Last year at PAX South, I discovered Rebel Galaxy. It wasn’t advertised in the deluge of emails I had received prior to the event, but it was my favorite at the end. So, this year I went to the exact same booth on the PAX South show floor to see if I could catch lightning in a bottle twice. This time I found Stories: The Path of Destinies. I was not disappointed.
Developed by Spearhead Games, Stories: The Path of Destinies is a game made of two distinct parts: a Choose Your Own Adventure story and an action RPG. The thrust of the story is you play a fox named Reynardo, who is embroiled as a member of the Rebellion against the mad Emperor. While playing as Reynardo, you will be given opportunities to make a choice and that choice will influence how the story plays out. In my playthrough, I had to choose to save my buddy who was captured or go after a weapon of mass destruction. Of course, I’m a good guy, so I go to save my friend. After I saved the guy, I was given 2 new choices. You get the idea; it’s just like a Choose Your Own Adventure book.
In between these twists and turns in narrative focus, you must adventure as Reynardo in the world in an action RPG style of game. There are many different styles of combat to keep things fresh throughout. In fact, it wasn’t until I spoke with someone after my playthrough that I discovered they fought in a completely different style. I had focused on my dash attack and my time-slowing abilities to keep my distance during my fight and he had focused on using the chain attack to bring the enemies in close quarters to finish them off.
I mentioned the Choose Your Own Adventure book, and it is evident this is the path Spearhead wanted to go. From the art style to the writing to the sound, it all points to a storybook aesthetic. With vibrant colors and beautiful landscapes, Stories is visually appealing. The storybook theme plays right into the main mechanic of making choices. Just like a CYOA book, many of the endings to the story are not happy endings. Often, they lead to your own demise. Luckily, Reynardo has this magical book that will allow him to return to previous choices and allow the player to take a different path in order to continue to the happy ending we all wish for our protagonists.
I was really impressed with Stories: The Path of Destinies. Everything about this game, from the mechanics to the aesthetic to the gameplay all looks and feels extremely polished. After seeing it on PAX South, it’s a definite on my radar. Stories will release on Steam and the PlayStation 4 in early 2016.