Game: Path Of Giants
Genre: Adventure, Strategy, Puzzle
System: Nintendo Switch (also on iOS, Android, Steam)
Developer | Publisher: Journey Bound Games
Age Rating: EU 3+ | US E (Everyone)
Price: UK £6.19 | EU €7,39 | US $8.99 | CA $10.80|AU $ 11.10
Release Date: 14th April 2020
Review code used, with many thanks to Journey Bound Games!
Previously a mobile game, this enchanting little puzzler has found a perfect home on the Switch.
Story and Characters
Path Of Giants follows the journey of 3 explorers, Bern, Matchi, and Totch, on their search for an incredible treasure. The Lantri, a mysterious artefact, is rumoured to have been hidden by the Old Kings behind a series of trials and protected by giants. As stories go, it isn’t very detailed, but Path Of Giants is such a relaxed puzzle game that the lack of story doesn’t feel like a disappointment at any point.
Bern, Matchi and Totch don’t say much, but they’re oddly charming. The adorable pseudo-voicing they have just made me chuckle, though it would have been nice if there’d been a bit more interaction between them throughout the game.
Gameplay
Point-and-click can be difficult to get right on the Switch, but Path Of Giants has kept it so simple that there’s no room to complain; the left control stick (or only control stick, if you’re playing in single joy-con mode) moves the cursor, and A interacts with whatever is under the cursor. It may be selecting a character, moving to or interacting with something, or smashing vases, but there were very few times that I interacted with something and an unexpected effect happened, and that was always user error.
The puzzles are a good mix of slightly simpler, maybe only requiring a couple of steps, and incredibly complicated – some took me a good 15-20 minutes to find the solution and then implement it. The variety really keeps you on your toes and prevents the game from getting boring at any point, which is always nice to see in a puzzler as doing the same thing over and over gets boring quickly, even for a puzzle fan!
Graphics, Sound, and Performance
Path Of Giants has a gorgeous pastel colour scheme that adds a sense of mysticism to the beautifully designed levels, with background detail gently obscured to give a sense of height and distance. I never played the mobile version, as I never knew it existed, but I doubt my phone would have been capable of running it if the graphics were like this on the Android and iOS versions.
The almost choral soundtrack, while utterly enchanting, is also almost haunting and made me feel like I was being watched at every turn. Adorable but minimalist interaction sounds helped to make the world feel heavenly, as they never interfered with the atmosphere set by the level’s delicate music.
The game didn’t appear to tax my system in the slightest, regardless of which mode I played in. I did find it easier to play in handheld mode though, as the touchscreen controls felt really smooth and nice to play with. The game did still handle nicely with a pro controller – navigating a cursor with a control stick just always feels a bit weird!
Difficulty
Path Of Giants has a nice range of difficulty. The puzzles start incredibly simply, to get you accustomed to the controls and how various objects in the environment behave depending on your active character, and there’s an undo button if you ever get stuck. However, they rapidly roll into some truly challenging levels that require careful planning and a lot of undoing! While the style of game is wonderfully family-friendly, it may be a little too difficult for some younger players – it might be a nice one to sit and figure out together though.
Conclusion
A beautiful, atmospheric puzzle game that has proven just how nice a mobile port can be. Unfortunately, it’s a lot shorter than I’d have liked; the main story took me around 3 hours and the Winterfest content took a further hour. I’d happily sit and play that game for days, but at more than a pound per hour of play, I thought it a little overpriced. However, add some more levels in there and I’d easily follow Path Of Giants until the end of its days.
Final Verdict: Two Thumbs Up!
