I’ve always been a sucker for black and white, sketchy, pen ‘ n ink art styles in video games. A recent example would be the wonderful Mundaun, although here, Mundaun’s folkloric, creeping horror is replaced with breezy 2D strolling and featherweight puzzling, combined with calming music and audio to create a relaxing atmosphere as you make your way through the world.
A Winding Path starts with your character outside a farmhouse, near a scarecrow and some fields. Viewed from the side, the sketched world is captured in an expressive format, with the sounds of wind whistling through the fields and trickling water blending well with the penmanship that makes up the visuals.
Playing with headphones, I was soon mellowed out by the approach the game was taking. Making your way around the starkly evocative locations, the casualness of the game mechanics fit the aesthetics perfectly. During my time with the game (around 2 ½ hours), I never felt lost or had my interest wane, rather – there’s a real calmness that pervades the time spent with the game, as you wander between areas, assisting the denizens of the world, discovering little secrets and collecting the hidden dewdrops that unlock items for your character – and always guided by the narrative.
You come across dewdrops in many ways, by flushing cats out of trees; gently playing your lute to summon rainclouds and being gifted them by in-game characters for helping them with their woes, there’s a magical charm to the experience.
An accessible and stylish game that acts as the perfect accompaniment to a bottle of wine, A Winding Path really pulled me in with its clever writing and mellow pacing.
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