Akash: Path of the Five Image
Metascore
  1. First Review
  2. Second Review
  3. Third Review
  4. Fourth Review

No score yet - based on 0 Critic Reviews Awaiting 4 more reviews What's this?

User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 17 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
Rate this:
  • 10
  • 9
  • 8
  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
  • 0
  • 0
  • Summary: As the first elemental girl the village of Akash has seen in over 200 years, all eyes are on her fast-approaching Coming of Age Ceremony. All is not as it seems, however, as tensions between Akash and a nearby human settlement threaten to erupt into an all-out war.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of
  2. Mixed: 0 out of
  3. Negative: 0 out of
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 1 out of 7
  1. Sep 2, 2019
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I was surprised to see the game was fully voiced. Not only that, but getting married wasn’t a requirement to get the ‘best’ ending, which was a refreshing change from a lot of the other VN’s out there. Nice production values, a lot of collectibles, and a really nice soundtrack. Expand
  2. Jul 12, 2019
    10
    The main problem that I have with a lot of otome is that they remain an elusive tease, where the pay off still leaves you wanting even afterThe main problem that I have with a lot of otome is that they remain an elusive tease, where the pay off still leaves you wanting even after you've gotten your preferred character and ending. I also have problems with more mature otome that have subpar quality in exchange for the concepts that are often left out of their T-rated counterparts. I am so happy to say that Akash combines the beautiful, superior quality along with the suggestive content that I live for, along with making me laugh out loud in the midst of a story brimming with suspense and romance alike. You really do feel like you're getting to know each and every character, from the romance choices down to the background characters that each have a life of their own. I feel like that's also something unique to this game in that no character is a "forgettable" character on the quest to snag the one of your choice, and the attention to detail is noted and appreciated. I don't get bored replaying scenes, instead eager to find things that I've missed from other paths while pursuing another. All in all, I have no doubt that anyone who decides to play this game will fall into the world of Akash and find their appetite satiated in ways that they may not initially expect. Expand
  3. Sep 6, 2019
    10
    This game is a masterpiece. Interesting story, beautiful music and art, great characters.
  4. Sep 14, 2019
    10
    Outstanding otome, full voiced. A well based background and storyground of the whole novel, plenty of decisions and characters' routes. EachOutstanding otome, full voiced. A well based background and storyground of the whole novel, plenty of decisions and characters' routes. Each one of the characters have a solid personality which produces an inmerssive experience into the story and the game. There are changes of sceneries with a sofisticated and smoothly form, minimum load waits, a good amount of very impressive artwork and CG's. beautiful OST. This game gaves a wonderful user experience Expand
  5. Nov 9, 2020
    10
    A terrific tale of finding love in trying times.

    Akash: Path of the Five is a visually breathtaking, fun and well-written visual novel
    A terrific tale of finding love in trying times.

    Akash: Path of the Five is a visually breathtaking, fun and well-written visual novel presented in the otome style. The sprites are all individually drawn by a dedicated artist, and the attention to detail provided by the entire team-from music, to storyboard, to dialogue and player character choices-is pinnacle work. It follows the story of Aurora, the first female elemental to exist in the village of Akash in over 200 years, as she approaches her coming of age in a time of war with humans. She must choose an element of focus—no simple feat when it will change her for life—though perhaps one of her five elemental classmates will help guide her towards the right path... will she chose earth, water, fire, wind or light?

    Having personally never played an otome-style game before, I went in with an open mind and was rewarded greatly. Each of the five (and potentially six!) love interests have fully fleshed-out paths that culminate to a unique, satisfying conclusion (that is, if you haven’t unlocked one of the alternative endings) and it’s easy to find yourself replaying immediately after finishing a route to see the different dialogue options you will receive with another love interest. The personalities of the elemental bachelors are diverse, meaning there will be someone to suit a rainbow of interests and palettes, and the trophy and mini-game artwork are a fun addition that round out the game as a whole.

    The option to fast forward through previously witnessed scenes adds ease of replay, and the ability to review certain dialogue prompts allow you to revisit past choices—perhaps you said something you regret, or perhaps you just want to hear the goosebump inducing, suave seduction in Andrew Love’s voice talent once more. Either way, both features come in handy throughout your playthrough. Fat Bard polished this work with music that immerses you—I often leave it on in the background while writing as it is enjoyable, easy listening and contributes to the different environments and swells of emotion organically, beautifully.

