The Path Released

By: Derek Yu

On: March 20th, 2009

Tale of Tales’ beautiful and terrifying horror game, The Path, is now available for purchase ($9.95) through the ToT website, Steam, and Direct2Drive. Two years in the making, the game has already drawn its fair share of praise, confusion, and unabashed criticism (the discussion in the comments of this one are very interesting). And more praise.

But you should probably just try it for yourself before reading too many of everyone else’s opinions. And given the open-ended and experimental nature of the game, and its adult themes, I can understand why ToT has chosen not to provide a demo for it, either. Fans of horror and/or experimental games should find it easy to take the plunge and support developers who stray off the beaten path (pun very much intended).

TIGdb: Entry for The Path

Posted in Games and Art?, Steam, Unique / Bizarre, Videos, Windows | Tags: TaleOfTales

http://www.b-mcc.com/ BMcC

The trailer looks really super good!
http://rmvx.gameclover.com RMVX

Hmm… trailer was interesting, but then I took a look at one of the reviews. R***? I’ll pass – don’t want to see that in a game :|
rape and death and

Rape and death and death and rape.

(and rape and death)
Scott

From reading about it, it doesn’t really sound like it’s scary, but just unsettling purely because of the theme.
Bennett

Michael Samyn doesn’t respect other developers or give their games a chance, so why should we respect him or play his game?

Check it out:
http://tale-of-tales.com/blog/2008/12/05/gameless/
http://ludusnovus.net Gregory Weir

RMVX: That reviewer is misinformed and deliberately trying to be provocative. Some (not all) of the events in the game can be interpreted as rape. Others are clearly physical attacks, and others are vague but probably emotional betrayal. However, none of the wolf attacks are shown on-screen; there’s a fade-to-black before anything becomes at all explicit.
http://attractmo.de Adam

I’m going to pick it up as soon as the Mac port is released next month.

I’ve enjoyed every ToT game I’ve played so far.
http://studioeres.com Paul Eres

I know the game will be great, but I wonder where it’d be best to buy it — on their own site they’d get a higher percent of the profits, but buying it off of Steam or D2D will show them that indie games can sell well and might cause them to release more indie games in the future… choices, choices.
Garbled

The trailer made me “Ohh!” and “Huh?” and “Uh..” and all the rest. It looked kind of like a disjointed mash of other trailers. But man, it has style and got me interested.
http://studioeres.com Paul Eres

Played through the first chapter. Hint: don’t stay on the path or you’ll fail! I like how they integrated “achievements” in an interesting way.
Uhhhh

I can’t believe you post this turd in a loli-rape wrapper and completely ignore The Maw, at least that game isn’t half bad.
http://www.horrorstyle.com HorrorStyle

That’s a really nice summary. The game receives very controversial responses all over the internet, but on Steam it managed to get to top 10
kongming

Do you have a more even-handed and objective critical review? I like to see some negative press before I spend money, but that example of “criticism” sucks, honestly.
Person what enjoys indie games

I’d need to try a demo first. It sounds incredibly disturbing, though.
Beefsurgeon

Wow, this looks pretty wild and I’m intrigued enough to to give it a try.

For better or worse, I find it heartening that developers are pushing their creative limits. Whether they succeed or fail (and imho there are a lot of ‘art’ games that are not so good), all new ideas broaden the horizons for what developers will come up with next.
http://studioeres.com Paul Eres

“Do you have a more even-handed and objective critical review? I like to see some negative press before I spend money, but that example of â€œcriticismâ€ sucks, honestly.”

I haven’t really seen any yet. In that “critical” review, the only part I actually agreed with was the occasional sluggishness and the walking speed being too slow. Its run speed is equivalent to other games walk speed, which makes exploring the forest feel like it’s taking forever. I understand that their point was to get the player to slow down and appreciate the environment, but I’d prefer slowing down be an option, slowing down and enjoying the environment doesn’t mean much if it’s forced on you.
Breadcultist

My old crappy integrated ATI Mobility Radeon X300 isn’t going to run the game, is it?

