The Kids are Not Alright
Girlhood and Femme Adolescence in Tale of Tale's "The Path."
Content Warnings: This article discusses a psychological horror game, and as such reviews a wide variety of topics associated with, but not necessarily limited to: trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, gender dysphoria, dubious consent and sexual assault, child abuse, and general discussions of childhood development. As always, I try to keep it very high-level and scholarly to prevent language which may be upsetting, but please read at your own discretion.
This article also contains some spoilers for The Path (2008).
Overview
The Path (2009) is a psychological horror game from now-defunct two-person Belgian developer Tale of Tales. American artist Auriea Harvey and Belgian creator Michaël Samyn wanted to bridge the gap between interactive art pieces and video games. Despite most of their games being deemed commercial failures: The Path remains a juggernaut cult-hit of the indie horror scene. Adored by fans for its surrealist yet brutal interpretation of the various developmental stages of femme adolescence, it’s safe to say I’ve thought about The Path pretty frequently since I first played it at age 16.
The setup of the game is deceptively simple. Mirroring the old European fairytale of Little Red Riding Hood, you have only one objective: go to Grandmother’s house. It’s just down the way through the thick, old-growth forest. But of course, as Mother always told you, to avoid danger: Stay. On. The path.
…But where’s the fun in that?
Gameplay Loop
Accompanying the deceptively straightforward narrative setup is a gameplay loop that seems almost too rudimentary - something which could be written down on a sitcky-note or napkin couldn’t possibly be enough of a framework for a mindbending indie darling. Right?
The design is as follows:
Step 1: Select your character.
Step 2: Go to Grandmother’s house.
Step 3: Repeat with each of the rest of the sisters.
…Seems almost too easy.
The player begins each playthrough by viewing the interior of a simplistically-decorated red room in order to select their character. There are six options in total for the “Sisters Red,” who range in age from 9 to 19. It doesn’t matter what order you play them in, however the game will only complete once you have played as them all.
Based on their wide variety of ages and the way they appear to each be in their own little world, we can infer that they are likely not particularly close with each other. Though there is only a 10 year span between the ages of 9 and 19, the developmental and social leaps and bounds that are made within that time among women and femmes is quite frankly staggering. This will become a lynchpin in each girl’s story - but more on that later.
The player progresses through the game by uncovering the story of each girl. After completing one sister’s story, they return to this red interior in order to make their next selection. Once a sister has been played, she no longer appears in this odd red room. There’s an eerie void left by each one as they slowly dwindle down… until there is only one left, accompanied only by the endless but astute, methodical ticking of a clock.
But with a simple task at hand, how strange or difficult could each girl’s story possibly be? What kind of horrors can these young ladies possibly experience by simply going to Grandmother’s house?
You have no idea.
…Or, if you are (or were raised as) a woman or femme… you likely have a very, very good idea.
Developmental Psychology and The Etymology of “Trauma”
While it is an objective win that society in general is becoming more aware of the devastating impacts of things like trauma, I also want to issue a word of caution and clarify what I mean going forward. Pop-psychology and TikTokers in recent years have begun to adopt language which was developed in clinical settings: eventually the phrases "trauma," "trauma response," and "nervous system regulation,” which are getting used with such frequency and in a wide variety of applications that these words began to lose all originally-established meanings.
However, trauma is subjective - who is to say what is traumatic and what isn't form person to person. So in psychological spaces, there has been some attempt to delineate between "little t" and "big T" traumas, however even this practice has been criticized by others in the field as being too vague as opposed to more data-driven criteria like the ACE score (more on this in a future article, watch this space).
So-called "little t" traumas are things which are upsetting and leave a lasting impact on someone. This can be everything from being bullied in school, to having your parents divorce, having a nasty breakup, and the like. These are stressors which are demonstrably considered "everyday," however their lasting emotional impact could allow them to be categorized as "traumatic." Alternatively, "Big T" Traumas are things which threaten the physical safety or survival of an individual: such as acts or threats of violence, severe neglect, physical or sexual assault, and the like. This framework of "little t"/"Big T" traumas can be somewhat helpful, but isn't without its criticisms and pitfalls.
