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The Eightfold Path

The Eightfold Path Game Cover
59%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:graphics, music
Most mentioned negative aspects:gameplay, grinding
93% User Score Based on 14 reviews

Platforms

LinuxXbox Series X|SPCMac OSXbox OneXboxWindows
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The Eightfold Path Game Cover

About

The Eightfold Path is a single player open world role playing game with horror and mystery themes. It was developed by Friendly Llama and was released on August 23, 2024. It received very positive reviews from players.

Journey through the serene depths of an ancient forest and explore the sacred temple that cradles profound wisdom and complex challenges. The Eightfold Path is an immersive puzzle and exploration adventure steeped in the teachings of Buddhism, inviting you to embark on a quest towards enlightenment. To reach the ultimate state of pure bliss, you must navigate through the labyrinth of desire…

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Play Modes
The Eightfold Path screenshot
The Eightfold Path screenshot
The Eightfold Path screenshot
The Eightfold Path screenshot
The Eightfold Path screenshot
The Eightfold Path screenshot
The Eightfold Path screenshot
The Eightfold Path screenshot
The Eightfold Path screenshot
The Eightfold Path screenshot
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93%Audience ScoreBased on 14 reviews
graphics3 positive mentions
grinding1 negative mentions
  • Beautiful and calming atmosphere with charming pixel art, sound design, and music that reinforce Buddhist themes and mindfulness.
  • Engaging and creative puzzles that challenge patience, attention, and kindness while reflecting meaningful philosophical ideas.
  • Open-world exploration with non-linear gameplay allowing players to meditate anytime and discover secrets and quotes that guide the experience.
  • Lack of in-game map or clear navigation aids makes exploration confusing and frustrating, especially with long and maze-like pathways.
  • Puzzle mechanics can be unforgiving, with some puzzles requiring repeated resets due to flawed mechanics and collision bugs.
  • Respawns are punishing and disorient players due to slow movement speed and distant random checkpoints, leading to tedious backtracking.

  • gameplay

    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay features two core mechanics—meditation and sprinting—that, while mechanically simple and slow-paced, offer challenging and rewarding puzzles tied closely to the game's philosophical themes. However, some puzzle design issues, like immovable objects causing frustrating resets, detract from accessibility and could benefit from polishing to appeal beyond hardcore puzzle enthusiasts. Overall, the gameplay is complemented by beautiful aesthetics and a thoughtfully implemented meditation mechanic.

    • “The implementation of the meditation as a mechanic is beautiful.”
    • “And although mechanically slow, Eightfold Path's puzzles are challenging and gratifying.”
    • “Beautiful pixel art graphics and music combine with really simple gameplay and a wonderful varied world to explore.”
    • “The game has multiple puzzles that subvert established mechanics for their solutions, such as movable objects becoming nearly immovable if they collide with another movable object; this breaks puzzles and forces reset. Allowing players to pull movable objects would make the puzzles more enjoyable.”
    • “I would describe this game as having only two major mechanics: meditating and sprinting.”
    • “Although mechanically slow, the puzzles in Eightfold Path are challenging and gratifying.”

  • graphics

    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game features beautiful pixel art and charming graphics that create a tranquil and aesthetically pleasing experience. While the visuals effectively complement the gameplay and philosophical themes, the game could benefit from updates to enhance accessibility for a broader audience. Overall, the graphics contribute significantly to the game's relaxing and engaging atmosphere.

    • “The slow pace mixed with the charming graphics create a pleasing experience that results in a transference of tranquility.”
    • “Beautiful pixel art graphics and music combine with really simple gameplay and a wonderfully varied world to explore.”
    • “Overall, I need to reiterate, I find the game beautiful and enjoyable aesthetically; the mechanics reflect the things they're trying to teach, but it could use an update to polish out some of the issues if it wants to be accessible to a wider audience than the most hardcore and dedicated exploration puzzle solvers.”

  • music

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music is beautifully composed, enhancing the game's serene and contemplative atmosphere. It perfectly complements the minimalist pixel art and simple gameplay, creating an immersive and charming world to explore.

    • “The sound design and music is beautiful.”
    • “Beautiful pixel art graphics and music combine with really simple gameplay and a wonderful varied world to explore.”
    • “It has a wonderfully contemplative atmosphere that comes from the serene soundtrack and the minimalist, yet charming pixel art that is full of life with its little animations as you move about the world or sit in meditation.”

  • atmosphere

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is praised for its beautiful and contemplative atmosphere, enhanced by a serene soundtrack and charming minimalist pixel art with lively animations. Players find it engaging and immersive, contributing to a meaningful and enjoyable experience.

    • “A wonderful puzzle game with meaningful themes and beautiful atmosphere.”
    • “It has a wonderfully contemplative atmosphere that comes from the serene soundtrack and the minimalist, yet charming pixel art that is full of life with its little animations as you move about the world, or sit in meditation.”
    • “Just started the game and it's fun and atmospheric so far.”

  • grinding

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Grinding in the game is often tedious due to the checkpoint system, where dying sends players back to distant, random checkpoints with no option to choose or easily return to their previous location, hindering smooth progress.

  • humor

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor is subtle and dry, finding comedy in the game's intentionally underwhelming sprinting mechanic, which turns inactivity into a meditative, amusing experience.

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Frequently Asked Questions

The Eightfold Path is a open world role playing game with horror and mystery themes.

The Eightfold Path is available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, Mac OS, Xbox One and others.

The Eightfold Path was released on August 23, 2024.

The Eightfold Path was developed by Friendly Llama.

The Eightfold Path has received very positive reviews from players. Most players liked The Eightfold Path for its graphics but disliked it for its gameplay.

The Eightfold Path is a single player game.

Similar games include The Witness, WitCup 12, ANIMAL WELL, Seasons after Fall, Broken Reality and others.