PC Gamer UK 01.2021 @InternationalPress75

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.

Travelling 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

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.

NEED TO KNOW

WHAT IS IT?

An open-world game

done very, very right

EXPECT TO PAY

£32

DEVELOPER

Giant Squid

PUBLISHER

Annapurna Interactive

REVIEWED ON

GeForce GTX 1650, AMD

Ryzen 5 3550H, 8 GB

RAM

MULTIPLAYER

No

LINK

thepathless.com

85

Offering up a smooth

and mesmerising

experience, The Pathless

takes you exactly where

it wants you.

VERDICT

Travelling on

foot at speed

is almost an

extended (but

enjoyable) QTE

W

hen 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.

ROAD NOT TAKEN

THE PATHLESS goes in the

right direction. By Luke Kemp

NAVIGATING THE PATHLESS What’s all this, then?

1

Cleanse three of

these towers, and

the boss fight is on!

2

The Godslayer lives

up here. I pity

the postman.

3

Your spirit meter.

Keep this topped up

and you’ll do just fine.

4

This is a tree. That’s

nice, innit?

1

2

3

4

The Pathless

REVIEW