Recently-reviewed “Mortal Legacies” was light on story, being somewhere halfway between a JRPG and a rogue-like dungeon crawl. Not to be outdone, “Battlepaths” does away with story all but entirely, leaving you with a 2D exploration game with huge levels, lots of side-quests, and something on the order of 20+ hours of gameplay.
In some ways, it harkens back to the games of my youth. Did I worry about why PacMan was trapped in mazes eating pellets and evading ghosts? Was it important why Mario and Luigi were killing turtles in the original Mario Bros.? Did I wonder at the motivations of the blocks in Tetris? Heck, when the Tetris blocks were later given a backstory and motivation in “Tetris Worlds” I thought the game actually suffered for it.
So Battlepaths is a pleasant throwback to an era when exploration, whacking away at enemies with your sword, and finding epic loot drops were their own rewards. And at 80 Microsoft Points, it’s an attractive game with solid mechanics that delivers exactly what it promises.
Here’s what the developer (Key17 Games) has to say about the game:
“Battlepaths is an addictive 2d-RPG featuring neat monster hacking, an excellent loot system, and great variety in character development. Learn skills, use powerful potions, and hunt down the Chaos Overlord.”
Writings of Mass Deduction 