The Pathless

Giant Squid starts the new generation strong with The Pathless. A short, sweet, and simple adventure that marries contemplative exploration, with uniquely satisfying movement mechanics that function in both a visually stunning open world and the setpiece boss encounters. While the experience may be too easy for some, this game is worthy of attention in the crowded launch line up. Not only as a great title, but a shining example of what indie developers can bring to next generation gaming.

A subtle, immersive upgrade to an already brilliant game. The Dualsense really shines in making your traversal and combat feel more alive. The game runs brilliantly, looks beautiful, and has a great score to match. You cannot go far wrong with The Pathless, no matter what version you play.

The Pathless is an incredible experience, and easily one of the best launch titles available on the PS5 in what is already an excellent selection. A wondrous, beautiful open world with innumerable locations and secrets to uncover is placed alongside a moving narrative further heightened by an unexpectedly tender relationship between player and bird. And that’s to say nothing of the game’s exquisite use of colour, or the beautiful and wickedly unique soundtrack. The Pathless excels on all fronts.

The Pathless is a remarkably well-designed game, guiding the player forward with intuitive design while providing plenty of opportunity to experiment and play. With a great locomotion system and an amazing soundtrack, The Pathless will easily see players losing hours while under its hypnotic spell. Fun and rewarding puzzles, a nice story line, and plenty to see and do make The Pathless a great game, regardless of which system you play it on.

The Pathless is a wonderful balance between puzzles and boss battles contained in a giant landscape. The gameplay design, specifically the boss level design, demonstrates the possibilities this new generation of consoles might offer.

In short, Giant Squid succeeds in the most difficult task, that of starting from the groove left by the greats, but in the end to trace a new trajectory, leaving a profound and unforgettable mark on the panorama of independent development, and beyond.

Like previous effort ABZÛ before it, The Pathless leans heavily into the gorgeous cell-shaded world, and it does so with gameplay and story that keeps you locked and engaged for the entirety of its 10 hour story run. Comparisons to games like Shadow of the Colossus and Journey are apt, but seeing the world rush by at 4K and 60fps is a thing of beauty. Come for the frenetic gameplay, stay for the art.

The Pathless is the next great indie adventure. Whether the joy you take from it is in its unique and super-slick traversal mechanics, or the arresting world and faultless artistry, there's no denying that Giant Squid has absolutely nailed it. If you only pick one, non-AAA exclusive for your next-gen PlayStation, pick this one.

Imagine the gamedesign cores of ICO, Shadow of the Colossus and Journey merging into a brand new adventure... The Pathless takes you into a scenic open world full of ruins, mythical secrets and fantastic colossuses.

Despite simple puzzles and less than convincing stealth segments, The Pathless delivers a sensational adrenaline rush with its core gameplay. It runs like a dream and looks the part too. Definitely worth checking out.

Ultimately The Pathless is a very good game, with exceptional art direction and an interesting (if a bit shallow) story. I loved the interactions between The Hunter and her eagle, and found the boss battles to be a high point. The game’s six hour runtime helps to keep the somewhat repetitive gameplay loop from becoming tedious, but it also means it’s more difficult to justify the game’s $40 price tag. I believe that with some expanded lore and a lot more variety in the puzzles on display, Giant Squid could have easily stretched the game out to 10-15 hours. Still, The Pathless is undeniably a great game and a worthy (and unique) addition to the PS5 launch lineup.

Quotation forthcoming.

The Pathless is a great game. It’s beyond stunning, with a remarkable soundtrack and phenomenal sense of place. Refined traversal mechanics do a lot of the heavy lifting, while puzzles and boss battles could use an extra dose of variety. Though the formula gets tired by the end of the tale, The Pathless proudly stands among giants of the genre like Journey.

It’s one of those games where the journey matters at least as much as, if not more than, the destination — and, thankfully, it makes that journey as smooth and seamless and pleasant as possible.

The Pathless is a beautiful and epic adventure from the people behind Abzu. A must-have for every indie lover.

