Stories: The Path of Destinies

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 140 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 88 out of 140
  2. Mixed: 36 out of 140
  3. Negative: 16 out of 140

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  1. HTGamer
    Dec 16, 2016
    7
    Stories: The Path of Destinies is an action RPG with a "Choose Your Adventure" twist. You play as a fox warrior named Reynardo who delves into a magic book, and you can make major choices which influence the story and determine the places you can reach each time in the dungeons. Every time you complete a playthrough (which will last 60-90 minutes max), the book's pages go back to theStories: The Path of Destinies is an action RPG with a "Choose Your Adventure" twist. You play as a fox warrior named Reynardo who delves into a magic book, and you can make major choices which influence the story and determine the places you can reach each time in the dungeons. Every time you complete a playthrough (which will last 60-90 minutes max), the book's pages go back to the beginning and then you can start a new adventure and make other choices, to see different outcomes. The branching story isn't anything great, but gets the job done. Kudos to the trolling narrator with his 4th wall breaking jokes and real world references, though.

    Gameplay is pretty simple, you navigate dungeons in top down fashion and hack n' slash enemies, open chests, collect items, craft swords, collect XP and upgrade your stats. Unfortunately, there are no boss fights at all (at least during my time with the game, and I have done 5 playthroughs so far) and you have to fight a small variety of minions all the time. The fighting system is very fluid and responsive, it reminds me of the Batman Arkham series. But enemy and dungeon variation is too limited for enduring 25 playthroughs (each for one of its multiple endings, one of which is the "true" end), so a sense of repetition starts kicking in after a few playthroughs. However, every time you complete a playthrough, difficulty is raised automatically, with enemies gaining HP and becoming more aggressive. The game starts super easy on your first time and then gradually builds up quite a challenge, so it's not so boring after all.

    Graphics are nice artistically, but they are not the game's strong point in technical terms, that's why the camera is set in top down mode, instead of being player controllable in 3rd person. Low polygon counts, shadow pop in, fluctuating frame rate, even stutter while traversing the environment, but the arena-style fights are 100% issue-free. In the sound department, there is only the narrator who voices other characters in a "read me a fable" fashion, and sound fx are decent enough.

    For me, Stories: The Path of Destinies is a positive surprise. I just wish the developers had more time and money to craft a better game than what they actually made. For its price it's a good value. Give it a chance and you may like it.    … Expand
  2. stamito
    May 23, 2017
    7
    This is a nice little indie game that is probably worth buying on sales if you like this kind of game.

    Good stuff first, the gameplay is all right, not great but not bad either. An action game from an isometric perspective with a decent selection of movements/magic that doesn’t require you having super reflexes. Gameplay wise it feels a bit like a beat’em up. The platforming side is    This is a nice little indie game that is probably worth buying on sales if you like this kind of game.

    Good stuff first, the gameplay is all right, not great but not bad either. An action game from an isometric perspective with a decent selection of movements/magic that doesn’t require you having super reflexes. Gameplay wise it feels a bit like a beat’em up. The platforming side is kind of poor with you having to jump around only a bit. The exploring side is all right, maps are not particularly complex and they feel a bit corridor-like, but I insist, it’s not too bad, it is all right. Graphically speaking is good, not great but graphics are full of colour with an interesting art style, they might not be impressive in a good way but neither in a bad way. Same with sound and music, with the exception of voice acting, which I thought it was superb. Now finally, the main positive point is the story itself, I must say I found it surprisingly good. It is quite a serious/darkish story with quite a bit of nice humour on it, this might be surprising considering the animal look of the characters. Then, there are 24 different endings, yes 24. That is a lot and, sure, some of them feel quite similar but most of them feel quite different and surprising sometimes. I quite like the fact that having so many different endings, well written and connected via the main plot, gives the game a very cool “butterfly effect” feeling. The problem with so many endings is the fact that you have to complete the game a lot of times to get them all and it feels quite repetitive (in a bad way). And this is the only real negative point of the game, although quite a significant one I must say. Unfortunately, once you get 7-10 endings, you start to feel the game is getting really repetitive in a bad way. The problem comes from the number of different stages, so to get an ending you have to complete like 5 stages (around that, I not sure of the exact numbers) and maybe there are like 8 different stages. So, as you can imagine, when you complete the game 20+ times, that means you’ve played the same levels probably a good 15+ times and it is a bit tedious. I personally think it is a shame, because if instead of 8 stages the game had I don’t know 20-25 (even if it is re-using the same decoration but different map), the game would have been superb, but it can get a bit boring after unlocking a few endings.

