The Way of Life: Definitive Edition

 PC
The Way of Life: Definitive Edition Image
Metascore
57

Mixed or average reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews What's this?

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  • Summary: Experience a swirling of emotions in this touching adventure through the lives of three characters of different ages. 10 Experiences, 30 Levels and more than 70 choices. Can you face yourself?

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 5
  3. Negative: 1 out of 5
  1. SpazioGames
    Mar 18, 2018
    65
    The Way of Life is a fascinating parade of characters and sequences, delivering an interesting insight on three different periods of life. Too bad the game is a bit weak on the narrative side, while the gameplay shows some flaws.
  2. The Games Machine
    Mar 13, 2018
    60
    When it comes to art direction ad writing, The Way of Life is full of interesting and intriguing elements. The same is not true for gameplay, with a lot of repetitive mechanics and routines that ruin the flow of the game and sometimes break the attention of the player. Nonetheless, a bold first effort.
  3. Multiplayer.it
    Mar 19, 2018
    60
    Evocative and audacious, The Way of Life lacks in terms of gameplay and emotional complexity.
  4. Eurogamer Italy
    May 1, 2018
    60
    The Way of Life is a courageous project, but the choices system is categorical and restrictive. Other faults make some good insights tedious. It's a pity, but as a debut it is to be considered positively for Cybercoconut.
  5. GameCritics
    May 8, 2018
    40
    The Way of Life tries to present a large number of situations where choices matter, but most of them fail to deliver any meaning at all.

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. q-gin
    Jul 8, 2020
    10
    This game is weird. I am not sure if I like it or not, and that is after playing through all of the free version and now the paid only levels,This game is weird. I am not sure if I like it or not, and that is after playing through all of the free version and now the paid only levels, too.

    In The Way of Life you are given several situations, all of which can be played as the child, the adult man, and the old man. Each situation has a unique vignette for each age and is thematically related to the other two ages, but otherwise unique. There will usually be two, sometimes three, unique endings for each of these vignettes and while you can replay them all to get all endings, only the first one chosen 'sticks'.

    I believe that by playing through each situation you build the life of a person as they are young, adult, and old -- although choice is limited and actions taken as a child do not affect the adult, nor does the adult affect the old man. It's possible I am misinterpreting this though, and they are supposed to be different characters, in which case you are living three lives.

    Typically the child stage is all about playing and fantasy, the adult stage is about dealing with the stress of family and work, and the old stage is dealing with unreliable, shaky controls as you struggle to complete otherwise simple tasks.

    Sometimes though, things go completely off the rails. As an example, in one child stage you start doing your homework and then it suddenly becomes a stealth section in wartime. As an adult, you are suddenly in an absurd grab-the-money race, etc.

    I would recommend trying the free version first and playing through all the situations offered there. If you like it or are intrigued by it as I was, give this paid definitive version a try.

    Pros:
    - Interesting, relatively short gameplay sections
    - Unique art style
    - Good sound and music design
    - Full gamepad support

    Cons:
    - Annoying, slow controls on both keyboard/mouse and gamepad
    - Gets absurd at times in ways that don't seem to fit the rest of the game
    - Unclear goals

    At the current discount price ($/€ 5) I can at least recommend it because it is a rather unique experience.    … Expand

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