Horror allows us to experience many things that are not possible in real life, and often things we wouldn't want to experience in the first place. Vicious monsters, mind-breaking demons, and brutal serial killers. Like fantasy or science fiction it is an escape, and like drama or tragedy it is built on emotion. But with horror both of these aspects are used to bring out the very worst in ourselves and the world we live in; digging deep into a raw, primal sensation that lurks in the core of every person. The instinct of fight or flight and the adrenaline rush that accompanies it creates powerful atmosphere and storytelling. Video games have proven themselves an excellent outlet for immersive horror, allowing you to experience these feelings in a safe and controlled environment. Every person will have their own reasons why one game is scarier than the other, but the key linking factor which every single one is how they strive to put you in a setting and a scenario that makes you feel uncomfortable. However safe you might be after each play session, to me a good horror game will take every moment you're in that setting to make you wish you were somewhere else.
Yet today I want to talk about a game that certainly created an horrifying atmosphere, but while playing I felt an odd sense of comfort.
And so we come to... The Path.
The Path is a game released in 2009 by Tale of Tales, a small indie development team from Belgium who tend to focus on interactive art experiences rather than traditional gameplay. It is based on the fairytale of Red Riding Hood but in a contemporary setting, showing six sisters (Scarlet, Carmen, Ruby, Ginger, Rose and Robin) as each must walk through the woods to their grandmother's house. The one rule of the game is that you must stay on the path, however that rule needs to be broken as each girl in turn explores the woods and encounters their 'wolf'. This game has been sitting in my steam library for... honestly way too long, I picked it up in a sale and never really got around to playing it. But I finally booted it up and I do have to give credit to the creators, they have built an interesting little game. Both the music and the art design has that uncanny vibe, and the disturbing implications of the story events make walking through the forest very unnerving. Everything is designed to make you feel off, but as I said I find something strangely comforting about the atmosphere.
Due to the ambiguity of The Path's narrative I can't really say there are any spoilers, and even though I'll mention certain events this is going to focus more on presentation and atmosphere (like when I talked about Higurashi When They Cry and Sound of Drop: Fall into Poison). And because of that focus I'm not going to analyse what the wolf encounters or the story as a whole means, if you want that just type in 'the path tale of tales theories' on google and you'll find more than a few articles discussing it.
So without further ado, let's get started.
Visually this game is beautiful, and the art design is very detailed. Nothing is quite realistic looking but it's not overly exaggerated so there is something of an uncanny vibe when playing. The effect is rather off-putting and means the environment never really looks natural, yet I found that as I went through the forest with all of the girls it became a little more familiar each time. There's an odd charm to the place, particularly with how much certain colours stand out against the backgrounds. Suitably enough red pops out whenever it's on screen, in fact it's the most vibrant of all the colours used which works well considering each of the six girls has red featured prominently somewhere in their design (to go with the Red Riding Hood theme). And one thing you'll notice about the game is that the vibrancy of the colours change as you reach certain areas. When walking down the path initially it is bright and cheerful, like a typical sunny day, though if you choose to stay on the path Grandmother's house is surrounded by a misty purple cover (I'll discuss that more a bit later).
This changes once you begin wandering around the forest, as the dense foliage is often very dull with greys and washed out tones while there is always a light mist in the distance; giving a Silent Hill-like vibe. But this changes... whenever you encounter a wolf. There are six unique areas to find within the woods, each one specific to the sisters in some way, and approaching any of these will suddenly flood the scene with colour. You can approach and interact with these areas at any time with any girl, but one area will include that character's wolf. When you meet a wolf, when the cutscenes play, the sudden appearance of colour becomes much more prominent. This flare of colour does signify danger, but after wandering in the darkness for so long having this change is... strangely magical. It's a twisted take on the stepping into Oz moment; when you approach danger, the world becomes more beautiful. It makes you want to find that danger, to meet that wolf, just to experience that change again.
Audio also plays a huge role in The Path. Like other good horror games, the sound design is used to emphasise certain moments or create a darker ambiance. There are only a few moments of pure silence, as music features quite heavily throughout the entire game and the sounds of the forest are constant. The soundtrack is unusual, not because of how creepy the songs are or the strange sound effects, but because of how much voices are used. Usually with horror games the soundtrack is mostly for atmosphere, with looping instrumental pieces and visceral sound effects. The Path has that, but it also makes great use of vocals. Not so much words but voices in different harmonies, almost like someone singing a lullaby or as part of a choir. Like with everything else in the game these never sound quite right, as the tune often feels out of sync with the music and the voices never harmonize properly. Mixing these vocals with the variation of instruments (from pianos to guitars to violins) creates a very alien layer to this music, making it even more unsettling. But it matches the setting so well that it becomes a part of it, and I quickly found myself getting more worried when there were moments of silence because the music had become so ingrained within my head, it was a part of the world I was exploring. My mind began to relax as I recognised each tune, figured out what it meant for the story and simply indulged in the odd sounds that came from it. Every tune changes, it grows and moves like a living being; the music is as much a character as any of the girls you play as.
Before discussing the sound effects I want to give quick mention to the song I heard the most throughout my playthrough, the Forest Theme. This song has lyrics, very disturbing lyrics, and it plays while you are exploring the forest itself. Have a listen for yourself, and see how much the music changes as it progresses. Fair warning to those with headphones,there's a bit at the end of the soundtrack version which you might not hear in the game itself that... let's just say it can be a bit alarming on high volume.
