The Road Not Taken Review

The Road Not Taken is a newly released puzzle game that also happens to be free on PlayStation Network this month. The game brings  a lot of charm with its move-and-match puzzle structure, though it may frustrate you as much as engage you.

A single game of RNT takes place over 15 years (read: levels) of increasing difficulty. The children of a rustic village keep running off into the woods in the middle of winter for some reason, despite the myriad dangers lurking there. You play a mystical forest ranger who must help the parents find their missing children.

The core of the Road Not Taken involves 6 x 8 puzzle areas interconnected by paths. In each area you must solve some sort of matching and moving puzzle — place three trees next to each other to open a path, for example, or get a child to their parent on the other side of the screen. To do so, you must grab, move, and throw the obstacles in your way (and the children themselves — they say “whee!” when you toss them across the screen). Thrown items move along their row or column until they impact another obstacle, item, or person. It’s a pretty basic premise.

There’s an adventure RPG element that complicates things. You can gather things like coins, berries, and bunnies (if you can catch them) and use them to make friends with villagers who then give you other items or hints. You can combine objects in the forest to help you along, like turning logs into a fire to warm a board. And, you have an energy reserve, one that you expend if you carry heavy objects or impact certain “enemy” obstacles. When your energy depletes, you die and are sent back to Year 1 to begin again.

The puzzle solving itself wavers between challenging and just frustrating. When your ranger picks something up it must pick up EVERYTHING in the adjacent squares, and when he throws items he throws everything he’s carrying. Sure, that’s part of the challenge — figuring out the best moves in the right order — but it feels sloppy and chaotic sometimes. These aren’t puzzles with set solutions; you just keep throwing until you get it right. Considering that your “life” is on the line, and that enough mistakes will literally send you back to the beginning of the game, the puzzles can quickly go from engaging to infuriating.

The game brings a lot of charm though. It’s a well styled puzzle game, pleasing to the eye. Character designs are very simple done in soft colors and items are distinct from one another. It’s definitely a game with flavor.

All in all, the Road Not Taken should provide PSN subscribers with a couple of entertaining hours of puzzle-solving. It’s not a spectacular game, but it isn’t terrible, either. I’d definitely grab it while it’s free, though, as it would be harder to recommend it with a $14.99 price tag.