I’d have probably bought it, out of curiosity.
http://studioeres.com Paul Eres

Possibly not. Check their system requirements, I guess. It’s possible it’d work for you on very very low settings. I have an NVIDIA 8500 GT (which is decent, although not a “gamer” card) and was running it at 1440×900 resolution and had some slowdown until I lowered some of the options.
Xander

http://www.destructoid.com/tale-of-tales-the-path-costs-10-and-a-lot-of-patience-125579.phtml#ext – Rev Ant put up his impressions on Destructoid, though I guess it’s more like my thing of ‘So these are the reasons I didn’t want to keep on playing this longer than an hour.
Stefan

I couldn’t tell from the review in Diehard Gamer about the “rape” scenes if thats what actually happened or if it was what he interpreted to happen.

For those that have played the game, is there actual proof that the girls get raped or was that more speculation on the reviewer’s part?
http://www.horrorstyle.com HorrorStyle

“My old crappy integrated ATI Mobility Radeon X300 isnâ€™t going to run the game, is it?”

Check the free Graveyard Demo- if you can run it, then most probably you can run The Path. I believe they used the same technical platform. If I’m not right, just contact them for funds return- they are really nice guys
http://studioeres.com Paul Eres

Their site does say “no integrated video” though — so I’d err on the side of caution and wait for a demo.
http://www.horrorstyle.com HorrorStyle

@Paul Eres
That’s fair enough. Though I would encourage you to try their other games, so you would get the right feeling what they’re doing at all
none

I can’t believe you guys are actually interested in this game. Come on, it’s a game in which every ending is about getting raped, how artistic is that?
http://studioeres.com Paul Eres

So I guess we shouldn’t be interested in Grand Theft Auto either because you can pick up hookers and then kill them? :)

But, I’m not really interested in the game because it’s “artistic”, I’m interested in it because exploring the forest and learning about the characters and world and experiencing the atmosphere of the different areas and such is fun, in the same way that doing that stuff Seiklus and Knytt are fun.
ZombiePixel

This is what happens when developers get their panties in a bunch about “games can be art!!!”

The Path might be an interesting experiment but it’s not a game.

Given that there are so many better games available from struggling developers, I can’t see how a reviewer in good conscience can recommend this getting your $10 bucks.
David lynch

Silent hill rip off.
kongming

So what, none, you think there’s no art whatsoever that portrays rape?
Jotaf

David Lynch rip-off!
Jotaf

Not the game, of course.
kongming

Games are pretty much the only medium people require to be ‘fun’ before they’ll give it a pass. I’ll grant you that art games have quite a ways to go before they’re really as meaningful and artistically valuable as the best works in other media, but I don’t know what this obsession is with ‘gameplay’ and ‘fun.’ It’s like complaining that an art film doesn’t have enough action or sex scenes or special effects. You are missing the point entirely.
http://studioeres.com Paul Eres

I agree with kongming (is that a reference to Zhuge Liang, btw?) but I also want to say that the game really is fun. It might not be fun for everyone, because people enjoy different things. The game would probably appeal to people who like games like Yume Nikki, Samornost, etc.
Caliber9

Youre dead on Kongming. I don’t know why people start getting upset when they hear art game, I would hope that independent developers would be open to people pushing (or attempting to push) the medium to a different level and create something meanigful and significant. Doesnt mean every game needs to but I think we need the games that do. I enjoy being challenged on what i think constitutes a game and what im used to in games.
kongming

Yeah, Paul, that’s a Zhuge Liang reference. Nice catch. :)
David lynch

Art games = gaymes

Gay art threads = ?
Flamebait

@kongming
“but I donâ€™t know what this obsession is with â€˜gameplayâ€™ and â€˜fun.â€™”
It makes perfect sense. What’s wrong with expecting *game*play from *game*s?

It’s good that this game was made because alot of people are enjoying it, but to not like this kind of thing is completely justified.

@Caliber9
“people pushing (or attempting to push) the medium to a different level and create something meanigful and significant.”
An “art game” is not necessarily more meaningful or significant than any other game. That statement, if held to be true, would lead directly to mastabatory artsiness-for-artsiness’-sake (not to say The Path is that).