    Summarizing, decent game gameplay wise, superb in story but it gets badly repetitive if you want to get all the endings. Still, I think there is a lot to enjoy in this game and it is well worth a small investment if you like this kind of game.    … Expand
  3. sityoazzdown
    Dec 12, 2016
    7
    A good top down hack and slash game. Very basic combat, but the troll narrator is a plus, the branching story lines are kind of cool, but the grind fighting the same monsters with very basic hack and slash and same areas become a bit tedious half way through the game. This type of game is great if you have time to kill, surprised this never made it to handheld. Pros: Semi- addictive,A good top down hack and slash game. Very basic combat, but the troll narrator is a plus, the branching story lines are kind of cool, but the grind fighting the same monsters with very basic hack and slash and same areas become a bit tedious half way through the game. This type of game is great if you have time to kill, surprised this never made it to handheld. Pros: Semi- addictive, played to see how each story would end, troll narrator. Cons: Repetitive area and enemies, trial and error story line. The so-so: basic gameplay and loot/ rpg elements.… Expand
  4. nekabe21
    Jun 14, 2017
    6
    Un juego con cierto encanto y con un punto a su favor, el curioso uso de la narrativa y los distintos finales en función de las decisiones tomadas.
    Gráficamente correcto, todo se ve empañado por su repetitivo uso de prácticamente todos sus pilares jugables, escasísimos escenarios, poca variedad de enemigos, pocas armas y un sistema de progresión del personaje increíblemente tedioso y mal    Un juego con cierto encanto y con un punto a su favor, el curioso uso de la narrativa y los distintos finales en función de las decisiones tomadas.
    Gráficamente correcto, todo se ve empañado por su repetitivo uso de prácticamente todos sus pilares jugables, escasísimos escenarios, poca variedad de enemigos, pocas armas y un sistema de progresión del personaje increíblemente tedioso y mal pensado. En un par de partidas tendrás todo hecho y finalizará la progresión de las armas, gemas o escenarios.
    A partir de ahi, se acaban los incentivos y jugarlo será casi una obligación si quereis conseguir el 100%    … Expand
  5. Nel
    Jan 25, 2017
    5
    The game bases on that you make choices, and play through the story several times, the voice acting isnt great nor is the music. The game gets repetitive after a few playthroughs. It has a nice leveling up system, but it feels like the powerups from leveling up is very low.
  6. seriimac
    Feb 18, 2017
    6
    too much repetitive gameplay
    at the very beginnig its captivant, but once you learn more you find more bugs, you see all the weak points of the story, you are not entertained at all
  7. Uzumaki212
    Dec 19, 2016
    6
    Thanks to the PS Plus I got this game for free & it's one of my favourite game Of the year But That doesn't mean It was the greatest game of the year because it's really repetitive because You have to play the game from the start & finish the game at least twenty or more time too get every ending & that means playing the same level too get a different ending but still a good game for anThanks to the PS Plus I got this game for free & it's one of my favourite game Of the year But That doesn't mean It was the greatest game of the year because it's really repetitive because You have to play the game from the start & finish the game at least twenty or more time too get every ending & that means playing the same level too get a different ending but still a good game for an Indie game.… Expand
  8. Madbeast8
    Aug 22, 2016
    7
    This game is odd in that is does some things incredibly well, and others quite poorly. The combat is smooth and fun, making combos and reversals seamless as long as you are observant and careful. However, after you have made it through a few of the stories it becomes incredibly repetitive as there is little variation of enemies and tactics. The development of the story is alsoThis game is odd in that is does some things incredibly well, and others quite poorly. The combat is smooth and fun, making combos and reversals seamless as long as you are observant and careful. However, after you have made it through a few of the stories it becomes incredibly repetitive as there is little variation of enemies and tactics. The development of the story is also pleasantly unique...you continuously traverse through a relatively short story (roughly 30 minutes per story) while altering your major decisions to find truth and a happy ending. However, there are 26 variations of those stories set in only 8-10 different areas. So, if you are either a completionist or guess poorly trying to get to the right ending, you will find yourself treading over the same ground repeatedly. Once again, repetition is the downfall here. And finally, while your character can level something like 45 times in the game, you only obtain 4 different swords (one almost immediately), and they only level twice. So your weapons are essentially maxed out long before you come close to maxing your character level, making what little RPG elements (in terms of leveling and character progression) feel quite barren.

