Last night's PlayStation State Of Play presentation might not have featured any particularly massive announcements, but I think I've found my most-anticipated next-gen release. The Pathless is a brand-new open-world archery game being developed by Abzu studio Giant Squid. It basically looks like Journey had a baby with The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild, and I'm in love.
Take a look at the trailer for yourself below for an idea of what it's all about. I sincerely hope you can share in my excitement for this one, because I was seriously smitten right away.
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There's nothing about The Pathless that I wasn't immediately into. The game's reveal trailer gave us an in-depth look at its fundamental mechanics. You take on the role of a masked archer who can glide, sprint, and leap across the lush green open world by shooting arrows to keep her momentum going. You'll also team up with a pet eagle, who can be used to help you glide over large distances and soar high into the sky. Oh, and you can pet the eagle to keep it clean and happy, which in turn ensures it can help you more reliably. GOTY material right there.
The Pathless, as the name implies, doesn't have a map of any kind. You'll instead explore the open world by using your spirit vision to see where you've been, and mark out any potential objectives. The aim of the game is to reach various temples and obelisks, solve puzzles, and ultimately restore light to various towers scattered across the land.
There are also massive, cursed spirits to contend with. For much of the game you'll simply have to avoid these roaming beasts by staying out of their light, but as you complete towers you'll be able to hunt down and battle the evil spirits in what look to be incredibly rewarding combat set pieces that combine epic chases with arena-style showdowns in which you'll need to nail arrows into specific weak points.
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The Pathless is coming to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 during the holiday period, which strongly implies it'll be a launch game for the next-gen console. As a fan of Abzu, Journey, Breath Of The Wild, and all the other titles this game has clearly been inspired by, I cannot wait to get my hands on it.