The EdublogsClub prompt this week is giveaway. I’ve been thinking about it for a few days but I can’t really think of what I have to offer (other than this existential crisis joke). It might be a while until I feel creative again. So I may come back at some point and embed a zine/collage here.

I was sorting through my desk earlier and I found a USB stick with one of my favourite Tale of Tales games on. The demo of this game is free so I thought I’d write a bit about why I love it (which is difficult to do without mentioning any spoilers). And I’ll link to the demo in case you are curious.

The Path

The Path made me realise what a game could be. Which feels a bit cliched to write, I know. The visuals are so pleasing to me. The forest, and I love forests, seems so rich. The layers remind me of a collage. The red throughout the game is striking. And the mist is my favourite part.

I love the Red Riding Hood story anyway. Just because, when I started reading more about it, the variations of the story make it even more interesting to me. I am particularly fond of the different ways Red Riding Hood escapes from the wolf.

In the Path, all of the Red girls (the playable characters) have a wolf. Whether they encounter or interact with the wolf is up to the player… well, almost… That’s where the Path is unlike any other game I’ve experienced. There are moments when you approach the wolf and can walk away, but once you get too close there’s no escape. The way you interact with the wolf (and other features) is by doing nothing! You control movements, but when you stop touching the controls, the Red girl interacts with items/characters of interest.

There are items you can interact with throughout the forest. Not all Red girls can interact with some items. There are also items that remind the Red girls of each other (I love this feature in the game) – when that happens an semi-transparent image of another Red girl appears on the screen. There are also interactions that change the way Grandmother’s house looks when you get there. The interactions with items appear to be unlocking memories.

Grandmother’s house is an odd-looking place. It looks even odder the more you’ve interacted with items and the wolf. The light dims quickly in each room of the house, so you have to keep moving to reach Grandma. When you reach her the game ends.

I found the atmosphere in the game unsettling, unless I stayed on the path. During the game I feel relief when I find the path again or if I encounter the Girl in White as I’m lost in the forest. The path feels safe and when you are on it, the Safe Song plays. When you leave the path, music and light become disjointed.

The demo can be downloaded at grandmothers-house.net/and-stay-on-the-path.