All Endings of The Path Explained 

It's so nice to find a good analysis for this type of old game. However, I have some issues with you saying that Carmen wasn't raped. I don’t remember if actual age of girls was stated in the game, but I don’t think she’s a legal adult, while lumberjack is shown to be much older than her (his baldness - I sometimes feel like scene of Carmen playing with his hat exists just to showcase it). Therefore, she can’t give a consent, even if she initiated act in the first place. That’s a thing when it comes to sexual interactions of an adult with a minor: it’s adult’s responsibility to stay away and not engage. Teenagers often don’t get why it’s wrong to engage in sexual acts with older people, because they don’t have a perspective of just how many differences there are between them. Carmen felt ready - after all, she’s so mature already, isn’t she? I interpreted chainsaw sounds during her ending as a symbol of unpleasantness she felt during encounter. Carmen’s regret came from not only realising that sex doesn’t grant you love, it was caused as well by her getting to know the ugly truth of the adult world she wanted to be a part of. Lumberjack instead of being the mature one didn’t brush Carmen off as some pesky teenager, but took advantage of her willingness to engage in sexual act. Carmen from before it happened wouldn’t see any problem with it - but that is pure innocent Carmen we’re talking about. Carmen that lost her innocence gains an insight that lets her tell just how fucked up it was - even if she started it - because in the end, back then she couldn’t know what she knows now. She was used in vulnerable state of point.

I'm happy that people are still talking about this game!

Along with Ruby implications of self harm, it could also be noted that Ruby may be suicidal also, as on roses grandmothers house page she has a comment on Ruby that reads "I think Ruby wants to die, it's so sad"

they should sooooo remaster the path for the new age consoles! one of the best games ever created.

I feel like I should mention that in Carmen was 17 and the man was balding, and alcohol was involved, so I doubt it was consensual.

Soundtrack of this game stuck with me for so long. Especially when you start running for a longer time. It was always very dark for me.

Totally love Carmen's interpretation which really makes sense. "Peel me layer by layer until I am pure for you" stuck with me. Also I like Ginger's possible homosexual subtext. Something I can relate to but wasn't sure if it actually made sense in the context of this game.

I remember watching this game years ago i always waited for some good explanation but there wasnt one so i played the game myself and i still couldnt understand all of the stories represented in the game. Im happy to hear people are still talking about this but i still have one question what role has grandma in all of this?

It's nice to see videos of this game. When I first finished "the Path" there wasn't really many people talking about it. I found this game from a random pc magazine. There was a list of "bizarre cinematics" games. One of those games was the path. The only reason I played this games was the vibes. Just walking in the woods and listening to the soundtrack. After that I started to understand what is happening, that these deaths weren't literal. After I saw the ending I remained speechless. I told my friends to play this game (to this day nobody played it). I am really not a fan of these kind of games, but this specific games is something else. There is something to see and experience.

i've been searching for this game for hours and i'm glad to see that i'm not the only one haunted by it

I've been looking for a solid explanation for this game forever! It's great to finally have one!

I suddenly remembered this game like a nostalgic flash from 10 years ago and was really hoping that someone made an analysis of it that I could watch to refresh my memory. This was a great video and I really like your takes on the story and symbolism of the game. Thank you for making it!

As someone who continues to be haunted by this game it's good to see a fresh take on it. I feel like Carmen's story is a double edged sword and your take on it is a good example of "teenagers don't really know what they're getting into, but that isn't their fault, and they're the only ones paying for it" you didn't mention it but I remember vividly one of the things shown in carmen's house is a tree growing through a mattress-- I always intrepretted this as a metaphor for either being taken advantage of by someone far too old for her, or worse, an unwanted pregnancy. regardless I love your takes that none of the girls die! it's interesting to see it in a more metaphorical non-literal way.

I absolutely love this. We should all keep in mind that (even if you don't agree with her), that there is no right or wrong answer. No correct or incorrect interpretation. Which is the beauty of this game, the developers wanted to keep us guessing and we ultimately have what's true for us.

Just 1 small critique. I believe Carmen's age was stated somewhere to be 17. I know this isn't universal but I think in a lot of places the ago of consent is 18. The lumberjack aka Carmen's wolf looks to be very old. Possibly in his 50's (I don't know when men start losing their hair). So this means Carmen's sexual experience was most likely rape considering she is below the age of consent in most places. Granted there is a chance she lives somewhere that the age of consent is lower than 18 but i think it's more likely that she doesn't.

