Empathy: Path of Whispers

Empathy: Path of Whispers is as if someone copied Malevich's famous Black Square painting just ‘‘because I can’’, without any understanding or ideas behind the copy.

Empathy: Path of Whispers has a barely good story, but the lack of gameplay is something really unforgettable.

Empathy wants to be a narrative-first game, that much is clear. But the constant distractions, menial busywork, and tedious puzzles constantly distract from the pacing that’s so critical to a story like this, and the end result is something that doesn’t really work well as either a puzzle game or a narrative experience.

While it may not indulge as much on its aesthetic to better hide the distinct lack of gameplay, Empathy: Path of Whispers can’t excuse itself for letting its eye go too far a stray from keeping its player both focused and interested in the tale being spun. Though it’s far from the actual narrative’s fault for the game’s all-round mediocre delivery, the insistency on following an established formula across a bulk of the game’s all-round length doesn’t excuse the choppy, blurred and fairly average quality of its visual design. The warranted need to fine-tune its brief puzzles aside, Empathy: Path of Whispers is intriguing in moderation, but little else.