Gamertell

I’ve been excited about Tale of Tales’ The Path for quite some time. To be more accurate, I’ve been excited about the Windows game since it was featured in an issue of Shojo Beat one year ago. So when the opportunity to preview the game arose, I leapt at the opportunity.

The game begins in a red room filled with six red girls. These are the six sisters, Robin, Rose, Ginger, Ruby, Carmen and Scarlet. Here is where the stage is set - you pick one girl to make a delivery to a sick grandmother who lives in the woods outside of the city. Each girl has her own adventures ahead, her own personality and her own ability. Once you’ve chosen a girl, you must follow her tale through to the end. As you wait and decide, each character busies herself with some sort of activity, until she is chosen.

I chose to walk in Carmen’s shoes for the purposes of the preview.

I couldn’t help feeling unsettled as The Path began. Everything looked normal enough. The environment along the path, where your chosen sister begins and takes her first steps, looks serene. It’s almost peaceful. In fact, the area and trip walking along the path seemed somewhat relaxing. But, the surrounding forest seemed too dark, too thick.

As Carmen followed the end of the paved road out of the city until it reached the dirt forest path, the assignment appeared at the top of the screen - reach Grandmother’s House. In foreboding, yellow script directly below, one line of instructions appeared - “Stay on the Path.”

The game then offered a brief, unintrusive tutorial. After Carmen set foot on the path, mouse, joystick and keyboard controls appeared briefly at the bottom of the screen. After that, I was left to my own devices.

The first chance I got, I sent Carmen off the path. Yes, the road ahead was pretty, lined with pink and white flowers. Little glimmering bugs flew around through the air. (Perhaps fairies?) But the dark forests, with their possible secrets, were too much to resist.

After a few moments of running, things started to become - unsettling.

The further you go in to the forest, and the further you choose to wander off of the path, the more the world, and your character’s reality, shifts.

The path had been colorful. There was life. Light.

Only a few steps into the woods, and that all goes away. The color fades, so even Carmen looked like she was part of an old photograph. It seemed like she almost took on the appearance of a mannequin, no longer human. Entering the forest is like entering a world of shades of black and grey, punctuated by occasional highlights of pastel colors.

And yet, this dark environment still seemed filled with a kind of other-worldly beauty. There was life here too, but it was different - from the pale pink flowers, to these sort of umbrella plants Carmen passed as she ran towards the evergreen trees. I’d dare say it bordered on majestic.

Even better, it was filled with potential. The path had been lit by sunlight. You could see for a long distance ahead and behind, and know exactly what was coming. The forest was the exact opposite. With darkness all around, and trees and vegetation everywhere, there was the constant possibility of perhaps stumbling upon an item, a new location or perhaps even a wolf.

As Carmen dashed through the trees, I began to hear a creaking chain, Perhaps she was near some unique area. After all, six unique locations can appear throughout the forest. Perhaps the chain was from a swing. Carmen could be near the playground.

So, I made Carmen run. As she’d go further in, the creaking noises would increase, and I couldn’t help but think I was close to something.

And I was.

Soon, I began hearing singing voices in the background. Instead of seeing darkness ahead of Carmen, there were beams of light. I had her walk the remainder of the way, since running causes the camera to zoom out. I wanted a clearer view of what lay ahead.

At first, I could just make out the edges of the buildings through the trees. There was definitely a well lit, sunny clearing ahead. And something was there.

Carmen was nearing a stage. One with red benches around it, and a piano in the center. I noticed movement in the trees toward the right and made Carmen turn. A little girl in white was walking and standing nearby.

As Carmen approached one of the broken red benches, a ghost image of it appeared on the screen. She could interact with it. I sat back and watched, and she then contemplated a possible future for herself as a performer.

Once the girl in white wandered off into the forest, I decided to let Carmen approach the stage.

The camera shifted to a fixed perspective as she stepped onto the platform and walked towards the piano. I could see that the instrument was weathered, after being outdoors and unattended for so long. Curious, I sent her over to see if it could still be played. An ghostly image of Scarlet appeared on the left side of the screen as Carmen approached.

What a shame - I made a mental note to come back some other time as the other sister. Perhaps during a second playthrough.

Who knows what other areas Carmen may encounter as she continues to explore the forbidden forest, meandering before finally getting to Grandmother’s House. Perhaps she may even encounter a wolf along the way. The player decides what kind of adventures each red girl will have as she explores in The Path, and how long it will be before she reaches the end.

Tale of Tales’ The Path will be available as a direct download from Tale of Tales’ site, Direct2Download and Steam on March 18, 2009. Only Windows PCs with XP or Vista will be able to join the sisters on their journeys.

Read [Gamertell] Site [The Path]