Pathway

Pathway is a turn-based strategy RPG set in a 1930s pulp-adventure world of desert ruins, occult cults, and Nazi occultists who have no idea what they are about to unleash. Think Indiana Jones filtered through a roguelite lens: you pick a squad of two characters from a small roster of unlockable adventurers, each with their own stat spreads and skill trees, then push through a series of procedurally generated node maps where every stop might be a firefight, a story event, or a tough binary choice that costs you resources you cannot afford to lose. The combat is the core loop, and it works well enough in short bursts. Squads move and shoot across grid-adjacent tiles, using cover, flanking angles, and a modest set of class abilities - medics heal, soldiers suppress, rangers snipe. Action points keep things tight, and the early skirmishes have a satisfying crunch to them. The problem is that the system does not grow much. By hour ten you have seen most of what the combat has to offer, and the procedural generation starts repeating itself in ways that feel less like variety and more like reshuffled furniture. Build variety exists within each character, but the skill trees are shallow enough that most runs converge on the same reliable loadouts. The narrative side is where Pathway shows genuine charm and equally genuine restraint. Story events are written with dry wit and period-appropriate flavor. The choices you make in those text panels feel consequential in the moment - sacrifice your medkit to save a stranger, or leave them and push forward with supplies intact. The writing does not reach the depth of a proper CRPG, and it is not trying to. What it does is give each run a sense of personality, especially once you start unlocking the full character roster and discover each adventurer's background. It rewards curiosity without demanding dozens of hours. Where Pathway stumbles is pacing and progression. The roguelite structure means you restart often, and the unlocks trickle slowly enough that early runs can feel punishing without feeling fair. Harder difficulty settings amplify this, and the mid-campaign resource drain - running out of fuel or medkits before the final map - can end runs in ways that feel arbitrary rather than earned. Fans of deep RPG systems looking for the kind of build complexity that holds up past hour 40 will hit the ceiling fast. This is a weekend game, not a forever game. For what it is - a compact, visually lovely (the pixel art is genuinely excellent) pulp-adventure strategy RPG with a breezy tone and satisfying moment-to-moment decision-making - Pathway delivers. Just do not go in expecting branching character arcs or a world that rewards re-reads. Go in expecting a fun, slightly repetitive romp through sandstone ruins with friends who probably should not be here.

Monika · Scout Team

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