More the "game of life" versus an actual playable game.
The Path is an interactive story. Lightly interactive on the physical side and intensely interactive on the mental side. Interaction with the story requires only the simplest interaction with a few keys or the mouse. The pace is extremely slow and there is very little that is actually required of you. The story plays out through the way in which you observe the character on the screen and her brief and simple interactions with the a few things within the environment. The more time you spend in observing the on-screen character, the more meaning you are likely to get from her part of the experience.
I will get into some specifics in this next section and since this is an interpretive product, I don't believe you can really have a spoiler in the traditional sense. However, if you are someone who wants to walk The Path without any starting insight, then I recommend you stop reading this review now.....
I don't believe the authors intended one interpretation for this product otherwise you would be led with greater authority. As such there is no right or wrong way to perceive this story. The authors essentially make one core judgment which is that staying on the path leads to failure while taking the path less traveled leads to success. Your mileage may vary....
There is almost nothing literal in this story. Everything is a metaphor for something. The Path itself is the path of life that, no matter where you start or who you start as, will always wind up in the same place at the end. That end is death as being represented by 'Grandmother's House'. Where you start and where you end are immutable, but the direction you take in between is not. The "in between" is what this story is about. If you rush through that portion your view will literally and figuratively be blurred to both the beauty and the evil around you. You will not even see that there are flowers to be picked and enjoyed. However, blazing your own path is dangerous and eventually you must confront the wolf. The wolf can be your fears, desires, life changes, or personal demons. What happens after you confront your wolf is for discussions outside the purview of a product review. Suffice it to say that there will be no concrete answers, just images and thoughts to interpret based on your own experiences, outlook, and life stage.
I gave this product a "5" because it is impossible to rate The Path in context with what is supposed to be a gaming site. As a game The Path rates a zero, but as an interactive thought provoking story, it may rate an eight. Rating The Path here would be like rating a classical musician on a rock music site. As rock music that classical musician is abysmal, however, rated on a classical music site and that same abysmal could be superb. Such is the fate of The Path here. It is possible to have both an interactive hugely subjective and artistic story combined with actual gaming elements. Something like Braid immediately comes to mind. While Braid was not perfect, it does show that a blend is possible. I appreciate what The Path set out to do. I just wish there was more to actually do.