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A Winding Path: Draw Me Rain (PC, Switch)

There are really a lot of different visual styles in the world of video games: retrogaming (old style), pixel art, anime, cartoon, realistic, Cel-Shading, paper, pencil, etc… etc… In this universe, the “pencil” aspect is gradually taking off, for example Inked – A Tale of Love, RPG Time or even A Winding Path. It is this title released on PC in 2021 that interests us today, with a planned release on Nintendo Switch next week: October 27.

The software was designed by a very small German team: Three Eyed Games. And when we say very small, it’s not for nothing since the studio is simply made up of three long-time friends: David Kuri, Florian Uhde and Christian Sonderfeld. A Winding Path is their very first production, released as a reminder on September 27, 2022 on Nintendo Switch through the port of Gone Mad Studios, a year after its release on PC.

Well-written story and themes

The story depicted takes place in a world full of fantasy and fantasy. Unfortunately in this universe, the rain stopped falling a long time ago… The crops are dried up and withered while the rivers and the sea begin to become more and more scarce.

The character that we embody seeks to unravel this mystery, and if possible to solve it so that the inhabitants, magical or not (trolls, cyclops, etc.) can once again live peacefully. During his trip, he meets a witch who tells him about an enchanted lyre (musical instrument). With her, will he be able to restore the balance of the world?

With its simplistic look that can please or displease, the team has managed to implement several interesting themes: ecology with drought, corruption or even without revealing them all, helping others and by extension “the union “. The main interest of this adventure is also its worked narrative part, whether it is the trip itself or some of the characters encountered.

Unfortunately, at the time of writing these lines, the French language is missing, the choice is only for texts in English, Spanish or German. Inevitably, lovers of reading and narrative history who are not bilingual, risk missing out…

Hyper accessible

If its history therefore has this interesting facet, A Winding Path also benefits from a gameplay that is hyper accessible and even very easy to assimilate. Indeed, the controls are very intuitive, to tell the truth there are only three of them: movements, the use of the Lyre (bringing the coming of the rain) via the orientations of the right stick, and the interaction function serving the discussions as well as puzzle solving, including “mini-games”.

The visit of the forests or the villages/cities is carried out in a traditional side-scrolling vision with the objective of helping the inhabitants of this world, solving their worries and carrying out some side quests.

It can be to find a lost object, to go on a treasure hunt or even simply to chat with other characters. But during his short adventure, about two hours depending on the propensity to perform 100%, several small secondary missions are present such as the reproduction of a bird song or even archery. In addition to this, there are also a dozen collectibles to collect by performing specific actions, as well as hats modifying script interactions.

As mentioned above, the software also integrates the solving of riddles/puzzles with the movement of a crate on a switch or even the activation of levers,… Too bad, however, that we have to wait for the second part of the adventure to that they become more pleasant and less “generic” to solve, we think for example of the coming of the rain also bringing scenario modifications, even if unfortunately not all the places are concerned by this feature. We therefore salute the work of the developers who managed to integrate enough variety and simplicity during these two hours.

Original

As we said in our introduction, Three Eyed Games opted for a penciled and simplistic approach, let’s even say a “graphite” style in black and white.

Concretely, if the characters have a very simple appearance, which, once again, may please or displease depending on taste, the different sets have been worked with care and even benefit from several animations. The details are present, especially in the heart of the title’s largest city.

One thinks for example of the general structure of the buildings, the interiors or even the fittings. The animations are not to be outdone, they go through the flight of birds, wind effects in the branches of trees, or even the appearance of clouds and rain. Note also that several background filters (colorized) can be activated in the options.

For its sound part, we are dealing with several tones -when the Lyre is played- and some soothing music such as that of Saltarello, Flow My Tears, “Your toast, I can give it back to you” by George Bizet (the opera Carmen), or even sounds from Free Sound: Boiling Water, windy forest,…

Tested on Switch

Original and relaxing in its proposal, A Winding Path should not leave indifferent the amateurs of narrative adventure worked, on the condition however of mastering Spanish, English or German to take full advantage of it, the language French being unfortunately put aside, perhaps an implementation via a next update? And it is perhaps this lack of translation that will put some players aside, it’s a shame because the software is really very accessible, with simple puzzles and an artistic touch in “graphite” quite unique.

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