The Way Reviewed

By: Logan Manfredi 
on Nintendo Switch

"A beautiful journey into the unknown"

***Mild spoilers ahead, nothing major just some examples of the design***

Overview

        The Way is as much of a novel as it is a video game. There is a level of detail present within the game world that offers a sense of immersion more attune to Tolkien than Nintendo. Subtitles present in the environment offer nuanced yet critical information to the overall narrative. Much like a book, The Way is not about killing a boss or a bad guy. The game focuses on Tom, a scientist/astronaut who recently lost his wife and is unable to cope with it. This is so refreshing because it's telling a story, not just feeding a gameplay loop. Moments like a giant alien beast chasing you until you, unfortunately, have to slay it, then seeing its young pup and immediately feeling guilty for your actions give this game an exquisite sense of immersion and refreshing look at character development that makes the player more easily relate. There are multiple times in the game where the narrative, along with the mechanics, take a drastic shift and flip the story and the player's expectations on their head. After making the decision to raise the animal you orphaned and losing your gun, the game redesigns its past mechanics and further progresses the story by now having you, the player coexist with nature rather than destroy it to get what you want. This is just one example of the many times the development of the main character directly affects gameplay. Shifts like this allow for the story to have a more significant impact on the player because the consequences of the story have a direct effect on subsequent game mechanics. 

Another thing the game handles uniquely and beautifully is time. I enjoy the long stretches of time that pass in The Way because it adds to the realism and emphasizes the story that much more. It would take months or even years to decode an alien language or repair broken equipment, so the fact that the hero loses such essential time on his journey makes the player feel the same wear and weight that the quest has had on him. This connection between player and narrative is what makes this game stand out to me, and the reason I would recommend playing it. The gameplay itself is of quality and feels good, but doesn't hold up to the story in the latter half of the game. 
        Towards the end of the game, the quality of puzzles takes a sharp decline, and the player is expected to know things that only the developer could see. A large part of this I think is because the first two-thirds of the game has beautiful alien worlds and lots of contrasting colors helping puzzle elements stand out and make the player feel like they discovered the solution on their own. 

In the third act, each "generator" is a colorless pit that hides things like ladders and switches by being too dark and using an only grey color pallet.

Dark levels drove me mad.

Puzzles before were fun and trial and error would reveal the solution eventually. Later in act 3, puzzles expect players to know or remember long detailed sequences that are hidden in a shadow on the wall or not even mentioned period. Every room in act three feels exceedingly similar, and players are not introduced to a new puzzle mechanic for hours, rather subject to just doing more complicated versions of old puzzles in what feels like the dark. This was disappointing because until then the game was an incredible experience that required zero walkthroughs or guide help, but baring some luck (I did solve one puzzle by madness and just spinning the joystick in frustration) I see this game as impossible to get through without checking a guide at least once. 

Video Overview 

The Details
        The mechanics and narrative in The Way are continually performing a delicate dance, interweaving with each other and having direct cause and effect allows for both to shine brilliantly. Moments like, losing your weapon or getting injured would usually reset a checkpoint in a video game, but not in The Way. Facing such adversity is what pushes the player forward and advances the mechanics at the same time. Being a primarily puzzle based game progressive difficulty is harder to establish because there are not enemies with HP or damage to multiply. Increasing difficulty instead must be designed into each subsequent puzzles and always be in the developers' mind. That's where the narrative comes into play. By having a direct effect on how the hero has to overcome adversity, new mechanics can be introduced without tutorials or need for explanation. The lack of tutorials is a marvelous thing in that it makes the game more of an immersive experience. The gameplay itself is how the player learns exactly what's possible mechanically and it paces itself perfectly with the overall story.  Mechanics like The Sphere (alien tech that interacts with the world) replace your gun and are outstanding because they remove the cliché of the first step in every puzzle being shoot this or shoot that. A large part of what makes me like this game so much is how it's always changing and evolving from a gameplay perspective that runs parallel to the narrative. 

a stunning alien village 

My Favorite thing
        This game constantly makes me feel smarter than I am. It does so by having the progression in the game tied in perfect unison with the story so that it feels more like living it than playing a game. Generally, if I'm stuck in a video game for more than a day I break down and check a guide, but I never felt the need to with The Way (except once), each attempt felt like part of the journey, and I was glad to be experiencing it. The vibrant level design lends itself perfectly to the puzzles, and the diverse color pallet allows for information to be communicated almost subconsciously. What I mean by that is the sheer amount of colors in the world forces the players to take in more information and see patterns present even when not looking for or directly acknowledging them. A brilliant design like this makes it, so when the player does finally solve a puzzle, the success feels completely their own. This was my favorite part of the game and a large part of why I enjoyed it so much.

I could look at this game all day.

In the end
        The Way made me feel like I was reading a great book. The narrative is the core of this game and works perfectly as a pillar to support all other aspects of its design. Solutions to puzzles feel earned, and the art direction is stunning. Emotional set pieces trigger drastic turns in gameplay and give the story a sense of urgency that makes the player crave to see it finish. Towards the latter half of the game, a feeling of redundancy creeps up but is kept from becoming a significant issue with help from the compelling narrative. That being said, this game and its story are 100% worth experiencing for any fan of sci-fi. 

I give The Way Remastered 3.5 out of 5 snails.