Decisions, Decisions
At some point in our lives, we’ve all dreamt of what could’ve been had we made better choices. Paths – Beatrice’s Adventure takes this common exercise in regret and transforms it into an emotional choice and consequence adventure game from FredBear Games. With over 40 hours of gameplay and 10 different endings, you’ll have to choose carefully (and often) to avoid truly dire consequences. Can you right Beatrice’s missteps, or will you repeat them?
Paths – Beatrice’s Adventure appears as the home screen of Beatrice’s mobile phone, complete with apps that are used to access the game’s different features, including the story mode, a gallery and a map. Tapping the text message icon initiates the story, presented as a series of text messages. Players can either allow text messages to roll in passively, or speed readers can tap their way through the text-based narrative to advance. You can also adjust the text speed by tapping the hourglass in the bottom right corner. Whenever players reach a choice, they’ll tap the ‘send’ icon to select from the available options, then tap their choice.
I’ll Cry If I Want To
Paths opens with a prologue set on Beatrice’s 16th birthday. Her family, including her parents, maternal grandparents and twin brothers, Tommy and Nicholas, have gathered in the living room to watch Beatrice open her gifts. Right away, players learn that Beatrice has a reputation for being less than kind to her siblings and parents. Of course, all families experience some drama, but Bea’s behaves downright dysfunctionally.
As a gamer, I usually sympathize with the game’s protagonist; however, that’s not true with Paths. I wanted so badly to root for Bea, or heck, even a single member of her family, but during my initial playthrough, I found them all pretty insufferable. Beatrice continuously takes potshots at her relatives’ because she feels slighted by everyone except for her grandparents.
She’s not wrong, either. Bea’s mother constantly belittles her, going so far as to allow Tommy and Nicholas to roast their sister (on her birthday, no less!). Eventually, I warmed up to her grandparents. While they failed to diffuse the inciting situation, they seem like the most nurturing members of her family, gifting Beatrice a book and a family heirloom—a necklace with an hourglass pendant.
By the time I was done with the Prologue, I was over Bea’s mother. Who could fault a teenager for lashing out at a parent so incapable of communicating effectively that they immediately resort to insults as a tool for motivation? Certainly not me. The family’s squabbles and the insults hurled made me less than enthused to continue. After all, where was the fun? Yet, thankfully, I persisted.
Sands of the Hourglass
At this point, your chapter paths will vary based on your choices during the Prologue. However, at some point early on in your branching storylines, you’ll discover that Beatrice inherited the power to revisit the past. By focusing on a photograph and wielding her grandmother’s necklace, Beatrice travels to the moment captured on film.
As you can imagine, there are a few stipulations. The necklace holds a finite amount of sand, meaning only a few trips are available. Additionally, Beatrice mustn’t linger in a particular moment for too long. If the sand in the hourglass runs out, she’ll be trapped whenever she is. Lastly, Beatrice must avoid her past selves at any cost or risk disappearing from reality forever.
Each timeline I encountered offered some sudden tragedy that Beatrice sought to undo. This meant that I often retread similar situations, occasionally with new options. While I never grew bored, I sometimes struggled to remember which choices I’d made previously and which ones I should avoid.
I also grew frustrated initially since no good choices were available. Every option led to me pushing my family further away, even when I thought I’d chosen thoughtfully. Fortunately, by the third playthrough, I could access better alternatives.
Pretty as a Picture
While the characters’ personalities often left much to be desired, the art of Paths – Beatrice’s Adventure never failed me. Claudi Plescia’s hand-drawn illustrations invoke a slight reimagining of the midcentury modern art style, incorporating sketch-like line work atop blocks of rich, cool colors. Once I moved past the angst and self-loathing, I enjoyed Paths’ branching narratives, yet Plescia’s artwork and the game’s moody color palette drew me in further.
Much of my investment came from sheer curiosity at what gorgeously rendered scene I’d unlock next. Also, as a fan of this particular art style, I frequented Paths’ in-game gallery to reexamine each newly acquired piece in my growing collection.
While Paths’ narrative began as a guilt-ridden angst-fest, I was satisfied by the end of most of the timelines. Beatrice’s arcs feel well-written and realistic, even with her supernatural abilities in the mix. Despite the game’s dramatics, Paths serves as a gentle reminder that we’re most alive when we ground ourselves in the present and consider the power of our actions.
