Stories: The Path of Destinies Review

By Meg Humphries
10 years Ago

Layers are what make a good game, exceptional&period; Layers of plot, layers of combat, and layers of extras combine to create greatness, and so it is with Stories&colon; The Path of Destinies&period; Perfectly described as a beautifully layered game, its deceivingly straightforward style lays the perfect foundation for what turns out to be a wonderfully labyrinthine ride&period; Simple, intricate, and honestly just fun, the game merges tale with tartar in this visually stunning and beautifully voiced masterpiece&period;&NewLine;Deliciously story-driven, the game starts out with the deep, pleasant narration of <a href="https&colon;//youtu&period;be/-hKcZEZcuzw" target="&lowbar;blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Reynardo’s legend</a>&period; A Captain Shakespeare-esque Sky Pirate Fox, he’d just settled into retirement when his kingdom fell into chaos&period; Oppressed under the iron rule of an evil toad King, he is thrown into a rebellion he initially wanted nothing to do with after the loss of a dear friend leaves him a wanted man&period; Thus, the groundwork for the 32 (plus) storied game is organized&period;&NewLine;<figure style="width&colon; 952px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img src="https&colon;//i&period;gyazo&period;com/7c90bd6f12a84bdae6b59fbbe105db03&period;jpg" alt="" width="952" height="535" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">(Stories&colon; The Path of Destinies, Spearhead Games)</figcaption></figure>&NewLine;The first fable following the prologue introduces one of the most enjoyable concepts of the game&semi; choices&period; Pinned down by enemy ships, you must choose to save a friend, or pursue an ancient weapon that may change the tide of the war&period; No matter what is decided, more choices follow, with more choices, and more choices&period; Each choice takes Reynardo down an entirely different path, and each choice can be re-visited easily (if the player decides they don’t like where it took them)&period;&NewLine;The obvious gem of the game lies in the narration&period; A one-man army of voices powers each character forward, while still narrating the events that transpire in real-time&period; Storytelling, acting, and ambiance all come almost directly from the narrator, creating a unique and enthralling environment throughout the game&period; While the identity of the narrator is currently unknown, his voice carries a David Tennant-like timbre that illustrates each character as an individual&period; The narrator’s voice alone turns the game into a piece of audible beauty, while even the most minute details are chronicled&period;&NewLine;<figure style="width&colon; 1103px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img src="https&colon;//cdn&period;bagogames&period;com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/03191955/dc462ced95e4f6685a8ab45dceb1a2d8&period;jpg" alt="" width="1103" height="620" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">(Stories&colon; The Path of Destinies, Spearhead Games)</figcaption></figure>&NewLine;That being said, however, the soundtrack compliments the movement of the plot in the unexpectedly wonderful way of being exceptionally unexceptional&period; Light flutes and violins have an Elder Scrolls feel, and the music serves its purpose while leaving the real excitement where it belongs&semi; with the narrative&period; Still, the soundtrack meshes seamlessly with the sound effects of birds, bugs, and fireballs, keeping the few moments without dialogue interesting&period;&NewLine;Gameplay is fluid, easy, and utterly entertaining&period; Landscapes are interesting and fun to explore, characters are exciting to talk to, and combat is intuitive and full of possibilities&period; To fight Ravens, Spellcasters, and Traitors, Reynardo must remember skills from his past, and upgrade his swords using ores and essences&period; Swords can be upgraded to heal Reynardo, freeze enemies solid, or even set them on fire&period; Uniquely, his swords also act as keys to access different parts of the worlds he visits, making re-visiting certain storylines necessary for full exploration&period; Reynardo may also use his Gauntlet to collect and use gemstones that give him special abilities, adding continual variety to combat situations&period;&NewLine;<figure style="width&colon; 1101px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img src="https&colon;//i&period;gyazo&period;com/a06b75f42fc4a4c23a5bf69d5e2b70b4&period;jpg" alt="" width="1101" height="618" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">(Stories&colon; The Path of Destinies, Spearhead Games)</figcaption></figure>&NewLine;The only real frustration in the game isn’t really unexpected&period; Enemies hit hard, and Reynardo’s health meter drops quickly&period; Deaths happen swiftly, and often&period; While this can be disheartening, it really serves to show how necessary combat skills and upgrades are&period; The health meter can be upgraded to give Reynardo additional health, and his sword upgraded to heal Reynardo (which uses a hefty amount of stamina)&period; The real saving grace of this grievance, however, is the checkpoint system, which takes Reynardo back to the beginning of the fight each time, making starting over much more tolerable&period;&NewLine;With 32 possible endings and over 22 hours of gameplay, Stories&colon; Path of Destinies is a force to be reckoned with&period; Charming and lovely, the game is worth far more than the &dollar;14&period;99 sticker price&period; More content may be coming soon, but right now, Stories&colon; Path of Destinies isn’t a game to be overlooked or undersold&period;&NewLine;A PS4 code of Stories&colon; The Path of Destinies was provided by Spearhead Games for review&period;&NewLine;

Categories: Game Reviews, PC Reviews, PS4 Reviews
Tags: Games PC PlayStation Stories: The Path of Destinies Top Stories

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