The Pathless was originally released for PlayStation, PC, and Apple Arcade in 2020 and was developed by Giant Squid, the team behind Abzu. With the studio’s history in mind, it is unsurprising, to say the least, that The Pathless offers players a compelling adventure filled with gorgeous vistas, fun puzzles, and quiet scenes for contemplation. It is a mechanically simple title that makes up for it with its beautiful visual design, quiet atmosphere, and calm pacing.
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Players in The Pathless control a silent protagonist known as the Last Hunter. The player is introduced to the Last Hunter as they arrive at an island to try and bring light back to the world because a powerful being known as the Godslayer imprisoned the deity animals that inhabit it. The only other information given to the player about the game’s world is delivered through small excerpts of thoughts that have been left behind by other hunters and residents of the island that died before.
This way of delivering information about the world works decently to help push the player to piece information together about the world they are exploring. However, there is a missed opportunity to provide more context or to thoroughly explore the game’s world and themes. The memories provide some history, but it rarely goes deeper than just stating that people died or a village was destroyed. It is something, but without the greater context of the world and people living in it, the impact that it has on the player is lowered significantly.
Apart from reading the thoughts left behind by the dead, most of The Pathless’ gameplay is split between movement and puzzles, both of which take full advantage of the Last Hunter’s bow and arrow. Movement is a wonderfully fluid and challenging experience that gives the player a lot of control despite its simple controls and mechanics.
The world is filled with floating talismans that the player can automatically lock onto and shoot with their bow. For each one they hit, they are given an amount of stamina that can be used to sprint quickly around the world. While splinting or flying through the air, the player is still able to shoot the talismans. While aiming at a talisman, players also have to wait for the Last Hunter to take aim, as releasing the button too soon will cause her to wildly miss. However, there is a sweet spot halfway through the aiming charge that can allow the player to score a direct hit much more quickly.
Once the player is practiced in hitting the sweet spot, it allows them to blaze through the environment by sprinting, sliding, bouncing through the air, and shooting at talismans all the while. These movement options are further expanded as the player saves the animal deities, ensuring that each area of the island gives the player new tools and mechanics to play around with.
The rest of the gameplay comes from the player finding and solving puzzles scattered throughout the open world. The game’s puzzles follow a similar design ethos as finding the Korok Seeds in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. They are not labeled or explained in any way, instead requiring the player to stumble on them and figure out what to do with them through experimentation and context clues. This makes discovering and completing the puzzles extremely rewarding and engaging, even with them being rather simple. The puzzle mechanics also generally extend to the game’s boss encounters, which replace more traditional combat mechanics with inventive puzzle-like encounters.
The real standout of The Pathless, however, is its beauty and atmosphere. The visual design of the island, its creatures, and everything within it are consistently gorgeous. It all feels natural and serene as the player explores and takes it all in. The journey is then accompanied by a subdued soundtrack that perfectly suits the game’s atmosphere while helping set the mood and push the player towards a more contemplative style of play. In lieu of quest markers, narrative pressure, or mechanical drives, the player is instead encouraged to take their time, soak in the scenery, and just exist in the world along the way.
The Pathless is an indie title that aims to be more of an experience than a standard video game. It is a carefully curated journey that requires players to play in a certain way while enjoying its unique and idyllic world. While The Pathless does not have the excitement or action of titan indie tiles like Hades, its tranquil experience is a rewarding way to slow down, breathe, and think along the way.
The Pathless
TL;DR
The Pathless is an indie title that aims to be more of an experience than a standard video game. It is a carefully curated journey that requires players to play in a certain way while enjoying its unique and idyllic world. While The Pathless does not have the excitement or action of titan indie tiles like Hades, its tranquil experience is a rewarding way to slow down, breathe, and think along the way.
