Only movies have shown us the life of a dinosaur. Take a trip through time in Path of Titans and experience that life yourself.
Have you ever wanted to experience life as a dinosaur? Did existing as your favorite ever appeal to you? With Path of Titans, that might be possible for a great deal of people. Taking advantage of the fact that many games now exist online, players can join an expansive planet complete with other dinosaurs. Become the creatures that have left many in awe since their discovery.
From developers Alderon Games comes a title where one can live out a childhood dream. Run along the shores of ancient waters or glide across a sky free of human-made carbon emissions. Whatever creature you choose to be, the future of that animal is what the player makes it. Set foot on the Path of Titans and see where the adventure takes you.
When it comes to the story, Path of Titans is relatively bare bones. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t show promise. In that regard, one can appreciate how simple the game is to start with. There is no traditional dialogue to speak of when it comes to basic communication. Most of the communication is done through simple noises. So, it leaves the story up to interpretation, and it cements the fact that these respective creatures don’t “speak” the same language.
Before starting, players are given the option of choosing between two worlds in Path of Titans. One is known as Panjura, the name likely an homage to Pangea. The other is known as Gondwa. In the Panjura instance exists a large expanse of land littered with bipeds and quadrupeds. The ocean seems to be quite far from here. Gondwa, on the other hand, appears to be a place made up of islands. Only in this place do pterosaur and plesiosaur species exist.
The gameplay in Path of Titans was relatively straightforward, with the left analog stick controlling creature movement. The right analog stick moved the camera/creature head whichever way it was pushed. It’s important to note that moving the right stick would result in the creature also looking in that specific direction. It’s a frustrating venture to hunt down a creature when what passes for ‘targeting’ is so wonky. Once certain things are worked out regarding gameplay, one would hope a ‘lock-on’ system is implemented.
One of the “missions” at the very beginning of Path of Titans is simple: learning the basics of hunting. Up to a certain point, everything is a breeze to follow. But tracking down the prey required to complete the mission was a chore and a half. Running potential food sources down was loads of fun. The problem is that the fun faltered when it came to targeting. Due to a lack of ‘lock-on’ ability, as stated above, biting onto the creature is next to impossible if one is not sprinting the whole time.
Playing as an Alioramus (Tyrannosaurid species) was relatively simple. There wasn’t much to it other than gauging when to sprint. Hunting itself was nothing more than simply running down prey and ‘biting’ them. A more ‘animated’ approach to each respective creature’s bite would be great. Staying on land had one major downside: if one wades too far into a body of water, it might spell doom for that dinosaur. This shouldn’t have come as a surprise, considering the limits of the raptor species and their tiny arms.
When the opportunity to play as a Kaiwhekea came, I couldn’t pass that up. Swimming through the water as one of these creatures is truly something. There’s most certainly a survival advantage when it comes to escaping predators who want to have a snack. But with every advantage, of course, comes a disadvantage. The problem with this creature is that if one doesn’t surface, suffocation is a certainty. The first time it happened, what happened was a little confusing. Because the oxygen meter’s color is blue, it blends in way too well with the darker shades of the water.
When it came to what creatures had the most balanced, one took it above all others in Path of Titans. The Thalassodromeus, a species of Pterosaur, was a fantastic adventure that is deserving of much more attention. Despite what might feel like clunky movement along the ground, this species excels at gliding through the air. It can be fun for a while, but every creature’s stamina has limits. If one is not careful to keep an eye on their meter, there’s a high likelihood of falling out of the sky and dying on impact.
Path of Titans doesn’t have to be played alone, either. There is both a single-player and a multiplayer mode. Choose a single-player if interacting with others during the game isn’t your thing. Or, if you’d like to experience pre-history with friends, go with multiplayer. One thing to note about the multiplayer is this: different species cannot group.
Visually speaking, the game’s graphics were reminiscent of classic dinosaur-themed games. It could use some improvement in that regard. While the graphics themselves aren’t what one would refer to as ‘sharp’, there is still a great attention to detail. Even the Tyrannosaurid creatures had their funny little arms. The lighting in Path of Titans was far from dynamic. But hopefully, that is something that can be improved upon. Being able to choose the colors for health, food, and water would be useful as well.
Aside from menu music, there’s nothing in the way of melodies in the game. This makes sense since animals themselves don’t play music. The vocalizations were great too. If one chooses to play in Multiplayer mode, it’s possible to communicate with players using only these noises. While each species sounds different, the intonations themselves are the same. Communicating with dinosaurs of different species was an odd experience.
Path of Titans was an interesting experience. With all the multiplayer games that currently exist, it’s refreshing to see one so different. An expansive PVP world full of dinosaurs is not something I thought I’d ever see. But the concept shows amazing promise. And I do hope that more content is added to the game. If you or someone you know is a dinosaur enthusiast, this is definitely worth checking out, even with the problems it has.
Path of Titans is available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.
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