We’ve put together a round-up of reviews for Stories: The Path of Destinies, an action-RPG for PC and PlayStation 4 that was developed by the folks at Spearhead Games and recently released without much fanfare. The title seems most notable for its Choose Your Own Adventure-inspired approach to storytelling, which was the feature most reviewers focused on.
Destructoid, 7.5/10.
Take for instance the first choice: should Reynardo save his old rabbit friend — who has a history of being unreliable — or sever that tie and search for a weapon that could turn the tides of war? What has the greatest potential in this technicolor fantasy world? Your decision determines which island you’ll head to next, who Reynardo will ally with, and how he’ll come to one of 23 inevitable ends (the 24th is the singular ending where the Fantastic Mr. Fox doesn’t die). Even when a playthrough does end in death, there’s a chance that you’ll learn one of four immutable Truths, which helps to discern what choices will lead to a happy ending.
Unlike most games, these branching paths are noticeably different. I decided to choose a path of neutrality, thinking that would possibly lead to the True Hero path. I won’t say what actually happened, but, uh…let’s just say that it didn’t go as expected. My favorite part of forging my own path was the narrator constantly sowing the seeds of doubt in the soil of my conscience. Oftentimes I’d do what I thought was right, and he’d pipe in with something like “Reynardo wasn’t quite sure why he did that. Last time he did, it killed him. But maybe not this time!” I already felt uncertain, but had to laugh whenever the game acknowledged these thoughts. Though the narrator mostly kills it, occasionally the script dips into pop-culture references like blurting out “Praise the sun!’ without context, which is less amusing.
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Despite some repetition and a handful of weird glitches, it’d be hard for me not to recommend Stories: The Path of Destinies. The “Goosebumps” kid in me was just too excited to have branching narratives from a developer that had fun with the concept instead of using it as another box to check in its marketing plans. I’d gladly return to this wonderfully weird world, but if there is a next chapter, I hope that there’s more to see.
CinemaBlend, 4/5.
I need to just take a moment and congratulate the writers of Spearhead Games who slaved to bring the stories in this game to life. Having worked on a multiple-story system in a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, I can relate to the frustrations of double-checking each storyline, connecting the voices of the characters so they are seamless in different timelines and never losing that magic that rests in the writing. And what’s even more impressive is they didn’t just write dialogue, no, they wrote an entire story with transitions and descriptions and everything.
So if you’re looking for a game to pick up on your down team and would like to invest yourself in something a little more time-consuming, I highly recommend Stories: The Path Of Destinies, because you’re never going to know what your outcome will be until you make a decision.
Kotaku, scoreless.
It’s often said that, as a medium, video games suck at storytelling. Stories feels like it’s trying something rewardingly different, to do more than just ape the linear style of a summer blockbuster movie. It’s embracing tried-and-true hallmarks of action game design and weaving them around interactive fiction elements. The result is both familiar and fresh.
Shacknews, 7/10.
Most of Stories: The Path of Destinies is hinged upon the idea of discovering the best possible outcomes of its story, no matter how nonsensical it may be at first. It’s a clever way to build a narrative, because it’s built around the assumption one will fail multiple times while still retaining useful knowledge to apply in a different run. It’s hard to “win,” but one can do a little better each time. It’s only a shame the story itself wasn’t more cohesive and tightly more constructed as to join the rest of Stories’ strengths.
Metro, 5/10.
Since the dialogue is often quite witty we’d suggest that the whole idea would’ve been better realised as a Telltale style graphics adventure, without any action elements at all. We certainly hope someone does something like that, as this is far too good an idea to waste on such a mediocre game.
GameSpew, 9/10.
The concept is not original, nor is Stories: The Path of Destinies’˜ mechanics but there’s just something so endearing about it that makes me love the game that much more. I needn’t insult anyone by commenting on its replayability. Safe to say you’ll get about 24 games out of it depending on whether you see it through or give up, and for the current price it’s not a bad deal. For a game that’s well-structured, well-planned and well-designed I could hardly be more thankful that I was fortunate enough to cover it. In such a short space of time Stories has rocketed onto my list of favourite indie games and if that’s not compliment enough then I don’t know how else to phrase it. It’s not perfect, but it is perfectly charming.
TechTimes, scoreless.
Overall, Stories: The Path of Destinies strives to do something different with game storytelling, and it definitely succeeds in that mission. If you can get past the repetition of revisiting the same narration and levels, it’s ultimately worth it.
Hardcore Gamer, 3/5.
When you take it for what it is, Stories: The Path of Destinies is a cute, charming isometric action-RPG with a central idea that feels fresh and unique. Despite all of its warts, and there are plenty, it’s still a likable title that does have a slightly addictive quality to it, and that has to speak for something. Clunky combat (that actually manages to showcase what could have been with a bit more speed), technical issues and a by-the-books narrative, however, prevent it from becoming what it had the potential to be. There may come a day where Spearhead Games sees its core hook of a branching narrative you play over and over again stolen and placed in a better game, and this will end up being for the best. Stories: The Path of Destinies is a clear example that the framework for success can only take you so far; the execution of an awesome idea has to be there for a game to reach its true potential.
Push Square, 6/10.
We have to assume that Stories: The Path of Destinies just isn’t optimised nearly as well as it should be on the PS4 and that’s an absolutely massive shame, because this is otherwise one of the most charming, original, and enjoyable indie titles available on the system. Branching storylines, cool combat, and rewarding RPG elements work in tandem to form a memorable adventure, but one that needlessly stumbles and falls over various technical issues. This certainly isn’t the true ending that we were hoping for.
The Sixth Axis, 8/10.
