The Path
There is one rule in the game. And it needs to be broken.
There is one goal. And when you attain it, you die.
Six sisters live in an apartment in the city. One by one their mother sends them on an errand to their grandmother, who is sick and bedridden. The teenagers are instructed to go to grandmother’s house deep in the forest and, by all means, to stay on the path! Wolves are hiding in the woods, just waiting for little girls to stray.
But young women are not exactly known for their obedience, are they? Will they be able to resist the temptations of the forest? Will they stay clear of danger? Can they prevent the ancient tale from being retold?
The Path is a game about growing, about changing, about making choices, about accepting the consequences of these choices. A game about playing, and failing, about embracing life, perhaps by accepting death.
Key Features:
The Path is a short horror game inspired by older versions of Little Red Riding hood, set in modern day. The Path offers an atmospheric experience of exploration, discovery and introspection through a unique form of gameplay, designed to immerse you deeply into its dark themes. Every interaction in the game expresses an aspect of the narrative. The six protagonists each have their own age and personality and allow the player to live through the tale in different ways. Most of the story, however, relies on your active imagination.
The Path is designed with accessibility in mind. There are no ticking clocks or monsters to defeat. No hard puzzles will ever halt your progress. Most activities in the game are entirely optional and voluntary. The player has all the freedom in the world to explore and experience.
While The Path does not contain any graphic violence or sexuality, it does allude to these themes. The overall melancholy mood of the game and the potentially unsettling course of events, make The Path unsuitable for children. Despite of its origins in fairy tales, The Path is decidedly a game for the mature mind.
The game features a complete realtime 3D environment that can be explored through third person navigation. The characters in this virtual world, including the player’s avatars, are governed by a form of artificial intelligence that gives them some autonomy. As a result, nobody knows exactly what you will encounter on your journeys.
Next to the multi-layered stylized graphics, The Path features a continuous soundtrack composed by goth rock diva Jarboe (ex-Swans). In fact, there are hardly any sound effects in the game. Instead the music is continuously changing according to what is happening in the game. Like the behaviours of the characters, the music too is never exactly the same twice.
For a satisfying experience, it takes about 6 hours to complete the game.
Game Discussion
Steam User 11
this game really lives rent free in my head. the symbolic themes of the struggles of girlhood&womanhood are very important to me ! the eerie music is so good toooooo:
Steam User 25
Not what I expected (and remembered)
The Path has been living rent-free in my head for years. I first discovered it through a tiny YouTube channel - Merelden Winter - about 12 years ago. What I remembered from those videos was an eerie, creepy game about several girls (spoiler alert) dying. However, the Path is not at all a usual horror game, that's for sure.
What is the Path?
The Path is your go-to favourite game if you are the "not like the other kids" kid. It explores horror in ways people abuse today - low-poly graphics, room for interpretation, lots of exploration and, if I may, "secrets" (as in, interactions that only the most curious will find), as well as lore > gameplay.
I wouldn't say that the Path actually has much lore in itself, it's more of what you can think of it yourself. My take is full agreement with the coming of age / growing up theory. As a female, I also relate heavily to many events this game has to show.
This game, to me, shows how being trusting and curious as a child will hurt you. How loving the world around you and being curious will hurt you. How trusting your first friends will hurt you. How getting your first period will hurt you. How wanting to grow older and do unhealthy, "adult" things to fit in will hurt you. How wanting to have your first time with someone will hurt you. And finally, how after all of that, you will most likely be forced into adulthood, having to give up on your childhood dreams and beliefs. And that, for sure, will hurt you.
However, in the end, when reminiscing about the good ol' days, you most likely will not regret or think much of most of it; just kind of wish you knew to begin with that it all is a necessity, something that will teach you, make you grow as a person.
Most "wolves" being male/masculine is sadly true, too. I believe the game has only two female/feminine "wolves" in it.
Is it enjoyable?
The overall enjoyment is... hard to explain. Most importantly, I can't say there was much to enjoy about the game technically. First of all, it took me a while to set it up, as the game was extremely slow and laggy. Then, the game itself has so many bags, it's funny as hell - you can walk through objects, and the graphics look so bad it's almost funny (and while I am a huge fan of games with graphics of that sort - don't get me wrong - they surely can be ugly if done wrong).
However, the game itself has an incredible idea that begs for a remaster. The brilliancy of it still won't leave my mind alone - for years, I've been thinking of this game and how amazing its core is. It's a shame it never got the popularity it deserved, too - though, I am glad there are less traumatized kids than there could've possibly been.
