There are, pound-for-pound, more interactions in this chapter than the previous one. Whether it just seems that way because of shifting locations, we can't be sure, but there are a few puzzles that require use of several objects. It was in these moments that we realized how
Path of the Dragon breaks with a few standard conventions. First, there's nothing to really suggest how and where you can have an interaction. Most games these days go in for glowing objects, sparkly stuff, or some other visual signal that tips you off to the opportunity to do something. The analogy for
Path of the Dragon is probably back to the old text-based adventures we grew up with, where you had to really think about what to do, where, and with what. The other convention that's broken here is the ability to visually "use" an object from your inventory. We really found the system implemented for
Path of the Dragon awkward, especially when the interactivity increased. Instead of dragging and dropping from your inventory, you have to break away from the game to the Pause menu, select an item to equip it from your inventory, and then interact with a specific object or area. This means that if you accidentally have an object equipped and stumble through an area where that object is used, you will accidentally solve the puzzle. This doesn't happen often, but it's just a strange design choice. There's also no way to combine objects, other than using, pausing, equipping, and then using again. The example of this in the game is lighting a campfire, which seems like a simple enough maneuver, doesn't it?
The transition between chapters was flawless, and we really hope the third part concludes with answers to the questions being raised about journeys into dark corridors of evil, on the way to becoming a full-fledged vampire. At the very least, this game has captured our attention, and whether it's smoothed out the rough edges or we've just managed to navigate around them, we're enjoying ourselves.
