Speed, fluidity and animations of the highest level. The game world is chock full of targets, talismans, which when hit with an arrow with the right timing allow us to gain speed but also to reach otherwise inaccessible areas. Whether it’s runes research, chase or boss fight, it’s all about movement and speed, two keywords that in turn are intertwined with the Huntress’ bow and the eagle that her practically accompanies from the first minutes. The gameplay loop is pretty standard: arrived in a macro-area we have to defeat the monstrous and gigantic creature that occupies it, first making it vulnerable with some runes to find and recover and then facing it directly in two crucial phases: chase and combat. A game world that almost always looks like a forest or a prairie dotted with ruined buildings, towers, amphitheaters, monasteries, shrines and secrets often hidden from the simple human eye.įortunately, a sort of mask that can be obtained in the very early stages of the game comes to the rescue and is capable of revealing fake walls, invisible elements and areas of interest surrounded by a sort of reddish cloud. ![]() Will we succeed where everyone has failed?Īlso thanks to the usual incredible Austin Wintory soundtrack and the interpretations of dubbing nineties such as Laura Bailey and Troy Baker (who speak in a language, subtitled in Italian, which frankly we have struggled to decipher), the narrative aspect manages to to be appreciated and to outline a dark and fascinating lore enriched by writings and memories scattered around the game world. How many times have we seen a premise whose central ingredient is the chosen one in search of a way to save a land at the mercy of a lethal dark force? Maybe it’s one of the most overused clichés ever but even the hackneyed elements can be pleasant in the right hands. In the role of the Huntress, we have the almost impossible task of healing a world with almost post-apocalyptic features in which mythology, religion and fanaticism mix, convincing and attenuating the banality of the premises with so much style and epicity. The title can be considered a third-person action-adventure within a good-sized open-world divided into macro-areas. If on the one hand those who appreciate these projects speak of interactive experience, emotional adventure and so on and so forth, those who speak out for the harshest criticisms often rely on a phrase that is increasingly popular in the indie field: where is the gameplay? In this sense The Pathless has much more “played” and certainly will not ask us only to continue along more or less established tracks with a good dose of passivity. The adventure that we completed in about 9 hours, also dedicating ourselves to a good dose of collectibles and exploration (the completists could probably touch the 12 very enjoyable hours) is not a radical change across the board but in many respects it seems a sort of response to Journey’s detractors and the like. ![]() The first few information regarding The Pathless certainly did not deny this theory but with the passage of the trailers, presentations and tests we imagined the developers moved not only by a creative and artistic spark but also by a phrase clearly imprinted in their minds: “the water clone of Journey to whom?” Abzû becomes for many the aquatic Journey and for better or for worse this is what is expected from the team of Nava, Wintory and associates. This is how both the detractors and the supporters made the obvious, they chose the “perfect” label. With such a background here is the almost obvious development: the first Giant Squid game shares a lot, perhaps almost everything, with Journey. Two names that bind their past closely with that little pearl that is almost unanimously acclaimed by Journey. For those who do not know the title we are talking about today is developed by Giant Squid and for those who do not know Giant Squid, this team has two key figures in the creative director Matt Nava and in the composer Austin Wintory. We don’t know if things actually went this way but if we were to hazard a guess looking at the creation of this The Pathless, we could summarize many of our feelings simply with the subtitle of this review. She knows she is the last but fear won’t stop her. Will we be able to cast out the dark curse that grips this turbulent land or will we ourselves become darkness? The Huntress scans the horizon proud and courageous. ![]() The time has come to remove the doubts and fulfill our destiny, whatever it is. The wind blows up the sail and the coast is so close that you can almost touch it. An arch, not a part of us almost as if it were an extension of our arm, of our body, of our mind. ![]() The wind swells the sail, the coast is getting closer and it’s just us and our silent companion. An ocean of doubts to be plowed, calm but unable to reassure us, clear but not without pitfalls that go far beyond the power of nature alone.
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