Path of Giants made by Vancouver based Journey Bound Games Inc. is a relaxing point and click puzzle game. The player controls three experienced adventurers on a journey to follow the path of the Giants and reveal the treasure hidden away by Kings of old. However, the adventurers must wield the Amulets of the three Kings for their path is blocked, and only with the Amulets can the path be uncovered.
On a journey, still on the path, and seemingly nowhere
Deep into the mountains, the adventurers start on their journey, and the player guides them every step of the way through the charming puzzles that lay ahead.
In Path of Giants, the player has to utilize the three adventurers’s to solve a variety of puzzles and open gates to proceed up the mountain. Represented by their colors, the adventurers Matchi, Bern, and Totch have to work together to overcome obstacles and reach a pad corresponding to their color at the end of the stage.
Teamwork is key!
As a puzzle game, the mechanics are simple; the player points and clicks and the characters follow. Every puzzle is designed to require teamwork from all the adventurers, and they are designed to make sure everyone reaches the end of the stage at the same time. It’s simplistic, however, with the visuals and the sound design, the game works to have a calming and cool atmosphere.
The game will throw obstacles at you such as buttons that activate wheels, turning bridges, and ladders that pop out of the wall. And though sometimes some of the puzzles may take a few moments to figure out, overall the puzzles are simple, letting you progress continuously from stage to stage without too many stops. And this is a good thing, while Path of Giants may not be the most compelling of puzzle-logic games, it’s a nice adventure to go on while you guide Matchi, Bern, and Totch.
Again the game is designed for you to get three people from one side of the stage to the other regardless of the obstacles, and Path of Giants is very forgiving, not leaving you in the dust with vastly complicated logic, and allowing you to backtrack if you do make a mistake.
Once you’ve gotten to the end of a level, you will then be presented with another puzzle that requires you to spin tiles on a wall that will form a pathway between three different points represented by the same colors as the adventurers.
A circuit board of ancients!
It’s a lighthearted game with a simplistic and clean art style and a fitting soundtrack, that definitely helps the game feel more relaxed and helps to immerse the players into the journey.
Overall it’s a fun game. I appreciate its simplicity, but as a puzzle game I don’t really see anything that stands out too much to catch my eye gameplay mechanics-wise. The puzzles are nice and easy to solve and they will help keep your Brain preoccupied but they are nothing that will truly stump you and make you feel rewarded when you finally figure it out.
Ultimately I’d have to give this game a 5 out of 10.
In the end, it provided very little challenge, however, the art style was beautiful and easy for the eyes to look at; The soundtrack fits very well with the relaxed vibe the game put out, and right off the back to control scheme was pretty easy to figure out and even easier to master. While the aesthetic for Path of Giants is great, the core gameplay as a puzzle game is lacking.
Released on February 14, 2020 Path of Giants is now on Steam, iOS and Android stores.
[penci_review id=”10910″]