But all of this is to say: not everything is trauma, and what is has a wide spectrum. No matter what someone online might tell you about how someone being rude to you one time counts as trauma - that doesn't make it true. We need to be careful about determining what is actually considered trauma in order to preserve the integrity of the concept.
In The Path, we have events which are "little t," "Big T," and some which are not trauma at all, but a normal part of life and human development. This is not to say that they are an important memory which may leave a lasting effect on a person, but that does not make it inherently traumatic. I want to be very deliberate and intentional about when I use the words "trauma" and "traumatic" in discussing the different Wolves and aspects of the Sisters Red.
A Wolf By Any Other Name
In the off chance you aren’t familiar with the folktale: Little Red Riding Hood meets a wolf (sometimes described as a literal quadruped wolf, other times described as more of a bipedal wolfman/werewolf sort) along her journey to Grandmother’s house. Sensing her innocence about the world, the wolf becomes determined to trick her into getting close enough to him so that he may devour her. However, Little Red has been warned about the dangers of the forest by her mother, and as such, is not too keen to let this happen. The Wolf resorts to trickery in order to dupe the young woman into letting her guard down before he wolfs her down (pun intended).
The Wolf is a figure that is malicious and predatory: searching for that which is vulnerable - that which it can easily devour. In this way, the wolf is depicted as both dedicated and lazy/opportunistic, a duality which also rears its head in the variety of Wolves present in The Path.
It’s important to note that the “Wolves” in The Path are almost entirely non-lupine. That is to say, only one takes the literal form of a wolf. Wolves can be everything from people to abstract concepts, but the core is the same: it is something which the Sisters Red encounter, often pleasant, unassuming, or even seductive in nature, which intends to steal some degree of innocence or otherwise forever change the girl’s comprehension about the world’s fundamentals. Things such as the nature of the world and their own relationship with it. Sometimes these beings are dedicated: seeking them out with motivations of their own. Sometimes these things are just facts of life, the lazy/opportunistic wolf, who has no real malice - they just are.
So if a girl is fated to walk through the woods and encounter a wolf… what determines what that wolf is?
Erikson Stages
We here at Resident Anna are a staunchly anti-Freud publication, however there is one (arguably two considering that his wife is his often-uncredited collaborator but that's a whole other conversation) individual who came out of the school of psychoanalysis that really stands out given this topic of discussion: Erik (and his wife Joan) Erikson. You may be familiar with that name because of the Erikson Stages of Development (or otherwise the Happy Leif Erikson Day gag from that episode of Spongebob). Erikson was primarily interested in the phases of childhood development, especially in the context of greater sociological theory. By studying trends and behaviors, the Eriksons were able to create a framework of 8 "life stages" within which a person progresses - all the way from birth to death.
The concept of childhood and personality development as "ending" once an individual reached adulthood was old hat to the Eriksons, who instead proposed that all humans are constantly learning and growing in the face of new life challenges which make themselves evident at different points in a person's life. The Path emulates the Erikson stages on a more micro-level, specifically zeroing in on the child/adolescent development of young girls. While the Sisters Red only embody some of Erikson's 8 stages, Tale of Tales paints a picture of each of the girls in a very different place developmentally. However, the concept of The Wolf exhibits one distinctive feature of each of the stages: the psychosocial crisis/task.
Erikson proposed that in order to successfully pass through one of the stages, they must grapple with a distinct psychosocial task (sometimes resulting in what's referred to as a "crisis" in psychoanalysis - they are honestly so dramatic for no reason). This task is illustrated as two opposing concepts (trust vs. mistrust for example, or integrity vs. despair). A successful handling of this conceptual task results in achieving the stage's associated "virtue" - a life lesson which simultaneously equips the person with the required skills to take on the next stage. Think of it as leveling-up.
In The Path, the Wolf represents such a crisis: a moment where the developmental associations of each sister's life stage are called into question. The fascinating part of The Path is that we do not ultimately see the end result: that is, we don't know how well each of the girls may have dealt with their individual "crises.” We as the player only see the crisis unfold, holding space for the emotions that may arise from both the sister and ourselves as we revel in the catharsis of the experience via Grandmother's House: the place where all the girls end up after completing their encounter with the Wolf. And oh my god does it get trippy in there.