Its stylish visuals and slick gameplay make The Pathless stand out as a truly epic experience. If the concept of whipping around massive intricate environments at ridiculous speeds while solving puzzles and taking down bosses appeals to you then definitely check it out.

The Pathless is a visual stunner that lets you explore its gorgeous world via an innovative and fun traversal mechanic. It may be modest in scale, but the platformer leaves a big impact courtesy of smart puzzles and exciting boss battles.

The Pathless is exceptionally pretty, with great flow and even greater art design. The game loses some of its emotional punch thanks to the open world and the lack of clear pacing, but it's nonetheless a great experience.

A stylish adventure that makes like Fleetwood Mac and goes its own way. Beautiful to ear and eye, this is a trek through the forest that you need to take for yourself. [Issue#183, p.90]

The Pathless is about the journey. Your freedom to explore and take in the rich, breathtaking environments at your own pace is highlighted by the game’s satisfying traversal system and lack of clear cut directions. The puzzle-platforming and combat mechanics are simple but provide a refreshing break from the potential monotony of dashing through this mythical world.

The Pathless is an adventure that offers something new, and just that is something we appreciate. But on top of that, it delivers an interesting world and mechanics that feel fresh.

It’s the absence of stand-out creature encounters that weighs heavy on The Pathless as a whole. And there’s a redundancy to said moments that never rears its head when freely exploring and solving puzzles. Undoubtedly, the exploration and puzzle-solving represent The Pathless at its best. Giant Squid’s latest manages to perfectly capture the calm before the storm, along with the post-battle respite that few games master in equal measure. In that case, it would seem the disappointing creature confrontations do serve a greater purpose to some degree.

The Pathless makes a fantastic first impression, with its arresting visuals, fun mechanics, and fascinating dark world. The game’s middle section does start to drift a bit, but it sticks the landing with a great final level and an electrifying and emotionally-satisfying climax. Like The Pathless’ feathery co-star, Giant Squid has raised their game to lofty new heights.

A simple and elegant game; a fascinating experience.

A hugely entertaining open world puzzler where simply getting from A to B is more entertaining than most games in their entirety.

The Pathless combines a simple but fun movement system and a world brimming with secrets to uncover.

I hope it isn’t lost amongst the PS5’s bigger, noisier releases, as it’s something different and uplifting. It’s rare to find such tension and threat in a game that’s also so peaceful, but Giant Squid has managed it. In truth we could all do with a bit of light in our lives at the moment.

The Pathless is a wonderfully different game that makes you feel like you have ownership over the entire experience and are not being led along by a pre-scripted playbook.

The Pathless is a charming indie adventure with a strong atmosphere, engaging exploration and a myriad of fun puzzles that is too good to be forgotten amongst the next generation hype.

The Pathless suffers a way too linear narrative and game structure, but has an inspired art direction, more game features than Abzu, a great work and a great way to tell the players more about it.

The Pathless is a really entertaining game from the creators of Abzû. The game lets you explore a vast world with a huntress and her eagle. Saving the world is no terrible job since the world is truly amazing, but the lack of enemies and the lack of unlockables don't really invite you to do. Where everything in the game is balanced really good from the puzzles to the boss fights, you get the feeling something is missing eventually. The game is great but could be much, much more than this.

While its main draw may be boring for some, I really enjoyed my time with The Pathless. The graphics and movement are especially brilliant, and the exploration always felt rewarding, even at its repetitive moments. While the writing is nothing to write home about, the connection between the player and the eagle companion keeps the story grounded emotionally.

Giant Squid's The Pathless minimalist approach has many highs and lows, yet despite its flaws it manages to emerge as a solid game. If you are looking for a quick adventure that ramps up towards the end, you will not be disappointed with this one.

The Pathless is indeed a project that will make you travel for a few hours, but unfortunately, it will not be as exotic as a certain ABZÛ or as unforgettable as the fabulous Journey.

