Page 6
April 2009
Fairytales have always been
things I’ve dreaded to read or lis-
ten to. It was not the stories them-
selves that bothered me, but after-
ward when my mind would warp
the stories ideas into something
much darker and grimmer then
they were written. Now, when it
comes to The Path, a new indie
pc game, the game has already
twisted and grinded out the fairy
tale of Little Red Riding Hood
into something much, much more
disturbing then it could ever be.
In The Path, you choose from
six sisters who vary from age and
personality. Once you pick a sis-
ter, you are then placed on a wide
dirt path, surrounded by a dark
forest and are given simple in-
structions, “Go to Grandmothers
House and Stay on The Path”. As
straightforward as the instructions
are, if you comply and reach
Grandmothers house right away,
the game fails you. So the only
other choice is to take your
I could tell my parents
hated me because my
bath toys were a toaster
and a radio.
Submitted by Lauren Rodriguez
character off the path and go into
the forest. In the forest, your char-
acter can find different :
objects, interact with them, and
also give a little personal anec-
dote. Some objects can not be
used by some of the sisters whilst
others can. There are also several
locations strewn about the forest
such as a campsite, a playground,
a pond, an outdoor theater, and a
graveyard. But the objects and the
locations in the forest are just
there for something else that be-
comes the most menacingly in-
triguing part of whole game,
which is the wolf character.
For each sister you play, you
must find their wolf (a Man,
Woman, or a literal Wolf). Now,
the wolf character does not gener-
ally appear out of nowhere, it
usually appears when the player
has their character reach there
as the pond or the campsite. Once
the wolf appears the player must
interact with him or her, in order
to complete the chapter. But, once
the player interacts with the wolf
the screen goes eerily black and |
the player is reawakened on the
path in front of grandmother’s
house. The player then enters
Grandmother’s house and is
guided through a surreal and
nightmarish house that ultimately
leads them to the end of the chap-
ter.
Now where The Path makes a
turn for the disturbing and brutal,
is when the player encounters the
wolf and the screen goes black.
We never know what happens to
each girl but as they are awak-
ened we know something awful
has happened to them. Either the
girl awakens walking with her
toward grandmother’s house.
What makes the game worse is
that the culprit that makes each
girl encounter such horrors is the
player themselves.
Whether or not a gamer is up
subject matter The Path presents,
it is an experience truly unlike
anything else a gamer could pos-
sibly play this year. The Path is a
great example of the type of
games that can break the barriers
of people perceptions to what a
videogame can truly be. The
games creators have taken mas-
sive risks to creating something
that demands a lot more thought
and attention than any main-
Of course, any casual or even
is worth trying and even at least
putting a few hours into, as it all
starts to get interesting as if plac-
ing the first few pieces on a jig-
saw puzzle, except the pieces are
your own interpretations and
thoughts. The Path truly is a liv-
ing, thriving, work of art. It is as
deep and innovative as an experi-
ence can get, helped by its great
sense of mystery, curiosity and
endless amount intrigue, that can
not be found anywhere else but
off the path.
WANTED
The Fourth Wall is looking for
new members who are interested in
writing as well as drawing. If you
are interested, email Shonna Gra-
ham at svg5074@psu.edu with
your name, email address and tele-
phone number.