And so at this point you're probably like: ok, Anna. You've talked a lot of theory. What kind of weird stuff are we even talking about here. :)
The Girls And Their Wolves
Obviously, I don't want to spoil all of the stories of the Sisters Red, so I'm going to go over a couple that range in concepts. You'll just have to play the game (or watch a playthrough on YouTube because it appears to no longer be available on any gaming platforms - more on that later) to see for yourself.
Robin, age 9 - Mortality
Most notably, the youngest of the Sisters Red is the only one to have a physical wolf Wolf. Her experience walking around the woods is very lighthearted and innocent, seeing only the beautiful and possible, paying no attention to the dangers that lurk around every root and stump. The Wolf that she encounters is just that: a wolf! But to Robin's idealistic young eyes that haven't yet been able to grasp the concept of danger or her own mortality view such a creature, she may see nothing more than a doggy. She attempts to climb onto its back and ride it like it's a horse. As you might expect, it doesn't take too kindly to this and takes off at a run. Ruby does her best to hold on for a time, however she ultimately is bucked off the back of the Wolf.
Thankfully, she lands on the ground unharmed, and thankfully, the Wolf appears to have no interest in going back for her. But at this point in time, the damage has already been done: Robin has realized that the creature did not want her to ride it, and had a will of its own - and that will meant that she could have gotten hurt. Possibly worse. The concept of death is often difficult for children to understand as it requires a certain amount of abstract thinking (the concept of “permenance,” for example) that kids aren't able to developmentally comprehend until a certain age. But Robin has experienced the first taste of her mortality. And at her age: what could be more frightening than that?
Ginger, age 13 - gender and body dysmorphia
Ginger is the most unusual in appearance of the sisters: wearing pants instead of a dress or skirt, wearing her hair in a bob, and otherwise having a rather boyish figure. She appears to be disinterested in typical "girly" things, and we can assume that she is much more akin to a "tomboy," if not experiencing gender dysphoria entirely. However, it’s unclear if this is the case, or if she is merely experimenting with ways she can stand out from her sisters or find her own personhood. Alternatively, she could be experiencing internalized misogyny, which is reflected in her attitudes. Ginger isn't exactly the verbose type, either, preferring to “hide, so it's not like she is going to tell us.
Ginger's Wolf is one of the much more abstract than that of her sisters. While people still debate the meaning of this exact experience on message boards to this day, most people believe that it is symbolic of menarche: or, the first onset of menstruation. Anyone who menstruates can keenly remember the first time it happened. Because quite frankly: it's kinda scary. The presence of blood and potential pain is one thing, but the idea that you are now entering a new life phase (sometimes officially referred to is "womanhood" which is laughable and most people who menstruate will experience menarche between the ages of 11-14 - extremely far from womanhood, IMO) and it is entirely beyond your control is terrifying.
By getting her first period, Ginger is given a stark reminder of a milestone traditionally associated with her gender assigned at birth, which is likely scary and confusing to her. She may feel trapped or otherwise forced into this new chapter of her life when she wasn't done being a kid yet. Why is her body disagreeing with her overall temperament and mind? This eerie field of red flowers and the girl in the red dress is further echoed in her version of Grandmother's house, which is bathed in a red which feels inescapable and oppressive. And perhaps to Ginger: it truly is.
Carmen, age 17 - sexuality and consent
At age 17, Carmen is flirty and in the mood for love. Her name is likely a nod to the titular operatic character of Carmen, who is often depicted as wearing red. In the opera, Carmen works at a cigarette factory, but appears far more interested in seducing various soldiers around her home in southern Spain than making an honest living. At the time, her sexual advances toward male characters were very bold and groundbreaking, and the character of Carmen in The Path appears to break a similar mold in her own life. Carmen seems very interested in things like fashion and accessories in ways that might make her more attractive to others. Part of me wonders if this is purely out of some sort of teenage self-absorption, or if she is being so flirtatious in order to cover up some other sort of internal insecurity. Who's to say?
Her Wolf is actually a nod to another character sometimes seen in the traditional folktale of Little Red Riding Hood: the lumberjack. In many versions of the story, the lumberjack actually saves Little Red from the wolf. But in this retelling, he is the Wolf. Carmen can be seen flirting with him where he sits on a log at his campsite, drinking what appears to be alcohol. We can infer by her very trippy version of Grandmother's house, which features the sound of someone sawing through wood and a woman moaning, that Carmen has sex with the lumberjack, potentially even losing her virginity to him.
