Genre: Turn-based Strategy
Developer: Robotality
Publisher: Chucklefish

The Hi-Bit seed planted by Sonic Mania some years ago is bearing fruit today, with a veritable sub-industry of similarly styled games emerging. For its part, Pathway leans into the "Indiana Jones" territory, with lovely pixel art sand dunes, guns, jeeps, ruins, and high-tech laboratories. The character art is mildly pretentious and has that contrived "woke" balance of black and women characters-- but that's not enough to offset the overall direction, plus cool effects such as how the game generates dynamic lights and shadows off of its sprites.

Video game music is essentially a dead art form. As such, it's greatly surprising when this reviewer encounters complex compositions that would fit into any old LucasArts game. The rousing, adventurous theme song sets the tone, while the more subtle, foreboding mood songs are also superb. The composer, Gavin Harrison, even uses synthy-sounding orchestra keyboard samples, which sound a bit like those from the "Warcraft II" soundtrack. Digital sound effects for things like gun shots or enemy deaths are razor sharp, and really pop out of the speakers.

Pathway is a three-way cross between a DOS adventure game, a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book, and "XCOM". The player first selects a next map node to visit. He is then greeted by a randomized scenario, presenting various selectable options. Oftentimes, the options lead to grid turn-based combat. The combat is not super complex or balanced, but it is fun in that the various character skills provide a nice quasi-sandbox via which the player can defeat the combat scenarios. The characters gain experience from progression, and grow through skill tree unlocks.

Pathway doesn't have a lot of variety, as the whole game takes place in a desert setting, with only maybe a dozen-odd enemy types. All the same, it's fun maintaining the game's large stable of unlockable characters: leveling them up, then equipping them with increasingly powerful loot. The title is designed to be infinitely playable, but it doesn't necessarily have the "content legs" to carry it much beyond an initial playthrough. All of that said, its superb soundtrack, excellent Hi-Bit pixel art, enjoyable combat, and even its physical case and full-color manual-- compliments of Limited Run Games-- mean it has many of the best attributes, from the best eras in gaming.