Sound effects prove just as important as the music itself, and they can be quite horrific at times. It's difficult to talk about these separately considering how many of the songs have effects like chains, footsteps and heavy breathing as part of the music itself, yet we can still see how they work. You have your character's footsteps of course, and the sound of birds flying past or rustling grass that all add those little touches which just bring the world to life. And these can be unsettling yet I find they mostly work to build upon how alive this forest feels. But the most effective of all these sound effects, at least to me, is the gasp. This threw me off completely when I first started exploring the woods, as the sound came completely out of nowhere. There was no one around, not even our little helper (I'll get to her in a moment), so like I would in real life I quickly turned around to see if I could spot anybody. No one. Nothing. Yet as I kept moving in the same direction that gasp continued. It was only when I picked my third girl that I realised... the gasp meant you were getting close to the wolf. That was the real indicator that I was making progress. And yes, it was to try and warn me of danger, but once I understood what it meant that single small sound suddenly became a beacon. Part of me wonders if it's gamer instinct, as it's not unusual for games to use sounds to show you were going in the right direction, but I found myself actively searching for a way to hear that gasp. It led me to each encounter, to the unique themes of the wolves and to learning more. It almost became like a game of hide and seek in that way, just another tool for this world to make me want to stay and explore.
Remember that little helper I mentioned? Well those who have seen the game (or examined the cover picture of this review) will have noticed there is a seventh little girl; the girl in white. She is an NPC who is always wandering around the forest, usually skipping or dancing or doing cartwheels; very sweet and innocent. Her job is to warn you of danger, and if you stay still long enough she will take you by the hand and walk you back to the path. I think the girl in white is by far one of the best gameplay mechanics used in The Path, because she is both an indicator of your progress and a way to help if you get lost. In fact I believe she must be the source of that gasp I went on and on about. And she always looks so innocent, just running around and if you interact with her she'll hug your character or play games with them. Yet even as she acts as a warning, she can be at the area where your wolf is waiting and still look happy. If anything her presence makes me want to be there even more, she's just a charming addition that makes exploring even more enjoyable. And that's something with the encounters themselves. Every wolf gives you an indication that their dangerous, but meeting them provides a scene that... simply doesn't look bad. You KNOW they're bad, but the interactions don't really reflect that. The girls do not look like they are frightened, which only served to keep me relaxed at each one. It's an odd sensation that no game has ever made me feel before, though perhaps this feeling shows how I've connected to the sisters and their individual experiences.
Or perhaps I'm just weird and like creepy stuff too much, that is always an option.
As I said at the beginning this game is based on the fairy tale of Red Riding Hood, so I'm sure some of you are thinking 'what happens when we get to grandmother's house?' Because just like the fairy tale, you do go to grandmother's house. After your encounter with the wolf, you will appear just in front of the gate to her house looking a little roughed up while rain falls all around you. Then once you get inside, it switches to first person where you traverse through the malformed rooms, each uniquely designed to match the girl you are playing as. The sound ramps up and the first person perspective certainly makes the area feel more claustrophobic, but when I played the game these parts felt like a roller coaster; it got my heart pumping while it was happening, but once it was over the impact started to fade. I really do think that the house sections are the weakest part of the game, and that roller coaster feeling just makes it more exciting than horrifying. But you know what the most horrifying part of this entire game was? The one part that still doesn't feel comfortable to go through despite how peace the rest of the game is to me? Staying on the path. At any point in this game you can just walk straight down the path without any exploration, go straight into grandmother's house and see grandmother. Doing this is considered a failure because to get the most out of this game you need to stray and explore, but it's far more unsettling than any wolf encounter because nothing happens. The music still changes, a purple mist hangs around grandmother's house and when you get to her room she lies there in bed completely still while you just rest next to her. She barely looks alive other than opening her eyes. All of this only led to me wanting to go back to the unsettling forest, to get back to the disturbing music and the lingering danger because it felt more pleasant than staying on the path.
Normally when I do these reviews I can very confidently recommend the game I am talking about, however that isn't the case here. The Path is one of those games that I personally consider a fantastic horror experience which will stay with me, but due to the nature of the gameplay and the unconventional narrative it's difficult to say who would enjoy it. In fact it's weird that I like it as much as I do because I usually prefer more linear and defined narratives, and I certainly don't expect anybody to feel the odd comfort I did while playing this. It is a slow game that is great if you want a simple, interactive experience but may put people off with it's lack of variation and action. I'd say go have a look at the game's steam page and decide for yourselves if this is something you'd be interested in, but for me I found The Path to be a strangely relaxing experience in an unsettling environment, and the fact that any game could make me feel that way shows that the developers did something special when they made it. Whenever I was in that forest, I didn't want to leave at all. And the most interesting part is that everything which was supposed to unsettle me but made me feel relaxed instead, all of that actively made me go against my instincts (both as a gamer and as a person). I wanted to be in the darkness. I wanted to go to the danger. And I didn't want to stay on the path.
It is one thing to be taken out of your comfort zone... but making you want to stay out of it is an entirely different experience.
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