The final room of Grandmother's house shows a four-poster bed, through which a strong oak tree has grown directly through the center, hardly subtle imagery. There has been great debate online whether or not what Carmen's Wolf entails can be considered sexual assault, but to many players (myself included) the vagueness of what happens is intentional, and the point. Carmen has found her way into adult womanhood, unsure if she truly wanted what she thought she wanted. In many ways, this is what leaves her story so haunting.
Scarlet, age 19 - perfectionism and expectation
As a former musician/performer in a past life, this one hits me like a ton of bricks. At 19, Scarlet is a bona-fide adult. She's no longer interested in children's things, and is instead ready to feast upon the refined bounty of her new life-stage. She also appears to be very interested in music and performance, and appears desperate for this aspect of her life to take her seriously. No longer a child merely taking piano lessons to please their parents, Scarlet wants to clearly begin her career as an adult artist. However, the only other characters that she's associated with up to this point are younger than her. Where is she to turn when she needs mentorship? Her Wolf is a bit more unorthodox, known on the back end as the Fae Wolf. It takes place on an overgrown stage in the middle of the forest, where there is a piano. Waiting. She approaches, and begins playing.
Then a person with long, silver hair, approaches from out of the forest. They stand in gentle attendance just over Scarlet's shoulder as she plays. An instructor. A mentor. Eyes watching her fingers intently. By allowing herself to come under the watchful eye of the Fae Wolf, she is making a dangerous trade. Fae are known for their tricky deals that are difficult to wiggle out of and will ultimately only benefit them. Scarlet, whether she knows it or not, may have just fallen victim: by seeking out the knowledge of a mentor, she also opens herself up to scrutiny. Whereas children are allowed to make mistakes and have little upon them in terms of expectation, Scarlet has opened herself up to the gutting potential of perfectionism. And if she can reach that impossibly high threshold: she knows that the riches and notoriety will be great. Unfortunately, if she fails... it could destroy her. To become an adult is to begin to shoulder the concept of societal norms. Of expectation. Of perfectionism. And the most we can do is hope that the Fae aren't vengeful when we fail.
The Seventh Girl: The Girl In White
One of the most discussed elements of the narrative lies in the character of the Girl in White, a free-spirited young girl who appears with the leitmotif of the modular soundtrack. There's no way to properly predict when she will show up when she's out on a romp, as the world map itself is somewhat unreliable in nature, giving the forest an almost liminal feel. It's so easy to feel lost in those woods, even when you come upon a landmark intended for another Sister and her story. But right when you think all hope may be lost: there she is. The Girl in White. If the player encounters her in the woods, she calmly takes them by the hand and leads them back to the path. Then she goes on her merry way, her duty having been fulfilled. She almost appears to have no allegiance to anyone or anything but adventuring in the forest. Only when she comes upon the player does she pay them any mind.
The plain, white nature of her dress additionally feels significant. While interpretation of color varies from culture to culture (a whole other topic that is incredibly interesting in its own rite), white has a few oddly-opposing concepts associated with it. In Europe there is the association of witness with purity (another whole other can of worms, yikes) and its connection with marriage. In many Western European cultures, brides traditionally wear white when getting married. However, in many cultures around the world, particularly in East Asia, some Slavic cultures, and parts of Africa, white is associated with death and mourning. Regardless of the interpretation, the associations with the color are often these more metaphysical concepts rather than an emotion or feeling like many other colors. Her style of dress also feels significant in its rarity. The forest all around is dark and gloomy, reminiscent of something you might find in the Pacific Northwest or the Smokey Mountains, and the Sisters Red area dressed entirely in hues of red and black. So this girl in white immediately stands out, no matter who she is standing next to (if anyone).
There is only one instance where she will reliably appear: in the scene with the Wolf. She often is not directly involved, though she may be nearby, playing with some element of the "setpiece." She often seems disinterested in the Wolf itself, and these are the only times when she will not guide the player away. It's almost as if something is forcing her hand. Surely, if she was so concerned with bringing the Sisters back to the path, she would want them to stay away from the Wolves at all costs. Yet when that moment of meeting happens, she almost seems... disinterested?