    It is easy to make a goal of obtaining every unique CG... and some will make you downright blush. Once again, another nod is needed for the stunning visuals and character design, as well as the animated backgrounds that react to the storytelling in real time; grass growing magically, a gate slamming open with haste, a beam of light cast from magical properties... it all contributes to telling a story with immersion, finesse and grace.

    There is something for everyone in Akash: Path of the Five. All in all, a masterpiece of romance—you’ll want to take every path.
    Expand
  6. Sep 4, 2019
    10
    I've come to adore this game a great deal; not only for the otome romances, but also because of the world they've created with Akash. I wasI've come to adore this game a great deal; not only for the otome romances, but also because of the world they've created with Akash. I was curious and asking questions constantly about elementals as a race and the extent of their magic.

    The writing in this game is PHENOMENAL, both in and outside of the romance. Between the fantastic character writing and the fact that every bit of dialogue is voiced (Yes, EVERY line!), every bit of the romantic journey was incredibly swoon-worthy. I even found myself falling for character archetypes I normally don't!

    I was also pleasantly surprised with how they made the game. As I'm interested in the otome genre, I've played my fair share and expected this to be another title made in Ren'py or a similar engine tuned toward visual novels. But nope, Truant Pixel went above & beyond in my opinion by making the game in Unity and providing 3D environments that actually move in the backdrop as opposed to the standard static 2D background. It really added a nice touch to the game, helping you feel like you were part of each scene that much more.

    I can also honestly say I've never purchased a game title more than once before, but I plan to pick up a second copy of this once it launches on steam on October 1st!
    Expand
  7. Nov 1, 2019
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Okay so I found out about this game on twitter and it looked nice enough so I figured "eh why not?" The price seemed a little high but for a game that is fully voice acted with people like RAY FREAKING CHASE (more on that later) I was willing to pay.

    I ended up wasting my time and my money and I ended up SORELY disappointed.

    What did I like? The music. And some of the CGs were pretty. The cute art with Aurora flipping people off made me giggle as she flew off into the night air.

    The cons? Oh boy.

    Let us start with this game's BIGGEST flaw. The super weak and boring writing. Is it bad? Well the author sure knows their spelling and grammar so it wasn't bad in that way but that's just about it. The writing lacked any "meat". It had bare bones, did more telliing than showing, and suffered from weird harem anime tropes that should have died in the 2000s. A lot of things didn't make sense but we were just told that they were that way because it was what the devs wanted. I'm suddenly the only female elemental born in the last 200 years? But I'm 19 years old. Weird timeline. Why did the females stop being born? I would have been okay with it if the game took the time to both answering the question. It just glosses over that and many other plot holes with a few lines of explanation here and there and nothing that really makes sense.

    There was something about a statue and a randomly necklace that came out of nowhere and was never talked about. Same with a random capture and prison break. And these elemental people holding a random human boy hostage. (You can try to seduce him within a few seconds of meeting him too....much yikes.)

    It was like the devs were hoping to sell this game in a flashy package alone. (Art, professional voice acting, great RPG type music) but you open the package and there is nothing inside. Just something bland, boring, and frustrating.

    I beat the first route in maybe 4 or 5 hours mainly because I stopped reading and starting rushing through to see if it got better and then to just get to the end already. Then I played another route just to see what replay value was like and the game is really just the same path copy and pasted with another skittle colored weird element boy.

    I also want to know how you get someone like NOCTIS FROM FINAL FANTASY 15 (Ray Chase) and make him sound bored. The voice direction could also use some work because there is no way you have someone like him in your game and have his performance end up being so weak. Again, relying on nothing but flash to sell a weak product.
    The rest of the boys are weird stereotypical love interests, the dumb one, the angry one, the sleazy one, the tsundere one, etc. They had no reason for being with out other than you were the last girl in their race their age (kinda because Caspian the mean one looks and sounds 35).

    The art randomly changes style and there is some random mini game that pops up and takes you out of the game experience. The main art style is okay but reminds me of free online games I would play when I was a kid.

    The game also holds your hand and tells you when you make a right choice. But it's not hard to figure out what your love interest likes because they are written at surface level with no depth.

    My advice to the devs moving forward is to spend more time actually writing their games well enough to stand on their on and to not rely on the talent of other people (composers, voice actors, artists) to make up for what the game is missing out on at its heart. People play otome games for the writing because we don't get cool cutscenes to paint the pictures in our head and this wasn't there. Maybe you should have worked on the game longer.
    Expand