Road Not Taken

by Phoenix, HSM team writer

Road Not Taken is now a new release on the PS4. It’s a puzzle game that’s free for PlayStation Plus; the concept is far from the everyday numbers and colors configuration. I’m not a fan of sliding puzzlers, but I love this one.

Road Not Taken brings you on a journey where you are lone ranger (no relation) and must rescue lost children that are off on the town’s errands of collecting berries. These children are lost in a snowstorm, and it is up to you, a new town resident, to find and rescue these children. This is also your way of being useful in a town where the goal is to work, marry and have children.  As you go about your new job as ranger, you meet different townsfolk and can form relationships with them. Gifts can be exchanged as well as conversation, creating a solid friendship or more.

rnt_promo_09-09-2013You are given a house after your first successful rescue, and life starts its yearly countdown and statistics log for your ranger. Once you set off into the wild in search of the lost children, you encounter the puzzle boards. Instead of numbers and colors needing to be shifted to complete the puzzle, you must move and shift objects, children and sometimes parents to complete the goal of reuniting the children with parents.

Careful, however — because moving things costs health. There are ways to get around the loss of health, but if you lose all your health, you will die. As would be expected, there are monsters and creatures both benevolent and malevolent in the forest. Not to worry, though; there are ways to defeat the unfriendly ones and there are also forms of food and ways of feeding your ranger to sustain health.

Road Not Taken will take some thinking, even if you are good at sliding puzzles. Each board is procedurally generated, and thus is different each time you play, with more creatures appearing and more combinations to wrap your head around.  There are fifteen years to play in the life of the ranger in his new hometown. The number of children in distress changes from year to year, and as you become wrapped up in the puzzle itself you may lose track of the children altogether. But remember, the safe return of a child nets you points and adds to your health balance.

You have the added appeal of choices in conversation with the townsfolk, as well as a choice in what to do with each puzzle and which road or choice to follow in your quest, as there is always more than one available. All of these choices influence the outcome of the storyline.

Road Not Taken is a SpryFox game; it is available for purchase for PC, Mac (via stream) for $15.00. It is available via PSN  and is free this month for Plus members on the PS4.

August 16th, 2014 by | 0 comments
Phoenix writes poetry and is a photography enthusiast, along with writing for HomeStation Magazine. She is currently studying for a BFA in Creative Writing and BA with concentration in Photography. psn ID phoenixstorm21 youtube.com/user/phoenixstorm21

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