A Forgotten Path

In last year's Yearly Gaming Analysis, I named Dragon Age: Origins as my favorite game for the Personal Computer. There was actually another game that was so close to winning that title, an indie game by Tale of Tales called The Path. It's a game inspired by Little Red Riding Hood where you must guide six young girls towards their grandmother's home. Of course, it is not as simple as it sounds... The problem with the game is that to "properly" play it means an incredibly disturbing, psychologically nasty experience that can be a bit hard to swallow and ever since I discovered that fact after so many hours of gameplay experimentation, I stopped playing the game. The Path is not bad by any means - it's just that it can be very draining, especially for someone like me who enjoys soaking in the entire essence of the games I played. I was testing out different games to stream on Justin.tv today and I decided to play The Path again. I lost my save file from last year so I started off from the beginning. I completed the game with one character and you can watch the gameplay by clicking here - but you should really play this game yourself. It is probably hard to "feel" the game by just watching it because this is one of those games that must be played to understand it fully. The game is available for purchase on popular direct download distribution channels and the developer's website for around $10 and I highly recommend it to anyone who believes that video games can become a form of sophisticated high art.

The Path's definition of "success" is questionable but necessary and bold.