#Ps5 the pathless Ps4

This is disappointing because it means that the only changes to the open-world formula that The Pathless comes up with are aesthetic. Furthermore, the open-world towers made infamous by Ubisoft games are also present here. For example, the Hunter has access to what is basically Witcher Vision – and is as such able to see points of interest from a distance. This is partly because other elements of the game undermine the freedom that the designers are trying to grant players. And yes, on paper this sounds ingenious, but…the result is far from revolutionary.

In addition, enemies would often track me down along the map, which often forced me to change directions.

Speaking of carving your own path, The Pathless’s main gimmick is that it is an open-world game with no map and no HUD elements that show you the way. This all being said, I appreciate the overall themes that the story is concerned with: the connection that we all have to nature and the importance of individuals carving “their own path to truth or salvation”. The result of all of this is that the world of The Pathless feels incredibly empty. The worldbuilding, too, fails on a fundamental level: the parchments and the various notes spread across the vast landscapes are never interesting to seek out and then read. And whereas it is fine that the premise is rather simple and familiar (the game is choke-full of unfavourable Breath of the Wild comparisons ) the problem is that the story never gets any interesting – it is precisely what you would expect from a world torn by a conflict between good and evil. The main quest of the game, as such, is to track all of the beasts through the areas of the map that they respectively control, restore them to their usual selves and have them support you in preventing the Godslayer from bringing an end to the world. Meet the Hunter.Īs for the story, The Pathless has you play as the Hunter, an archer tasked with cleansing the corruption that has desecrated a gorgeous natural world ruled by The Tall Ones – creatures which were once gods of these lands but which have now been subjugated and cursed by the malevolent Godslayer. Austin Wintory’s rather subdued soundtrack accompanies the visuals to create a fairy-tale world which is both serene and menacing. It is truly a visual spectacle to traverse the game’s different plateaus and to notice how the trees shake, the rivers whirl and the snow crunches as you pass them by. The game boasts a gorgeous minimalist acrylic art design which is astonishing even in motion. The first thing that struck me about playing The Pathless was the presentation.

#Ps5 the pathless Ps4

Nevertheless, I am tremendously grateful to even be given this option: choosing between modes is the most immediate and most significant difference between the PS4 and PS5 versions of the game.

My take is that for a game like this, which prioritises movement and quick inputs above everything else, performance mode is an absolute must. Having played The Pathless on a PS5 I was first confronted with deciding whether or not I wanted to prioritise higher frame rates or higher graphic quality. However, beyond the shine of being one of the first real next-gen games I’ve played so far, I’m disappointed to report that The Pathless ended up being less compelling than either of its spiritual predecessors. The Pathless follows the PlayStation standard of offering both a performance and a resolution mode.