Video Game Review: Path of Giants

Path of Giants

Journey Bound Games

Platform Puzzler

Nintendo Switch

Path of Giants is a puzzle game originally released for mobile devices in late August of last year. It released again for steam in February and is now set to hit Switch on April 14^th. In it, you control three little adventurer fellas as they climb a mountain looking for an ancient archaeological relic from a long-extinct culture of giants.

The gameplay consists of having said adventurer fellas work together to traverse various mountain- and ruin-scapes, mostly by standing on each other’s heads to get to higher or lower terrain but also occasionally acting as elevator counterbalances or weighing down switches that control moving platforms. Puzzles end by getting all three characters to their respective platforms, designated by colors. The concept and execution are simple and perhaps not especially original, but it’s satisfying when you figure out the solution to a level and some of them can be real teasers.

The graphics are cutesy without being nauseating and the overall look of the game is simple and aesthetically pleasing. From what I could tell from some quick online searching the graphics got slightly upscaled from the original mobile version. The music is simple and catchy enough to keep your attention while you’re playing but nothing memorable enough that you’ll be listening for years to come. It’s a nice time, and the developers’ own word choice for describing the game is apt – “serene”.

Path of Giants is not a long game though. While I enjoyed what time I spent with it well enough, I was able to complete the whole thing over the course of a few hours even with occasionally taking breaks to do something else for a bit. Since it’s a puzzle game there’s not much in the way of replayability either. There are collectible treasures scattered throughout the levels but they’re very simple to collect and don’t really require any extra work on the player’s part. Even if you do miss one, level select allows you to go back to any puzzle you want, allowing immediate access to pick them up.

There are worse flaws for a game to have than short length, and Path of Giants at least doesn’t try to overstay itself. It knows what it is – a small, amusing diversion for puzzle lovers or young children – and sticks with that. I did encounter one slight reoccurring bug in the later stages of the game where characters would occasionally stop responding to commands and I’d have to restart the puzzle, but it was a minor inconvenience at most. If you’re itching for some light brainwork to chip away an afternoon with, you could certainly do worse than this.