Path of Titans is a dinosaur themed MMORPG. The game is in beta currently, so it’s rather pleasingly simple- you simply choose a species of dinosaur, then head out into the world to grow it. In the early stages of the game’s life cycle, it would be good to take a deeper dive into a truly unique, interesting concept. To do so, today I’m joined by gamer Zack Newman, who has put several hundred hours into the game and is a dinosaur enthusiast in general.
Like our most recent piece which assessed Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil In Me we will be examining individual aspects of this game and offering some suggestions on how the game should turn out in the future. Let’s begin.
The Gameplay
Gameplay is currently fairly simple in the game’s beta. As previously stated, you make a dinosaur of your choosing, then head out into the world to grow said dinosaur. The specific methods of growth could vary slightly depending on your dinosaur’s dietary restrictions, but in general, basic fetch quests or slaying fellow players in combat to collect their trophies are mostly how growth will occur.
Andrew: Given that it’s the game’s beta, a barebones experience is understandable and forgivable. On paper, it’s easy to see how this game could grow quite monotonous. However, there’s a surprising amount of depth even for how little quantity it has to offer. For example, carnivore dinosaurs get to choose if they want to be able to eat a wider variety of things in exchange for becoming hungrier faster, character creation initially allows the player to slightly tinker with their stats for a personalized process, and you can even equip your dinosaur with a custom attack load out to best suit what you want to get. Though barebones, a qualitative over quantitative approach does a good job showing some solid potential for the future.
Zack: The gameplay is pretty easy to understand. Starting off as a baby, you do need to quickly learn where to go in order to start growing and avoid other dinosaurs. Combat is very movement heavy and stresses your dinosaur choice versus the opponent’s. Movement feels very solid and is very responsive, giving you the ability to position yourself effectively in combat while also not causing you to drive yourself off of cliffs on accident.
To give an idea of what Zach means by dinosaur choice, make sure to check out a great video taken of Zach himself ambushing an opponent while playing as a Sarcosuchus. Viewer discretion is advised for coarse language used.
Immersion And Attention To Detail
Arguably this game’s biggest niche stems from within its setting. As this game is centered around dinosaurs and the era they reigned in, establishing a setting to best reflect this is clearly of paramount importance.
Andrew: Attention to detail, as far as I’m concerned, is this game’s breadwinner. Graphical quality is strong enough to make an immersive setting. It gives way to unique experiences, such as hiding in terror when an adult Tyrannosaurus Rex appears when you’re simply playing a baby species and would have zero chance prevailing in combat. Each individual dinosaur has very distinct traits that make playing it unique. Though the game itself is fairly one dimensional, strong immersive qualities make it feasible to see that potential one day become realized. If nothing else, if you like dinosaurs, then that alone will keep you hooked on this game for a good while.
Zack: This game is definitely more realistic than other dinosaur games. Most of the calls and sounds that they can make are very grounded and manage to sound different from animals today while also sounding as if they could exist in real life. The models of each species are almost entirely accurate compared to current reconstructions of them. This was done while providing some pop culture references, such as the Tyrannosaurus Rex having a loud, distinct roar or the Kaiwhekea having lips. If you turn up the volume, close your eyes, be quiet and go through the game, it will feel as though you are walking in the woods with these dinosaurs.
Playable Dinosaur Roster
As has been stated, the theme of this game is largely what gives it wings. Because of this, it’s natural to expect prospective players to take a particular interest in their field of playable dinosaurs.
Andrew: Our current roster feels pretty solid, and the future seems to hold great things in this regard. We recently got the Thalassodromeus, the first entry into the roster capable of flight. We’ve also got the Sarosuchus, unique for being more suited to traveling and fighting while underwater. That’s not all, however. There is genuine weight in choosing to play either a carnivore or a herbivore, as this choice will outline how your dinosaur avoids starving to death. Finally, even within these two subcategories is variety. You could opt for a fast paced playstyle charging foes to death as a Stegosaurus, or a slower more defensive game plan could be in order if you preferred the Anodontosaurus. What’s more is that there are more exciting entries on the way. One notable example would be the Eurhinosaurus, largely resembling a swordfish. In conclusion, the roster is currently decent, but has exciting potential for the future. Arguably the most highly anticipated aspect of the beta’s progression.
Zack: The game’s roster still has more coming out. We will have plenty of other dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures, currently slated for around 30 more. Some exciting examples would be the small dog-sized Camptosaur or a huge hadrosaur called the Barsboldia.
Compared To Other Dinosaur Games…
While being unique and perhaps one of the better known modern dinosaur games, Path of Titans does have some competition. Given that this is a fairly specific niche, how well does it stand out amongst the limited crowd?
