EAGLE AID
Traveling on foot at speed is almost an extended (but enjoyable) QTE
I have two criticisms. Firstly, before you’re ready to face them, each area’s boss will sometimes trigger an event whereby you’re separated from your eagle. You then need to slowly creep over to rescue it, stopping whenever the big bad’s gaze falls your way. This starts to become tiresome after you’ve done it a few times.
Secondly, once you’ve got your bird back, you need to cleanse it by simulating a stroking motion all over until all of the curse juice is gone. I know this is meant to build a bond, but it too becomes a little annoying. Also, one of the boss fights went on a bit too long when I struggled to hit multiple weak spots in a row. OK, fine; three criticisms.
These are, at worst, minor annoyances. I can’t stay angry at this game. The main motivation for The Godslayer’s evil deeds is a desire to provide everybody with a strict path to follow in life, which seems to be something of a commentary on Giant Squid’s approach to designing the game.
While bosses follow a fairly rigid pattern—a chase to hit weak spots, an arena fight to hit weak spots, then one or two final stages to hit weak spots—the bulk of the game does not. You ‘unlock’ boss fights by collecting and using certain items, but each area of the map has more than you actually need. The items you collect, and the order in which you collect them, are dependent on nothing more than where your curiosity takes you.
The story comes to an epic and very satisfying end, after which I gleefully jumped back in to start mopping up the remainder of the puzzles. The cherry on top of this delicious gaming cake is the soundtrack, a wonderful Austin Wintory score that incorporates the superb sounds of Tuvan throat singing ensemble Alash. The Pathless sacrifices difficulty at the altar of fun, and I am very much here for it.