The Path is based on the Little Red Riding Hood story - six chapters each feature a more modern take on the tale, with different female protagonists ranging from age nine to nineteen.

The goth girl we played today at the demo, the first chapter, is fifteen, dressed in red and black stripes, with fishnets down one leg. Each girl can go to Grandma’s house for the “safe ending,” or encounter her own “wolf” in the forest for a more complicated, even horrific, fall-out.

Auriea Harvey from Tale of Tales was standing by the booth this morning as we checked out their next game, The Path. On a homebuilt renderer, the game is running fairly smoothly after about a year of development by their small team.

Straying into the forest is made even more tempting by the eerie glow of the environment, and that’s exactly what you’re supposed to do despite the injunction to head straight to Grandma’s house.

The control scheme with a gamepad was more stand in, but there’s a button to run, a way to move the camera, and a button for inventory. Items get added to the inventory when you visit “the attractions of the forest,” vaguely visible as lighter patches in the distance that evolve into a graveyard, or a weird little building as you come closer.

The game is very atmospheric, with audio playing a big part as well - although the general ambiance was sometimes harder to make out over the din of the expo, we did hear some girls voices singing chilling chant-like melodies.

I left the path immediately, as there wasn’t much to see along it. Running through the forest, things start to get dark unless you slow down. You’ll be able to hear your heart beat, and paw prints pad across screen for added anxiety. Since I strayed, there isn’t a way to find the path again except by finding and following a girl in white.

I never did run into her, but I did eventually meet her wolf, a dude lounging on a park bench. The AI takes over when you come upon an “attraction,” so I watched as she sat next to him and accepted a cigarette, coughing a bit after her first drag.

After this scene fades out, the girl wakes up sprawled in the road, and I finally made my way to Grandma’s house. Depending on how many of the items you found and whether or not you met the wolf, the house environment will change alarmingly, I’m guessing, from the way I was killed off at the end.

As the game’s website puts it; “There is one rule in the game. And it needs to be broken. There is one goal. And when you attain it, you die.” We’ll be looking forward to experiencing more of The Path’s immersive narrative.

Tags: female_protagonists, goth_girl, little_red_riding_hood_story, PC, the-path

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