Andrew: I admittedly don’t have any real experience playing other dinosaur games. That said, at least the art and general aesthetic of this one really stands out. Games like Ark: Survival Evolved seem a little bit fantastical on the surface. Path of Titans has a level of authenticity that I haven’t seen in any other games that drew me to it.
Zack: As far as dinosaur games go, Path of Titans holds up as being one of the better ones. Simply put, it’s the only game of its kind to be playable on all platforms and that allows the player to actually play as the dinosaur in a realistic environment with grounded mechanics and models.
Single Player Experience
Though an MMORPG, even these multiplayer focused games have to place at least a small degree of importance behind the single player experience. In that regard, how does this one standout?
Andrew: Unfortunately, my main gripe with this game stems from the single player. If you do not have a particularly good background with dinosaurs and attempt to play this game alone without some prior experience, it’s going to be a rough time. Gameplay can also definitely get quite monotonous. Since you’ll have zero chance of actually defeating anyone in combat, you can look forward to fetch quest after fetch quest after fetch quest to grow your dinosaur until combat becomes feasible. They aren’t even story related fetch quests or anything unique, it’s just picking up acorns, mushrooms or the like and bringing them to an arbitrarily determined drop zone. The Home Cave being customizable is a really fun concept that does save single player right now from being a total clunker. That’s one I’d really like to see get expanded on as the beta makes progress.
Zack: The single player experience for this game is difficult. Your main problems will be staying away from large groups and maybe playing the smaller, faster dinosaurs. The Concavenator or Albertaceratops would be some good examples. You’d also want to definitely avoid ‘hotspots’ where lots of players usually gather, often claiming these areas for long periods of time.
Compared To The Mainstream
As has been stated, Path of Titans is a fresh, niche concept. After fifteen years of first person shooters, tower defense and interactive strategy games taking the forefront of gaming, how does this one stack up against common household names in the industry?
Andrew: Gameplay wise, Path of Titans is a breath of fresh air, even in the beta. As Zack touched on, gameplay is very smooth, which leads to fast paced, relatively flawless gameplay. It stands out mainly because of its unique focus, but it’s incredibly well polished. Even three years after entering its initial beta state on the PC, the developers at Alderon Games are very responsive to player feedback. Quality of Life improvements come in almost weekly, making the game more and more accessible and easy to enjoy. There are a litany of reasons the average gamer should try this instead of the hundredth Call of Duty reskin or the thousandth season of Fortnite. For a game in its beta, that’s quite impressive.
Zack: This game is by far best played with friends. This gives you the ability to come out of hiding and grow more quickly with group missions. Working in a coordinated group will allow any dinosaur to feel like it is the best in the game. With a diverse roster, you can get creative with how you play the game, switching between your crested dinosaurs so you can just land a kill on that pesky player. That’s what makes it worth playing compared to mainstream gaming.
Wishlist For The Game’s Future
Path of Titans has been in beta since 2019, though it entered the console scene much more recently. The holiday season is upon us, and with us at InReview definitely being on this year’s Nice List, what should we ask Santa Claus for in this game?
Andrew: Better, more engaging side quests is an absolute must. Carrying twigs and sticks all around the map for hours just to slightly grow is tedious, and sometimes I may not be in a particular mood to play with others and will want a more casual, settled down experience for a brief while. Other than that, the Home Cave is another area for expansion for sure. It’s a little too hard or expensive to get decorative materials for the Home Cave, and what we do have to decorate with is a smidge on the one dimensional side. As well, it would be really neat to invite other players into our Home Cave to show them our designs. Given that a well fleshed out roster is already on the way, this transpiring smoothly is another ‘want’ that should hopefully come fairly straight forward.
Zack: It would be great to see new game modes along with other dinosaurs and species coming out. Hopefully new maps come as well, such as Gondwa which recently released. The release of the new map also brought our first flying species and our first fully aquatic one. More are set to release and hopefully they turn out well.
The Verdict
Andrew: Overall, this game has A+ or maybe even S level potential, and a fair assessment would probably be a B-. This is a fresh concept with very intuitive gameplay. It’s expectedly barebones at the moment, but worth a play for anyone looking for something different.
Zack: As a dinosaur enthusiast, this game gets a 90 for me personally, but I’d objectively give it an 80.
This article’s guest writer, Zack Newman, is a dinosaur enthusiast currently raising a couple of Uromastyx and a Red Ear Slider. In addition to Path of Titans, he is also an expert gamer with other titles, such as Dead by Daylight and Ark: Survival Evolved. He has an interest in collecting Godzilla, Transformers and anime themed apparel. His YouTube channel, where he occasionally uploads Path of Titans related content, is here
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