The Pathless review: Giant Squid continues its way to the heights

Having the honor of appearing in the launch line-up of a new console is a double-edged sword, especially for a relatively young studio like Giant Squid. Such exposure, which is moreover granted to a reduced number of titles, necessarily generates tenfold attention from players. Let them be reassured: whether on PC or on PS5, The Pathless lives up to the hopes aroused by its charming finery over successive trailers.

The Pathless review: Giant Squid continues its way to the heights View PriceRead ConclusionThe Pathless

A mysterious and enchanting universe
A dynamic and exhilarating locomotion system
Very well thought out puzzles
Aesthetically very successful

... we are still a little unsatisfied
The first phase of boss fights, messy and lacking in intensity
We would have liked a more lively world

Giant Squid, does that ring a bell? For many, probably nothing. And for good reason, The Pathless is only the studio's second production, after Abzû, a charming contemplative and kinetic experience twenty thousand leagues under the sea, which marked the remarkable debut of the young structure. The latter has been compared a lot to Journey and for good reason, Giant Squid was co-founded by Matt Nava who was artistic director of thatgamecompany. So much for the little history.

On the strength of this first success, Giant Squid has therefore decided to think bigger with The Pathless, while knowing reason to keep where so many others before him were crushed by the weight of their ambitions.

The arrow and the feather

The Giant Squid style is a form of elegant minimalism, and refinement in the sobriety of technical means such as game mechanics. The Pathless is a new demonstration of this credo.

We embody a hunter, virtuoso in the handling of the bow and accompanied by a majestic eagle, reincarnation of a divinity struck down by the Deicide. As his name suggests, the latter is an evil being planning to set himself up in turn as master of this world after having corrupted the four tutelary animal deities. Divinities whose luminous and benevolent nature will have to be restored, after having confronted them in turn. But before we get there, we'll have to
for each game area, free three pillars from the grip of the Deicide by going in search of emblems scattered in towers, castles and other buildings in ruins.

To do this, our archer and her companion form a perfectly complementary duo. The first can move at full speed by targeting talismans whose explosion releases energy propelling it to the next, giving rise to sequences of pure movement quite exhilarating.

As we progress, more and more powerful talismans appear on our way, some even propelling us into the air. To take advantage of the power thus released by each talisman, it is necessary to focus your sights more or less on the target, depending on the distance at which it is. It's a blow to take, but mastering this ingenious locomotion system is particularly intuitive and constitutes the first strength of The Pathless gameplay, offering particularly exhilarating game sensations.

For its part, the Eagle that accompanies us also has more than one string to its bow. It can thus allow us to hover after a jump, or even hoist us high in the sky with one or more wing beats, thereby facilitating our exploration of the different play areas available to us.

His abilities continue to grow as he progresses, after each boss fight but also by patiently collecting golden orbs, filling a kind of experience gauge. It is also of great help in solving the many clever puzzles that mark our path. Indeed, its ability to carry weights will be regularly put to use when it comes to activating mechanisms.

Of course, the puzzles require many other actions on our part. It will sometimes be a question of igniting a succession of torches, by making our arrow ricochet, or even of aligning several circles through which to shoot to activate a mechanism. The whole thing often requires a good dose of observation and reflection, but again the analysis of the puzzles is never hampered by an artificially complex construction.

Especially since our intrepid archer will also be able to count on a capacity of “vision of the mind”, allowing him to identify points of interest and revealing invisible faults in the material world, in which to sneak. Giant Squid here chooses simple mechanisms but which, skilfully associated with each other, give enough trouble for the resolution of the problem to be accompanied by great satisfaction.

Acheter The Pathless

A title adept at the gentle method

And that's good because most of the challenge offered by The Pathless is based precisely on these very many puzzles. Apart from boss battles, there is therefore no real conflict in the game. Divine creatures certainly stand in our way from time to time on the occasion of random appearances, but when this happens, it will simply be a question of avoid being seen by them and come to the aid of our companion, pinned to the ground by their evil aura. Too bad, though, that their sudden appearances are often right under our noses, preventing us from finding refuge behind cover and condemning us to losing some of our golden orbs after being discovered.

Once the threat has dissipated, it will be necessary to care for our majestic bird by stroking it. Note also that it is possible to tickle the eagle at will. In addition to being served by a very convincing and satisfying animation, this pretty scene allows you to fully recharge your movement gauge.

