There's a narrative reason for why this game is called The Pathless, but the name is also a reference to how it's supposed to be played. It's an open-world puzzle game with emphases on exploration and skilled traversal, and you are meant to wander and experience its world as you find it, rather than as a series of checklist objectives. The Pathless' vast, puzzle-filled nature creates a nice, quiet space for running through the woods, lining up some tricky shots with your bow, and losing yourself in the moment.
In The Pathless, you are a woman simply known as the Hunter. You've come to liberate a ruined land, empty of all human life save for a masked villain called the Godslayer. The land's protector deities, known as The Tall Ones, have transformed into villainous beasts that roam the wilderness. With the help of your eagle, an avatar of the eldest god, you must free the spirits and save the land. The plot is limited--aside from a few sparring exchanges between the Hunter and The Godslayer, the general tenor is simply, "keep going."
To free the Tall Ones, you must collect their seals and reactivate monuments scattered around their domains. Each of the four regions is a beautiful, sprawling wilderness, with sweeping plains, peaceful rivers, and high rocky peaks. Hills and valleys are sparsely dotted with signs of life, past and present--friendly animals, ruins, and giant skeletons. There are just enough setpieces in each area so that there's always a new objective on the horizon, without making the world feel crowded or even populated. When you're running from place to place, you feel like you're in nature--not a wasteland or a ruin, but somewhere untouched. It feels quite serene to run through.
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