The Pathless is beautiful but repetitive. There is a somber emptiness to its world that tries to convey a sense of loss and impending doom, but it can also make the proceedings tiring if you don’t regularly redirect yourself toward the things you need to find and fix. It makes bold strides in exploration and world-building, but movement can feel awkward or overly simplistic, and the ruins you seek out house little more than a puzzle and some foggy memories. On a positive note, load times are wonderfully brief on PlayStation 5, and the controller pulses differently for each type of target you fire at. Navigating this world can be both a calming and thrilling experience, there’s just not enough to find to make the journey more than a pleasant trip through the trees.

If you're into these types of games (you know who you are), this is another one you can add to the pile. I say "pile" endearingly, as it's short enough to justify playing right away without becoming backlog fodder.

An enthralling mini-epic that unfolds like a combat-free cross between “Journey” and “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,” Giant Squid's latest strives to make good on the open-ended promise of its title.

The Pathless could have been more than it currently is. With more variation in the gameplay and a deeper story, this could just have been GOTY material or at least the indie hit of the year. Still, there's plenty to love if you settle for a minimalistic game crafted with a lot of love. Especially the flow of moving around in the atmospheric world and the brilliant music ensure that The Pathless stays with you.

The Pathless is not a big game and doesn't want to gamble too much, but knows which aspects to really bet on. The heart of the game experience is exploration and does a good job of making you fully enjoy the rides and flights over its small but fascinating world.

The Pathless has its issues, but it certainly offers unobtrusive, relaxing fun. What’s unique about it are the movement options. The boss fights and puzzles? Significantly less so.

The Pathless is a worthy addition to the minimal release list this early in the PlayStation 5 lifespan. It delivers engaging gameplay, as well as frankly beautiful visuals. The issue is that feeling of familiarity *cough*Zelda*cough* coupled with a lack of activities to indulge in. Too often does this feel like a template of greater things to come, and it's a massive hope that this will spawn a sequel. So many great ideas needing to be expanded upon, mainly the excellent movement, as no game this year has given a greater feeling of speed in its unique traversal system, and along with the excellent boss battles, this comes recommended. Here's to The Pathless 2: Less Travelled.

The Pathless is a gorgeous, exhilarating and frenetic game which unfortunately often stumbles in its own tracks.

While it's not without its flaws, The Pathless is still more fun than it is not, with impressive visuals, fun boss fights, relaxing puzzles, and an interesting movement system. It's one of the better PS5 launch games, and it's easy to see how a sequel could elevate the concept to the next level and become something special.

Ultimately, The Pathless is somewhat an uneven experience. Its epic boss battles are thrilling, and the majority of its puzzles are enjoyable to solve. It’s just a shame that there’s so much aimless running around between all the fun. Even dashing around at full speed grows tiresome after a while. Providing some sense of direction may go against what The Pathless strives to be, but it would help make your time with the game feel less wasted, and more fulfilling.

Most of The Pathless plays to its mechanical strengths, free-form exploration, satisfying movement, and methodical puzzle-solving. At times, that lowers the stakes a little too much, but it maximizes the kind of gameplay the game is named for. For a player like me, who bee-lines for an objective every time, it's refreshing to simply take things as they come. The Pathless is the rare game that gives you more by not asking too much, and that makes it special.

The Pathless is not the most original game and actually has too little to do. Despite its charms, the game is very often repeated in the six-hour story. The Pathless should therefore not really be mentioned in the same breath as its obvious source of inspiration. Fortunately, the beautiful presentation and soundtrack still manage to save the game.

I’m fully prepared to see the entirety of gaming journalism as a whole take the opposite opinion of The Pathless as the years go by. There’s a giant list of titles that my peers absolutely love, then I play them, and I swear we’ve experienced two different games. That being said, I can see how someone could absolutely love The Pathless, even if it didn’t do anything for me.

The pace slows to exasperating levels as your nimble hunter trots around awkwardly solving a range of challenges. [Issue#353, p.114]