...Or is it fate? There are many interpretations of the significance of The Girl In White. But to me: she's chance. Happenstance. Maybe even fate. She's those strange synchronicities of the universe. She's a lucky break. She's waking up 1 minute before your alarm goes off when you thought you might have overslept. She's being at the right (or wrong) place and the right (or wrong) time. That's why she doesn't interfere. She can't. She is blessed with much freedom, but little agency. The Sisters Red are the ones with the agency. She's pure chance.
Impact and the Intersection of Media Preservation
I think about The Path like... pretty often. As a young woman who was interested in the intersection of theater, games, and also lived in the middle of the woods? This was A+ material. I purchased it on a Steam sale in 2012 or so, and still have it in my library. However, if you're looking to play it today... you'll likely run into some issues. Namely, much like the previously Resident-Anna-featured title, Rule of Rose, the game is no longer distributed.
While this is more or less a footnote at the end of this article, I want it to leave you with a lasting impression. According to a 2023 study by the Video Game History Foundation (VGHF), a whopping 87% of video game releases before the year 2010 are inaccessible or unavailable. The degree to which is the case varies from decade to decade, but a combination of the sunsetting of technology once the particular platform or franchise is past its profit margin and outdated copyright law results in the same issue.
Archivists at the VGHF have expressed that though the Library of Congress has improved its measures to catalog digital media, red tape has prevented them from fully being able to preserve games in particular. Because the Entertainment Software Association (ESA, the largest video-game specific lobbying group in the US government right now, which is an insane sentence to type) was able to convince the US Copyright Office that everything in the industry is fine actually, groups like the VGHF aren't able to get the licensure exceptions they need to preserve these titles. Why does everything in the US always seem to come down to lobbying? You can view the entire study here.
This issue dovetails with general concerns about the evaporation of physical media in the games world: namely - are we seeing an end to physical media? Digital-only game offerings do have their upsides. They're convenient, cost less to produce, and allow for developers to consistently provide updates and patches over the course of the game's life. However, digital-only media is arguably never truly owned. By relying on additional platforms such as Steam, Xbox, or what will eventually become unsupported servers, the player arguably never truly owns the title, as it can disappear from steam libraries the second that the licensing agreement runs out. This doubles-down on the pre-existing issues with preservation of digital titles, as suddenly scarcity becomes an additional factor. If a player is effectively only renting the game (while paying the same full price, mind you), what hope do we have for preservation?
I'm very lucky that my copy of The Path was purchased in 2012 or so and lives on intact in my library. However for many players who want to experience the game for themselves, your best bet is either a "crack" of the game (an illegally distributed copy not requiring any sort of official 3rd party launcher) or merely watching a playthrough from a YouTuber lucky enough to have a copy. Perhaps now you can see why I decided to end here: on the importance of preservation. Art is carefully conserved. Manuscripts are archived. Video games are neither. And maybe that is the path forward.
Thanks so much for reading this exceptionally long edition of Resident Anna. I’ve wanted to talk about The Path since I started this dang thing, and I’m glad I finally was able to put all my thoughts on “paper.”
Have you played this game? What was your experience with it? Do you have a favorite Sister? And do you prefer digital or physical games media?
Lots of questions as always, but few answers. But in the mean time, thank you for reading, and I’ll catch you in the next one!
I played this game yeeeeears ago, I remember being a bit young to understand the themes of the game so I kinda forgot about it until I saw your post. Now I really want to give it another try. Love creepy media based on fairy tales.
Gosh this was such a fun discussion! Got me thinking about that psych degree that's covered in dust somewhere - I'm a developmental neuroscientist now, so it still applies, but I don't talk about Erikson often anymore (thank you for your anti Freud words btw). Also thank you for talking about the sort of tiktokification of things like trauma. Drives me up a wall sometimes. I don't think I'm the target audience for this game and yet I really want to play it now. Maybe not being the target is the point - I can see a perspective I wouldn't have otherwise. It's such a cool concept, I wish there were more games that took chances like this.
Also, I'm a huge fan of physical media - games especially - but my primary gaming consoles right now are a series S (I am sadly a poor graduate student who could barely afford the cheaper option) and a pc not remotely designed for gaming, so my options are limited.
Anyways, rant over. Thanks for this post! I always look forward to these!