    When it works, it can be a fun little distraction resting between larger more immersive gaming experiences. However, with some more depth and variation across the board, this game could easily be a standout and a must play for fans of that Zelda-style action/adventure game.    … Expand
  9. SassyQuatch
    Jan 22, 2017
    6
    I wasn't going into this game expecting much of anything. I was pleasantly surprised by the interesting idea of going back and choosing between different storylines. The game succeeds in charm and provides interesting enough combat that reminded me of a hybrid between Batman and Furi.

    All that being said, since the name of the game is to back and repeat certain storylines, the cliché    I wasn't going into this game expecting much of anything. I was pleasantly surprised by the interesting idea of going back and choosing between different storylines. The game succeeds in charm and provides interesting enough combat that reminded me of a hybrid between Batman and Furi.

    All that being said, since the name of the game is to back and repeat certain storylines, the cliché criticism that a game is repetitive actually a[plies here with full force. By the third or fourth story I was growing somewhat bored with the scheme, and eventually looked up which routes to take to get the game over and done with. I think there might have been several ways the game developers could have solved this problem. One way would have been to have at the end of certain levels a boss fight of some kind instead of a narrator simply telling you what happened. Maybe each storyline that is wrong could serve as a new way to battle the bosses, and maybe each boss fight could change up the different times to fought it.

    Another complaint I have about the game is in its somewhat lackluster ability of putting every story together into a cohesive and compelling singular story. There were details when I finished the game's final story that I either missed or that weren't in the game at all. This made for a less interesting experience in an otherwise charming and interesting game.

    So in conclusion, I think the game's potential outweighs its current state. If the developers could add more varied combat, more varied level design, and a more cohesive story the game would probably deserve a solid 8/10. As it is right now however I can't help but somewhat disappointed in it.    … Expand
  10. ThePSButton
    May 6, 2020
    6
    Juego indie coqueto acerca de jugar con las líneas del tiempo hasta que te salgan las cosas bien en la historia. Pone ideas interesantes sobre la mesa, pero poco se aprevechan con una jugabilidad no muy sólidad, una duración algo apretada para toda la repetición que hay y una buena cantidad de bugs. Stories Path of Destinies es una obra muy regular.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 41 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 41
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 41
  3. Negative: 1 out of 41
  1. Game Rant
    Aug 10, 2016
    80
    Spearhead Games’ Stories: The Path of Destinies is a fascinating jaunt through a more mature fairy tale setting that blends serviceable gameplay with remarkable wit.
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  2. Games Master UK
    Jul 5, 2016
    62
    A story more innovative than the repetitive and often shallow game it's attached to. [June 2016, p.71]
  3. GameCritics
    May 30, 2016
    60
    Ultimately, though, the drudgery of actually playing this game outweighs whatever interest its narrative has to offer. I have to admire the ambition of the concept here, but Stories: The Path of Destinies falls short of having systems equal to that aspiration. Like its swashbuckling hero, this game’s reach exceeds its grasp.
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