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A friendship is maintained

In short, in The Pathless, the only duality is that which opposes us to the Deicide. When it comes to boss fights, it's not even really about defeating them but about delivering them from evil. What's more, the game never punishes us with a game over after taking a good beating and simply prefers to eject us out of the arena. A bias synonymous with smooth and uninterrupted progression, but also duels that unfortunately lack a bit of challenge.

These fights are articulated in two stages: once the three pillars have been freed from the power of the Deicide, our archer sets off in pursuit of the divinity that has become uncontrollable. To put an end to its mad dash, it is then necessary to reach it, in several places of its body; after which the real head-to-head in the arena can take place.

The first of these two phases vaguely recalls the epic duels of a certain Shadow of the Colossus without however touching on the intensity. The idea of combining a chase punctuated with obstacles with shooting phases could have given rise to exhilarating phases of play, unfortunately the action here is messy and each of these introductions a little too quickly dispatched to arouse the enthusiasm.

Fortunately, the second phase is cheerfully inspired by the boss fights of the latest Zeldas and is characterized by a successful hybridization between dodging movements, anticipation of attacks and reflex shots.

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One of the game's boss fights

Pathless in the wild

The influence of the Zelda saga and especially its latest opus, Breath of The Wild, is also significant in The Pathless. It's a bit as if the title of Giant Squid was a contemplative variation, picked up on a shorter playing time and more reasonable ambitions. We obviously think of the possibility of hovering for a long time above enchanting and depopulated environments, of this rather crazy verticality which also characterizes the latest addition to Nintendo's saga or, more simply, of this emphasis on slow, groping exploration , of a peaceful and silent universe… Perhaps even a little too much. We would indeed have appreciated a little more life to brighten up the place.

However, where Breath of The Wild offers an adventure lasting several tens of hours, The Pathless ends in barely 8 hours, a little more for those who wish to explore the universe in its every corner and thus find all the secrets. What we will gladly tackle besides, so much to move in this magnificent framework of play provides pleasure. But all the same, we must admit that we remain a little unsatisfied after having lifted the veil on all the mysteries of this charming universe.

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Although unfortunately a little empty, the environments are nonetheless enchanting

Visually too, the sleek style of The Pathless is reminiscent of that of Breath of The Wild. The two titles share a certain taste for uncluttered landscapes in soft colors, rustling with the murmur of the wind on the large grassy plains and in the foliage of the trees. But the aesthetics of Giant Squid's title is characterized by a more contrasting and much less "cartoon" rendering.

We will stop the game of comparisons there, for fear of giving the impression of too much affiliation between the two titles. Despite a relationship that is difficult to contest, The Pathless indeed enjoys a style of its own and an indisputable identity, served by a delicate realization that also knows how to be more shimmering when the action gains in intensity. On PC, the title is thus of a fluidity never faulted and enjoys great finesse. Once again, we find the famous elegant minimalism that we mentioned at the beginning of the article.

Finally, we must obviously salute the exceptional sound design of The Pathless. The whistling of the arrows and the explosion that follows when they hit the mark imprint a sort of heady musical rhythm to our progression. The rare dialogues punctuating the narration are expressed in a completely believable fictional language, which is also reminiscent of the Elvish language of The Lord of the Rings, and, it is rare enough to be underlined, very pleasant to the ear.

Finally, the sublime compositions of Austin Wintory (Journey, Abzû) always accompany the action with great accuracy and are characterized by a predominance of the strings, and especially the cello, while giving pride of place to powerful guttural vocals. Another very high level OST to be credited to the composer.

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"Cuicui"

The Pathless: the opinion of Clubic

For its second production, Giant Squid takes another step towards adventure with a capital A. The Pathless provides both aesthetic and kinetic pleasure and, if it does not have the ambitions of a big production, it manages nevertheless to captivate us for a good dozen hours of play, without any moment of hesitation. This result is enabled by a clever mix of wondering exploration, well-designed puzzles and fast-paced action.

Certainly, the title of Giant Squid does not avoid some pitfalls. Among them, boss fights whose first of the two phases unfortunately lacks intensity and readability; or even an adventure which, despite the many secrets to discover, leaves us a little unsatisfied. We also regret that the world in which it immerses us is not more alive.

However, these few grievances should not deter you from sampling all that the Giant Squid title has to offer. The Pathless is a beautiful journey that gives pride of place to the contemplation and exaltation of movement, all cradled by the marvelous compositions of a particularly inspired Austin Wintory. A simple and beautiful work, in which we would have liked to have been able to stay much longer.

The Pathless