The Pathless Review Summary

Beautiful graphics and music, accessible puzzles, diverse bosses, and a unique movement system are let down by repetitive gameplay, inconsistent difficulty, and no map.

Accessible puzzle design: Puzzles are described as simple, varied, and not too difficult, yet engaging and satisfying, with a balance that appeals to casual players.

Diverse boss mechanics: Boss fights are noted as exciting, unique, and diverse, with interesting mechanics and visual variety preventing repetitiveness.

Beautiful graphics: Graphics are repeatedly called beautiful, gorgeous, and breathtaking, with a simple yet stunning visual style.

Unique movement system: The movement system is praised as unique, satisfying, skill-based, and fun, with dash and glide mechanics.

Phenomenal soundtrack: The music and soundtrack are highlighted as phenomenal, beautiful, and fitting the game's atmosphere perfectly.

Puzzles are repetitive: A large group of players find puzzles repetitive, homogeneous, unchallenging, and feeling like busy work, leading to fatigue and boredom.

Repetitive gameplay loop: Many reviews state the gameplay loop of solving puzzles, activating towers, and fighting bosses repeats with little variation, becoming tedious and boring after a few hours.

Tedious and repetitive bosses: Boss fights are described as tedious, overly long, repetitive in mechanics, and lacking stakes or consequence, with many using identical chase patterns.

Inconsistent difficulty level: While some find puzzles or bosses too simple, others find them hard or frustrating, indicating inconsistent difficulty balancing.

No map available: Multiple reviews complain about the lack of a map or HUD, which makes exploration confusing and frustrating in the open world.

Boss fights are varied and phased: Boss fights are a core feature, often involving multiple phases, cinematic moments, and chase sequences that require pattern recognition and timing. They are described as exciting and unique, with some fights featuring an initial chase phase followed by an arena-based battle.

Open world encourages free exploration: The open world is divided into four large zones with seasonal biomes, encouraging free exploration and discovery without a set path or map. Movement is integrated with unique mechanics such as shooting targets to maintain speed, enhancing the sense of adventure.

Puzzles are central to progression: Puzzles are a key mechanic, ranging from simple tasks like lighting torches and pressing pressure plates to more involved challenges involving the eagle companion. They are integrated into progression, requiring puzzle-solving to unlock bosses.

Bow shooting drives movement speed: Movement is primarily driven by shooting a bow at talismans or sigils to gain speed boosts and replenish stamina, with no fall damage. This mechanic is essential for traversing the open world and maintaining momentum.

Auto-aim simplifies bow targeting: The game features an auto-aim mechanic for the bow, enabling precise targeting without manual aiming. This is used in conjunction with movement to lock onto targets and maintain speed, simplifying gameplay.

Frequent stutter and frame drops: Many users report unstable framerates, microstuttering, and occasional drops during high-speed scenes, typical of Unreal Engine stutter. Performance varies, with some noting smooth gameplay after initial loading.

Runs well on many systems: Several reviewers say the game runs great on various systems including Steam Deck, powerful PCs, and on Linux with Proton. They report no crashes or issues and good controller support.

Workarounds available for issues: Players have found workarounds like rolling back to older 500-series drivers, using DXVK DLLs, or changing DPI scaling settings to fix launch issues and resolution locks. These are manual fixes that improve the experience.

50-series driver crashes: Multiple players report the game crashes or fails to launch on RTX 50-series cards using NVIDIA 610-series drivers. This is a critical compatibility issue affecting a specific GPU generation and driver version.

Flawless on high-end PCs: A few reviewers found the game ran flawlessly or achieved 4K60 at max settings on powerful systems. Performance can be excellent on high-end hardware.

Buy on sale: A significant number of reviewers advise purchasing the game at a discount, suggesting it is not worth the full price.

Not recommended at full price: Several reviewers explicitly state the game is not worth its full price, recommending purchase only during a sale or deep discount.

Highly recommended overall: Many reviewers strongly recommend this game, with multiple positive scores and phrases like 'worth every cent' and 'cannot recommend it enough'.

Worth the price: Some reviewers feel the game is worth its cost, with comments like 'well worth it at $10' and '100% worth the price'.

Recommended for puzzle lovers: The game is highly recommended for players who enjoy puzzles and traversal, but not for those who dislike puzzles.

Community fair range: $10.00 - $25.00.

Game completion: 11.0h.

The game captivates with fluid traversal and exploration in the opening hours but quickly becomes repetitive due to monotonous puzzles and sparse world design, causing enjoyment to fade.

Friction: repetitive puzzles; tedious traversal; clunky movement at first; lack of meaningful content; boring stealth segments.

Unlock drivers: movement upgrades; getting used to controls; unlocking traversal abilities.

Chill Explorer: Leisurely exploration, casual puzzle-solving, and admiring scenery. Motivation: Relaxation and aesthetic enjoyment. Stance: buy.

Completionist: Systematic collection of all items and achievements, often with multiple playthroughs. Motivation: Completing all content and earning achievements. Stance: sale.

Atmosphere Connoisseur: Slow-paced exploration, focusing on narrative, visual details, and emotional immersion. Motivation: Immersive artistic experience. Stance: buy.

Steam Deck: Most users report flawless performance on Steam Deck using Proton, but a minority experience crashes requiring manual DXVK installation, and one user advises against playing on integrated graphics. Overall, the experience is not seamless but playable with some tinkering.

Linux and Proton: The game shows mixed Linux compatibility. Some users require manual DXVK DLL insertion or driver rollbacks to fix crashes, but others report flawless performance with Proton GE/Experimental. Overall, the game is playable with minor tweaks.

Game length varies: Players report a wide range of playtimes, from 2-3 hours for the base game to 20 hours for 100% completion. The main story typically takes 7-12 hours, with additional time for collectibles and achievements.

Same developer as Abzu: Many reviews note the game is from Giant Squid, the studio behind Abzu and Journey. This connection is frequently mentioned as a point of interest for players familiar with those titles.

Compared to Journey and Abzu: Reviewers often compare the game to Journey and Abzu, citing similar art styles, atmospheric exploration, and emotional storytelling. This comparison is a central theme in many reviews.

Purchased on sale: Several players bought the game on sale, often due to its low price or bundle deals. This suggests the game is seen as a good value at a discount.

Extended ending content: The game features an extended ending that rewards players who complete optional objectives. This encourages full exploration and completion.