Now that you mention it, consider what the meaning of the game is. I find it mildly offensive, because it emphasizes (or is actually about) the vulnerability of females, when in reality females are only so because of the cultures they live in; cultures transmitted through media such as games, such as The Path. It reinforces a failed aspect of our culture.
kongming

That’s great, Flamebait, but I don’t see where I suggested that people have to like and enjoy the Path? I haven’t even played it, and it looks and sounds like it’s not my kind of thing.
Cobalt

Why do people try to make artsy-fartsy games, anyway? If you want your game to be art, then make it have aesthetically pleasing graphics, awesome music and an interesting story. Don’t mash together some gothic lolita rape-fest and call it art. Maybe I sound horribly pessimistic, but these kind of games feel very cheap to me. I hope this ‘game’ doesn’t get too popular.

@Flamebait: I don’t care what the game reinforces, it still sucks.
Flamebait

@kongming
That wasn’t what I meant. Let me rephrase: the lack of gameplay is a justification for not liking “art games” (not that anyone needs a justification for liking or disliking a piece of art). Or, I don’t think people are missing the point, the point just doesn’t mean much to them.
Cobalt

It doesn’t sound like anyone’s kind of thing. A pedo might like it, though.
Lord Rocket

but I donâ€™t know what this obsession is with â€˜gameplayâ€™ and â€˜fun.â€™

The rason is because games are an interactive medium.

The PLAYER must be able to contribute or the effort is wasted – if the developer controls the experience then, hey, guess what, the game sucks. Why do you think people bitch about things like unskippable cutscenes and railroading, not to mention shitty controls that retard the players ability to interact? Its because games are for playing, not watching (or reading, god help us all).
See also middle 90s ‘interactive movies.’
Lord Rocket

God my spelling and grammar are awful. I apologise.
Mischief Maker

Building off what Lord Rocket said, I think the tendency of developers to handicap the gameplay interface for the sake of “mood” is at best useless, at worst counterproductive. The main thing I have to use as proof is Aliens vs. Predator 1, a game that’s scary as all hell even on repeat playthroughs. AND it’s a game that controls like a traditional FPS with no handicapping of the player, and it also gives you plenty of ammo to get the job done (though not unliminted).

Compare the fun of AvP 1 against the crippled lurch you play in Silent Hill 1, or System Shock 2 where your super cyborg marine with 3 years experience can’t operate a shotgun, and his pistol falls apart before he runs out of ammo.
http://studioeres.com Paul Eres

“It doesnâ€™t sound like anyoneâ€™s kind of thing. A pedo might like it, though.”

There must be a lot of them, then, since it’s the 8th best-selling game on Steam today.
http://www.auntiepixelante.com auntie

“The PLAYER must be able to contribute or the effort is wasted – if the developer controls the experience then, hey, guess what, the game sucks. Why do you think people bitch about things like unskippable cutscenes and railroading, not to mention shitty controls that retard the players ability to interact? Its because games are for playing, not watching (or reading, god help us all). See also middle 90s â€˜interactive movies.â€™”

see also: the graveyard.
Phasma Felis

Hey, jackasses, could you maybe NOT give away the ending in the freakin’ announcement thread? Thanks.
kongming

*the lack of gameplay is a justification for not liking â€œart gamesâ€*

No, it really isn’t. The difficulty of Finnegan’s Wake isn’t an excuse for not liking it. It means you’re uncultured, uneducated, unintelligent, or (most likely) some combination of the three.
Jams

*the lack of gameplay is a justification for not liking â€œart gamesâ€*

*No, it really isnâ€™t.*

Yes it really is. It’s a terrible use of the medium of games and ignoring what would make games stand out as a form of art.
Cobalt

@Paul Eres: It’s a joke! I doubt those who bought it looked into the game very much. I’m glad that people are trying to make an original game but from what I’ve read about the gameplay I wouldn’t want to play it for even a minute.
FashFush

I should never read comments.