Empathy: Path of Whispers
Release Date: May 16, 2016
Adventure, FPP, indie games, Surrealism, action adventure, singleplayer
OpenCritic
Steam
A somewhat surrealistic FPP adventure game and a debut of Pixel Night studios, focusing on exploration and plot. The story of Empathy takes place in a collapsing world, where the few remaining cities were reduced to shelters for small human populations, and where life seems to be dying out. We explore the setting through the eyes of a child led by a mysterious spirit on their journey to return the order to this world.
Empathy is a surrealistic action adventure game for PC, focusing on exploration and intriguing story. It is a work of Sweden Pixel Night studio, established by group of experienced developers.
Plot
The game takes place in a fallen world, where cities are nothing more than home to small populations of people and life is almost non-existent. Players traverse this world as a child, who is led by mysterious spirit and tries to restore the world to its previous state. They will come across old memories of people of the past, knowing and using which will let them solve puzzles and find the truth behind the calamity.
Game mechanics
Empathy for PC uses first-person perspective (even though it was firstly developed as a classic point-and-click title) and very unusual way of storytelling. Players can take control of any character whose memories we find, which lets them see details of the world that aren’t visible with a naked eye. This can be used to reach seemingly inaccessible places, and combining this knowledge with items we find along the way is crucial for solving puzzles that progress the story.
Technical aspects
One of the strong points of Empathy for PC are its suggestive visuals. Created in Unreal Engine 4, they hive a truly artistic vibe to the surrealistic world of the game, which is as intriguing as its plot.
Last updated on January 2, 2017
Videos and Screens
[2:00] Empathy: Path of Whispers launch trailer
[2:00] Empathy: Path of Whispers trailer
DVS Gaming: 3 / 10 by Gavin Herman
If Empathy is patched to allow manual saves and I didn't have to start over thanks to an awful glitch, I still wouldn't recommend it. It's too forgettable. Not even the most ardent walking sim supporters would be able to enjoy it.
PushStartPlay: 6.5 / 10 by John Little
An interesting adventure that provides some cool sights and an intriguing narrative. Unlocking memories via wave-length puzzles is quirky and charming to begin with, however quickly becomes rote. Could have done with a wider variety of better designed challenges, but as it is it's an enjoyable experience.
New Game Network: 37 / 100 by Alex Varankou
Empathy: Path of Whispers attempts to tell a series of intriguing personal stories in a mysterious, abandoned world. The end result however is a visually dated, largely boring, and technically broken game that doesn't deserve your time and money.
Empathy: Path of Whispers Summary
Platforms:
PC Windows
Developer: Pixel Night
Publisher: Iceberg Interactive
Age restrictions: none
Empathy: Path of Whispers System Requirements
PC / Windows
Minimum: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 2.5 GHz, 8 GB RAM, graphic card 1 GB GeForce GTX 550 Ti or better, 9 GB HDD, Windows 7/8/10 64-bit