Path Out
Most of us play video games to enter a fantasy world and escape from our reality. But what if there was a game made about a life changing and traumatizing time in your life? That's exactly what happened to Abdullah Karam the protagonist of this game.
Path Out is based on a true story where we play as Abdullah Karam who has to escape the civil war in Syria in 2014. The developers would have had every right to make this game dark and serious but there is actually a lot of humour in the game. The surprising thing is it works! That's not to say this game isn't serious but Abdullah's sense of humour shines throughout this game. At certain times in the game when an important event happens or we interact with a certain object, Abdullah himself appears in a video where he explains what happened in more detail. Sometimes the comments are humourous, other times they are quite affecting. One example is when you have to say goodbye to his parents, he then appears in a video to speak about the difficulty of this moment for him. But he also has some humourous stories like when he had to get into a barrel to try and escape and he compares it to the famous scene in The Hobbit.
The game has the look of a JRPG but don't be fooled by this look. Even though there are stats like you would find in a RPG, there is no way to power up. In fact this is more a stealth/adventure game more than anything else. As well as talking to characters and exploring the area, you will need to hide and get past Syrian soldiers and Isis. As if that wasn't bad enough, you will also need to go past minefields. Talk about a rock and a hard place! Thankfully these stealth sequences and aren't too difficult which is more than can be said for what Abdullah actually went through.
This game is quite short and doesn't have the most challenging gameplay but that isn't the point of this game. Instead it's a game to be experienced. Apart from a few comments about president Assad, this is not a political game. Instead it is the story of a young man trying to live a normal life who wants no part in a civil war in which he played no part in starting. He is a young man like any other no matter what nationality, culture or religion. He could be your brother, son or neighbour. This game goes some way to give us some idea to understand what it is like for Abdullah and many others like him who have to flee their home and start a new life in a new country. That's if they survive the perilous journey.
Episode one is out on Steam and Itch.io but please help spread the word about this game so that Abdullah can finish telling us his story. After everything he's been through it's the least he deserves.