REVIEW / The Lethal Path (PC)

Should you’ve ever fantasized about being a supervisor of a hellish company workplace run by eldritch gods, The Lethal Path may simply be your twisted cup of tea. This roguelike technique sport thrusts you into the function of The Custodian, tasked with appeasing the whims of the Dread Pantheon by developing a dungeon, managing assets, and heading off pesky intruders. It’s a mix of base-building, useful resource administration, and survival, all wrapped up in a darkly humorous bundle.

At first look, the sport’s premise is deliciously intriguing. The concept of balancing the calls for of capricious deities whereas increasing your underworld empire seems like a gothic government’s fever dream. The tile-based technique system is a pleasant nod to tabletop video games, and the artwork type serves moody, macabre aptitude. Bonus factors for the creepy soundtrack that screams “summoning circle at midnight” realness.

Nevertheless, it doesn’t take lengthy for the cracks to indicate in The Lethal Path. First off, the person interface is a chaotic mess. Important data is buried and must be hovered over tiles and icons, and the display screen typically clutters. The egregious one is the glitch the place the sport unpauses itself by simply navigating by way of the sport. When a essential gameplay facet comes all the way down to finishing duties whereas a timer ticks all the way down to zero, the anxiousness kicks up a notch when the pause button doesn’t work as meant.

Now let’s dive into that problem curve, as a result of it’s not a lot a curve as it’s a spiked wall. Whereas I respect an excellent problem, The Lethal Path doesn’t educate; it punishes. New mechanics seem out of nowhere, and for those who didn’t learn the traditional texts (or Reddit), you’re principally toast. The educational course of right here is trial by fireplace, brimstone, and unhealthy tooltips.

Then there’s the grind. Oh, the grind. Early sport development is slower than a zombie with a hangover. Unlocking new content material requires an unreasonable time funding, and the primary few hours really feel such as you’re dragging a boulder uphill making an attempt to be taught the gameplay and juggling by way of the glitches.

The pacing in The Lethal Path seems like it could actually’t fairly make up its thoughts. One second you’re twiddling your thumbs ready for assets to tick up, and the following you’re in full-blown disaster mode as a result of some cosmic god determined to throw a tantrum. The inconsistency makes it arduous to settle right into a satisfying gameplay rhythm, which is a disgrace, as a result of the core mechanics may very well be compelling in the event that they weren’t continuously undercut by this start-stop chaos.

The Lethal Path is a campy, creepy trip with critical potential, however it’s caught in early-game purgatory. Should you’re a glutton for punishment or love micromanaging the apocalypse, by all means, dive in. However for everybody else? Possibly wait till the devs patch the trail rather less lethal.

This overview is predicated on a retail copy of the sport supplied by the writer.