The first and most frequent question the Garden Path makes me ask is what now'.
Left without direction, I’m usually quick to get lost.
But lack of direction is this game’s whole point.
Then you find yourself in the garden.
It’s a large piece of land, a forest full of trees, bushes and rivers.
The Garden Path
The Garden Path wants you to roam.
It doesn’t tell you what to do.
I already carry an axe with me, so I fell a few trees, as you do.
Some trees shed twigs, or even seeds, which I automatically pocket.
I just take note of my spoils, with no real idea of what they might be useful for.
Eventually, I meet Larto.
Larto is a giant ox wearing a beanie and a…blanket?
Eventually I meet Augustus, the park ranger.
Of course he’s a bear.
Who doesn’t love that?
But eventually, I hit a bit of a wall.
The Garden Path runs in real time, and is designed to be played in short bursts.
As such, it is natural to run out of things to do.
My best option is to simply wait until the next day.
Hubert asks me to bring him spices.
I have never seen a spice.
Is it something I make first?
How do I make it?
No one’s going to dangle something shiny in front of me to get me to work.
Some characters come and go, and they will have different items with them.
Eventually, some bugs begin to crop up.
The game kind, not the ladybugs I keep pocketing.
The controls are generally slightly fumbly.
Often I will turn my character towards something and press the action button, only for nothing to happen.
The fishing mechanic now and then doesn’t let me move the cursor.
Not having hundreds of characters will also mean I can hopefully get to know my residents much better.
I’m just too impatient for its onboarding.
Right now, TGP feels a bit too close to the latter.
I swear I’m ready.
My pockets are full of items I can’t wait to use.
