The Pathless

 PlayStation 5
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 128 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 97 out of 128
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 128
  3. Negative: 20 out of 128
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  1. Kchewz
    Jul 11, 2021
    7
    Context: I Platinumed (100%) the game on the Playstation 5, running the Playstation 4 version. I am an Austin Wintory fan and figured I need to give them game a try.

    While not like Journey or Abzu, the Pathless offers a similar experience. A narrative story with minimal tutorial or assistance. The Pathless is a long puzzle adventure game where you play as a hunter equipped with a bow,    Context: I Platinumed (100%) the game on the Playstation 5, running the Playstation 4 version. I am an Austin Wintory fan and figured I need to give them game a try.

    While not like Journey or Abzu, the Pathless offers a similar experience. A narrative story with minimal tutorial or assistance. The Pathless is a long puzzle adventure game where you play as a hunter equipped with a bow, fighting alongside an eagle companion to stop the dark ritual fabricated by the God Slayer. You will encounter series of bosses, first hunting them down in a chase sequence, and then finally taking them down in an arena style manner. This is easily the highlight of the game. The movement archery mechanic is unique and enjoyable most of the time but it has a level of jankiness that ruins the flow of the game. It's fun at first to shoot your arrows at these small targets to gain speed and slide and fly around the map, but even before this mechanic is introduced, you'll notice how slow and sluggish your character is, and having to rely on hitting those targets to gain any speed is a minor annoyance, making getting from puzzle to puzzle a chore... To make matters worse, there's this terrifying fire dome chasing you across the level, and getting dragged into one demands you to stealthily collect your eagle companion and dust them off in order to continue the game. Leave me alone... I just want to explore and solve riddles. It's also aggravating to locate the goods you'll need to advance as the red glow does not tell you whether the area is a lightstone needed for story progression or simply a collectible.

    All great things however, this game has a $50 CAD price tag. The average player will speed through the main story in 3-4 hours tops, collecting the minimum amount of lightstones needed to progress. As a value gamer, its hard for me to recommend a game that can be beaten and fully explored, even with the slowest of paces, in 15 hours with little to no replayability. There is an 'alternative ending' when you collect all the lightstones but it was a let down. If this becomes a $15 or free for Playstation Plus members, I believe this game will attract a larger audience that it does deserve.    … Expand
  2. Richard4949
    Apr 19, 2023
    6
    I liked the look of the game, and the controls are solid. But, the amount of puzzles far exceed the combat, platforming or any type of fun. I’m not a huge puzzle guy. This game is 70% puzzle. And the story is pretty bad, but there are some good moments to be had here. It’s worth playing for free and/or around $10 imho

Awards & Rankings

15
#15 Best PlayStation 5 Game of 2020
15
#15 Most Discussed PlayStation 5 Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 50 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 38 out of 50
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 50
  3. Negative: 0 out of 50
  1. IGN Italia
    Apr 23, 2021
    70
    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.
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  2. XGN
    Feb 8, 2021
    75
    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.
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  3. PCMag
    Jan 27, 2021
    80
    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.
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