A casual and relaxing puzzle for puzzle lovers, although the price might be too much for its short playtime.
Type: Single-player
Genre: Puzzle
Developer: Journey Bound Games
Publisher: Journey Bound Games
Release date: 20 April, 2019
Intro
Path of Giants is a 3D puzzle game where you have to move 3 explorers to reach the goal. You need to control each explorer to help each other to go through the obstacles at each level.
Graphics
The game is presented in a snowy-themed area with simple 3D graphics. There is no face on our protagonists although they still look cute with their hooded clothing and round eyes. Surprisingly, the game doesn’t seem to neglect its background despite the puzzle genre – backgrounds are carefully designed, either with shadowy objects or a moving vehicle. The relaxing music also helps to enhance the snowy theme even more.
Story
The game has a unique way of storytelling. You’ll be presented with a scrollable region containing some images and texts. Some of the images are animated, making the scene more impactful. There isn’t much that we can learn about the story, especially with the simple premise, although the story makes up for it with the images and unique presentation.
The Game
Gameplay
Each level is separated into two sections: 3D puzzles on the first few parts and a 2D Pipe-like puzzle at the end. The 3D puzzle requires you to control 3 explorers, one at a time, to reach the goal. It focuses on boosting each other up and pressing switches, although some collectibles in the form of breakable pots will also be available for you to collect.
The tutorial that is available in the first level does a good job of explaining the mechanic. It only covers the basic mechanics though, forcing you to figure out the rest of the mechanics by yourself. Luckily, they aren’t that difficult to learn in the first place – most of them are just some variations of switches that can help you to reach new areas. The only tricky mechanic that you need to learn is when you have to account for the delay between pressing the switches and the moving platform to solve some puzzles. It’s not that hard to learn and execute, although some people might fail to notice this if they aren’t that observant.
Length and Difficulty
I finished all 17 levels in 2.7h. The levels are ranging from easy to medium difficulty, with the game being more difficult at the last 4 levels. You can get stuck at some levels, forcing you to either restart the puzzle or undo some moves. The game is also forgiving in this regard, especially since the game will only reset your progress on this puzzle if you choose the first option, despite the puzzle being not the only puzzle that you solve on that level.
Problems
There was one occasion when one of my explorers can’t be selected after I pressed the undo button a lot of times, forcing me to restart the level. The game also has no fast forward button – the animation when the explorers boost each other up can be too long sometimes.
Specs
Intel Core i5-9300H 2.40GHz, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
Verdict
The relaxing music and the simple gameplay make the game to be enjoyable. It was nice to solve the puzzles without feeling it be too difficult to solve. Although I felt a bit tired playing the game near the end of the game because of the increased difficulty, I don’t mind spending more time solving more levels. It’s a perfect game for casual players that love puzzle games.
