To tell the truth, we are little bit -but happily- surprised by the amount and depth of attention that The Path is receiving. Once again, we may have underestimated the videogame audience. Or underestimated how ready the games industry really is for something new, for a different approach to gaming and game design.
There’s of course the expected violent eruptions of hatred here and there. Each of our projects has received them. The Path is no exception. But there’s very few of these.
It’s heart warming to hear how deeply people are moved by our story and how encouraging they are of our unconventional design style (and forgiving of its technical shortcomings 😉 ). Here’s a first batch of reviews. But many more will surely follow as dozens of journalists are currently playing the game and writing reviews.
The Path has a unique and stunning visual style that comes across as more of an artistic rather than a technical accomplishment; a style that flaunts the creative talents of the designers more than the advanced computational abilities of the graphics engine.
A game where you’re never quite sure what’s going on, but always conjuring up another fascinating theory. A game without a story, but with an abundance of meaning. A work of art. An interactive poem.
I kind of don’t like the game.
This is not a criticism. If anything, it’s the highest compliment I could pay it.
John Walker at Rock, Paper, Shotgun
The Path isn’t much of a game. But whatever it is, it’s one hell of one of those.
Tom Chick on Fidgit, the Sci-Fi Channel games blog
In the end, The Path is a little bit like getting punched in the nose by a centaur. It’s momentarily painful, but you get to spend the next few days trying to figure out precisely what the hell just happened to you.
It is almost easier to think of The Path as an experience, rather than a game. An unsettling, otherworldly adventure, which players scour for hidden meanings and analyze outcomes.
The game isn’t focused on violence. Rather, it’s an introverted, slow-paced game with a story that hooks you. The player has a lot of freedom to explore the game world, without a directed path, despite the name.
Dean Takahashi in The New York Times
Perhaps the single most stunning thing about The Path is how well it melds each component of itself together, creating a single entity and providing equal importance for each part of its self.
There’s also a rather in-depth interview on Core Gamers where we talk about all sorts of things, not just The Path.
I love The Path (I accidentally bought it twice but I’m glad to support you guys). I didn’t enjoy The Graveyard but you guys hit the nail on the head with The Path, it takes me back to being 6 when I played video games without a focus on the goals (namely ToeJam & Earl for the Genesis).
Thank you, Ben!
We have no problem with refunding you, though. Just send us an email if you’d like that.
ToeJam & Earl is the sh$T! That’s high praise.
Thank you for the offer but it’s nice to have a Steam copy as backup and I really want you guys to continue what you’re doing!
Thanks for the footnote 😉
It is great to see so many people from different websites praising the game. You should feel very proud of your work.
My computer can run The Graveyard and The Endless Forest just fine, even though it doesn’t meet the minimum requirements for either. I’m wondering if I might be able to get a refund if I try The Path and my computer’s not good enough. If that’s not possible, I’ll probably just wait for the Mac version as my Mac is much more capable.
The Path is actually slightly less demanding than The Endless Forest (on a a busy day) in terms of raw power, but it does do a lot more post-processing (which you can decrease in its options). So if you’re happy with how The Endless Forest runs on your machine, I’d say go ahead and try it. You may need to tweak the options a bit for optimal performance (it defaults to maximum quality the first time it runs). We will refund you if it doesn’t work out. But make sure you buy the regular Windows installer form our site. Otherwise we can’t.
My very first attempt I ended up deleting on account of my beginning few chapters ending too quickly, but now I am just about ready to proceed with my first full playthrough–just need to find that one last item! My computer does not do your work justice, but I plan to spend much more time with what you have made. My experiences so far have been touching, disheartening, and chilling. Imagine my surprise, once, when I found a phone and sign in the woods!
My favorite kind of art is that which draws from your fears to manifest itself. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to experience that at my leisure.
I’m very glad to hear about these reviews. I think I’ll wait to read them until after I’ve played the game. Let’s hope the positive attention will continue to grow.
Happy Nowruz, by the way! 😀
Getting punched in to the nose by a centaur. Fell down chair laughing 😀
I also am having the FUZZ experience, with The Path running a tad bit slower than The Graveyard and Endless Forest on my not-so-robust PC. I am waiting in the wings to purchase the Mac version, so I can play endlessly into the night …..
At first glance I am utterly entranced. One would expect nothing less than this from this ultra talented and visionary duo.
You guys are a bunch of hacks that don’t have any real talent so you try to pass off unplayable garbage as ‘art’.
Yeah, and we get away with it too! 😉
What did you do?
Lottaham, your name is very aptly chosen. Great job, Michael and Auriea! Can’t wait for my usb to come, and I’m loving some of these reviews! Even the bad ones give me a few chuckles.
@lottaham: I’ve been looking for a pet troll, might i find you at the humane society or are you still a stray?
@Michael and Auriea: good job guys. I want more games where I can just wander around.
Ben, I literally inhaled my soup when I read the first part of your comment 😉 Laughing and choking simultaneously is painful O.o
If i start the Game my screen switch to the Standby mode! i hear the soiund of the game but i cant play because i can not see anything!!!
PLEASE HELP MEEE!!
Tommy, please post (and read about) technical problems on the forum, where we and other players can help you.
This is the biggest crap i have ever played.
Don’t get me wrong, it looks “special” but that’s all.
This is hardly a game, i would refer to it as interactive rubbish
Have to agree with Damien and lottaham. This game is emo nonsense. I’m probably insulting the games genre by even calling this POS a game. The controls are horrible. The pace is boring-slow. There is no story, no coherent storyline anyway. I’d like to express my contempt for all the other idiot reviewers who gave this game a thumbs up, you’re all nothing but a bunch of lying scum (who are obviously just loosers – tale of tales employees masquerading as the public). Should have guessed this was garbage from the start, IT’S MADE USING QUEST3D, these idiots aren’t even real programmers, they use visual diagrams called channelling to make up their crappy 3d game, bet these idiots don’t even know how to scrip a generation 1 unreal engine. Pathetic.
Thank you so much for sharing your insights, asdf dfg.
You’re right. We don’t know haw to scrip an unreal engine. In fact, we don’t know how to scrip at all! And programming with visual blocks on a screen is like programming with words and symbols. It’s ridiculous! Real programmers only have two keys on their keyboard: zero and one.
We will inform our employees that you have seen through their masquerade. Thank you for notifying us.