The game definitely still stands out compared to anything ever created in horror. It's hauntingly beautiful. For the gameplay > lore enjoyers, though, I will be honest - it is obnoxious and quite boring, especially once you've found the Wolf.
Would I recommend the Path to others?
I mean, you see my Steam rating. I'd definitely recommend this game to those who value niche, dark games, especially those trauma-related ones. However, purely for gameplay purposes, it's obviously lacking. I mean, the developer is quite known for this style - check out the Graveyard.
Once again, I really want to see a remaster that, aside from general improvements, embeds more lore, background and LiveJournal-like things into the game and tells a little more about each girl, though I feel like if done wrong, that would destroy the purpose and the haunting nostalgic feeling. Moreover, the more personality the character gets, the harder it might get to relate to them for some? So, perhaps, an overall gameplay/graphics improvement would be enough.
The Path to me is a game that is quite difficult to recommend; it's like saying "hey, come share this traumatic, slow-paced experience with me!" and being totally serious about it.
But hey, come share this traumatic, slow-paced experience with me. If you somehow found this game, I am pretty sure it's right up your alley.
Steam User 9
This review is several years late, lol, but I wanted to say that even today, in 2025, this is still one of my favorite games. Something about the atmosphere, the music, and the completely free-to-interpret outcomes of the girls' stories really spoke to me way back when this was huge on YouTube, and even now, all this time later.
Make no mistake, this is a walking simulator with some BIZARRE controls. Things aren't fully explained to you; there's no tutorial. You get some controls explanations, but there are not really any cut scenes, either. You're left to stumble through and try to figure out exactly what it is you're supposed to do, and then what it is the game's trying to tell you (if anything).
Each girl has her own personality, her own items to be found in her forest, and her own special "fields", which you can find by following bright lights. Each girl has a wolf, which you can interpret in different ways, either literally or figuratively. Do you walk all the way to Grandma's house, like a good girl? Or do you go off, find your wolf, and most likely die? And really, HOW do you die?
Grandma's house changes at the end depending on what you decide and choose. Do you see the wolf? Do you find the items and then go see Grandma instead? Up to you.
I played one Path for three hours. I've played through a couple different Paths at different times since first buying this game, but I'm enjoying giving this a little more time, now that I'm older and have different thoughts in my head.
Also, don't rely on running too much. The camera tilts. You want to kind of release the sprint occasionally, because if you run too long, the screen darkens, the camera gets obscured, and you can't see certain things until you let your character breathe again.
Steam User 7
this game's been stuck in my head for well over a decade, and i don't think it will leave any time soon. hauntingly beautiful, and unsettling. sadly, it is showing its age, with some distracting visual glitches on modern hardware.
Steam User 11
This is what makes us girls
We all look for heaven and we put love first
Somethin' that we'd die for, it's a curse
Don't cry about it, don't cry about it
Steam User 3
I've loved this game for a really long time now. I think the visuals are nostalgic, the game play is pretty slow, forcing you to immerse yourself in it. If you don't like taking it slow in games, don't play, maybe watch a playthrough or video instead.
If you like seeing darker takes on old children's stories, you'll probably enjoy this. Each of the girl's story is symbolic to match with their wolf. Making sure that you try to interact with all of the items and places, you not only get better rankings but also helps you better understand the different girls. You have to pay attention so you don't miss important dialogue that fleshes out their character and symbolism, which is the whole point of the game.
My one complaint is in regards to the portrayal of Carmen, the 17 year old
She's depicted as "sexy red," with large features that seem to over accentuate her sultry look. There's nothing inherently wrong with that. Paired up with the dialogue and the rest of her character, it lays out a bad look. They set her up in a way that makes it look as though she "deserved it" because of her actions and her mentality/ personality. My real issue comes in with how her confidence in her post-pubescent body is shown and the way that sexualization gets punished through her wolf - which is supposed to represent something that must be overcame or something they desire. I don't know if the way that Tale of Tales set up Carmen's wolf was what they explicitly meant to do, but regardless, having a middle-aged balding woodsman give beer to a minor before doing depraved things is something that Carmen shouldn't have had happen. I know these sorts of things happen all over the world; TLDR, I don't really like playing Carmen's story line, it feels gross
Steam User 4
The Path is a remarkable title. It's not quite a horror game, although it is incredibly dark and often unnerving or frightening. It's an incredibly well-made game that is a bit surreal and oblique, but always compelling and very intriguing to play. The bare bones description of the game won't capture the strange menace at its core. It alludes to desire and the violence women are subjected to by men. Its visuals and audio are exceptional and The Path is an unforgettable game.