The Pathless

The Pathless is an action-adventure video game played from a third-person perspective.[1] In the game, the player controls the Hunter, who must find a way to lift the curse on an island. The hunter is a master archer. She must use her bows and arrows to shoot talismans scattered throughout the world, which will fill the Hunter's dash meter and allow her to swiftly navigate the game's world. She is also accompanied by an eagle companion, which can carry the player while flying. The eagle loses altitude while carrying the Hunter, though it can gain altitude through flapping its wings.[2]

Unlike other open world games, the game does not feature a mini-map. Players need to use "Spirit Vision" in order to find locations of interest. By exploring the game's world, players would collect crystals which can be used to upgrade the eagle's abilities.[3] Throughout the hunter's journey, she is hunted by invincible cursed spirits which attempt to separate her from her eagle. Players need to avoid alerting them through stealth.[4] Players need to return light to the obelisks scattered in the game's world, which weakens the curse spirits, allowing players to defeat them. Players will lose the crystals they have collected when they are defeated by the cursed spirits.[1]

The Pathless was developed by Giant Squid, the creator of Abzû (2016). According to creative director Matt Nava, The Pathless "is about finding your own way forward". Therefore, the team decided to remove the mini-map feature typically seen in open world maps in order to facilitate exploration. The team put heavy emphasis on creating a movement system that is fast and fluid so as to remove the need of incorporating fast travel points. Unlike other games in which the player will respawn at checkpoints when they lose all their health, The Pathless adopts a system in which the players will lose the crystals they have collected instead. According to Nava, this system helps create tension and stake without breaking the player's immersion, which may be the result of respawning the player character.[1]

The game was announced at The Game Awards 2018.[5] Initially set to be released in 2019, the game was first delayed to early 2020 and then subsequently to late 2020 as the team needed additional time for development.[6] The game was released for Windows via Epic Games Store, macOS and iOS via Apple Arcade, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on November 12, 2020.[7][8][9]

According to review aggregator Metacritic, the game received generally positive reviews upon release.[10][11][12]

• Official website