Stories: The Path Of Destinies is a charming and colourful game that is well presented with good narration. The number of paths that can be taken allow for a lot of replayability, and there’s some well crafted combat. However, there comes a point where the game does become repetitive, which can make drumming up motivation to unlock all the stories tough. Even so, Stories: The Path Of Destinies is worth going through a few times, even if you don’t want to go through all 25 paths.
PlayStation Universe, 7.5/10.
Stories: The Path of Destines is a wonderful little ARPG that really does bring something compelling to the table in the form of its wonderful dynamic narration and branching story structure. It’s just toweringly disappointing that a big old bunch of technical issues tragically detract from what is otherwise a real page turner of a game.
PlayStation LifeStyle, 8.5/10.
Stories: The Path of Destinies may not redefine the way we think about narrative choice in video games, but it doesn’t have to: it’s just damn good fun. The idea of playing a game repeatedly to experience all its branching paths may bring to mind unnecessary padding and repetition, but the developers at Spearhead Games clearly took the initiative to avoid that. Stories is a lot of fun to play through multiple times, thanks to some thoroughly smooth and enjoyable combat even though it’s snatched its main ideas from the jaws of the Batman: Arkham games and great level layouts that let you explore new territory even on multiple return trips. From an aesthetic perspective, I really think a lot of players will dig the fairytale-inspired character design and colorful environments, which might help them overlook the occasional technical hiccups. Overall, this is one action-RPG fans won’t want to miss.
EGMNow, 8.5/10.
Solid action-RPG gameplay is elevated by the meta-puzzle that is the game’s branching storylines. The entertaining trial and error of trying to find the one (good) ending channels Choose Your Own Adventure books, and lends itself to a story that you’ll love playing again and again.
ZTGD, 9.5/10.
Stories is a game that has a lot of heart. Sure, there are plenty of things in this game that I have seen before in some form or fashion, but it never stopped me from having a fantastic time with it. The look and stories that are told are fun and exciting to see play out, and the combat works just as well as the caped crusader’s adventures. Add in a ton of replay value with the numerous stories and a leveling and progression system that always adds something new to the table with every playthrough, and you’ve got a fun playing and well told action RPG tale that I think everyone should try out.
RPGFan, 85%.
If you enjoy action RPGs and seeing the different ways a story can play out based on your experience, Stories: The Path of Destinies is an easy choice. It won’t take you forever to play, but it’s only $15 on Steam, and it’s absolutely worth the asking price. It does have some small bugs, and the initial loading screen takes longer than I’d like, but for me, nothing about it gets in the way of the enjoyment. As I mentioned, the PC version is best, and folks without beefy gaming rigs should know that they can probably still play it. If I turn down the settings to minimum, it even plays on the three year old laptop I got for work!
GameInformer, 7.75/10.
Many games use choice-driven storytelling to immerse players, but Stories: The Path of Destinies takes more direct inspiration from Choose Your Own Adventure books. Learning new folds to the story with each playthrough is satisfying, but the narrative falls victim to its own concept, and after hearing a variation of the same story more than five times, I cared less and less with each successive attempt at getting the best ending. The fun combat and worthwhile character progression takes some of the sting out of the repetitious nature of the concept, but it doesn’t completely neutralize it.
RPGamer, 4.0/5.
Stories: Path of Destinies was a huge surprise for me, and I adored my time with it. The writing is as tongue-in-cheek as it is serious, the characters are delightful but two-faced, and the world that Spearhead Games has crafted is a complete joy to explore. While it takes roughly fifteen hours to collect the endings of the four main plotlines, there’s over twenty endings to collect and it’s very easy to get caught up in the various plotlines. If you are an RPGamer that puts a huge amount of stock into narrative, then Stories: Path of Destinies is sure to be a delightful experience from start to finish.
RPGSite, 8/10.
Technical issues aside, Stories: The Path of Destinies is a fantastic outing for Spearhead Games. Whether it’s the exciting combat, beautiful visuals, or branching narrative, there is plenty of value to be had in this low-priced title. It has fun betraying the player’s expectations, and that’s the biggest compliment I can give this gem of a game.
ActionTrip, 8.0/10.
Each path takes about 30-45 minutes to complete (depending upon how powerful Reynardo has become), which makes it all too easy to fall into the trap of trying one more path before closing up the game for the night. Even if you do play the game extremely efficiently to get to the end, you’ll still absolutely get your $15 worth of the game. With 18 paths under my belt, I can safely say I definitely have. Luckily for me, I can continue to unlock all of the paths even though I’ve gotten through the true path, just like a real Choose Your Own Adventure book. Despite the tedium of replaying the same areas over and over, Stories: The Path of Destinies is a must-play for anyone looking for a game that is truly altered by choice.
We Got This Covered, 3.5/5.
As a sum of its parts, Stories: The Path of Destinies ends up being a good game that could have been great. There’s a lot to like here, don’t get me wrong, but repetition and certain performance issues keep this adventure from being something truly special.
COGConnected, 65/100.
Overall, the first few hours of Stories is an enjoyable experience. Reaching new areas, unlocking new abilities, meeting oddball characters and making definitive choices is fun. But once all that is covered and you’ve reached the end of the story, that’s it. It’s like that easy beach reading book that you enjoyed for a few hours on holiday, and then put back on the shelf never to read again.
Slant Magazine, 1/5.
The supposed hook of the game is that the choices made throughout each hour-long playthrough lead to different endings, but even the most inflexible children eventually grow weary of the same book. Granted, each playthrough tells an ostensibly different story, but there are really only four main endings atop the same basic plot, padded out by another 20 or so minor variations throughout. No wonder The Path of Destinies leans so heavily on pop-culture references ()’Rosebud,’ he said to no one in particular as he died) and (She can do the Kestrel Run in 12 furlongs)), as they help to distract from the relative emptiness of the gaming experience.