I’m so glad this game is still being talked about. I first played it when I was 10. I’m 21 now! I still adore this game and will love it forever.

I remember watching a playthrough of this with my gf when it first came out when we were heading out of 8th grade and going to high school that fall, and we're both very analytical people and it drove us nuts trying to piece it together and there wasn't much commentary/discussion at the time, so even though we knew better that the most obvious answers weren't the right ones, we were left to just have that answer, and I can't wait to send her this video because oooooh my god this is so well thought out and a wonderful take that I haven't heard at all in the 11 years this game has been out! Well done!!

You're probably the only analysis that said Carmen instigated sex or a physical relationship with the Woodsman. That I agree too. What makes The Path so worthwhile and immortal to me is that at the end, the girls can return to the house once they've all encountered their wolves and made the trip to Grandmother's house. It's a hopeful end. Because despite everything you're still you and you can always come home in the end.

To further emphasize Gingers wolf is about puberty is that her "grandmas house" isnt just red but hair is protruding out of unnatural places. One of the most obvious signs of puberty. While it could have been a sexual or romantic encounter it seems too simple and seems like a reach as one could also just say "she died" or "was attacked".

love how compactly you've explained everything with no word wasted

thank you for making this video! this game also haunts me. i found it years and years ago and i always end up thinking about it every so often. thats what brought me here, i remembered it again so i searched up if anyone had made any video essays on it. i’m glad to see people talking about this game, as i feel like its fairly obscure despite how interesting it is and how much symbolism lies within it.

I was hoping someone might still be talking about this, all these years later. ♥ Thank you

Holy cow, i loved the video, thank you so much. Just like you mention in the beginning, i found out and played this game back when i was around 12 years old and it has haunted me since then, from time to time i would remember my time playing it, wanting to finish it and find out what it was all about, but i just couldn't, to this day is just too unsettling for, this video was a blessing, thank you, i feel like i can put the game and my experience with it behind me and, for what is woth, i completely agree with your interpretation.

I think about this game a lot, and really think it's quite amazing. I'd be ecstatic if it ever got remastered (honestly just to be newly released and get attention again, because I love it's look now), though unless I somehow did that myself, I doubt it will happen lol. So I'm stoked to see some younger content about it. Fantastic video, I think you really did the game justice.

THIS... THIS IS THE GAME! I was shown a bit of this game so long ago, and it's haunted me ever since, and I only just now thought of it again, and I really wanted to know what the hell this was all about. Thank you for making this video.

This game absolutely blew my mind when I played it for the first time. Its abstractness is so refreshing. I could go back to it and see something completely different when I played it at different points in my life. It was always very emotionally powerful. I really appreciate you giving us your interpretation!

Thank you for the explanation. This game kept haunting me because I couldn't understand it

I love this game and have been waiting so much for an explanation since I was like 10 when I saw it. Thank you :)

This was a very well done Video! I just thought of this game and wanted to see if there are any videos about it as my memory on ot was foggy. Thank you for reviving all of these memories!

Can't press that thumbs up hard enough. The best explanation of the path so far.

While I personally mostly agree with your reading, for me personally it‘s also a game about trauma during someone‘s childhood and adolescence as well as showcasing of how survivors can be strong and overcome their trauma wich is empowering tbh. Like all these things inside the game are kinda vague but I feel like they also kind of show how each girl is taken away by their trauma first but they do come back and replace girl in white again after her ending. Like, each girl is clearly facing some kind of trauma in the game but I wouldn‘t nessesairily blame them for it. If anything the whole theme kind of seems to be about them having to learn that the idyllic reality they think they are living isn‘t real and i feel like the blame if anything kinda is implied to fall onto those who shelter kids and teens with a unrealistic world view that we all are forced to grow out of but just like with the youngest, this sheltering can harm a kid way more than knowing her own vulnerability and I feel like that‘s kind of the point. Not so much only the girl‘s innocence clouding their judgement but their sheltering crashing them into chaos because of their sheltered mindset and I feel like it‘s a commentary on how we treat kids in general. Like when ppl don‘t even mention death in kids media because we think they can‘t handle the fact that death is inevitable. The game asks us the very first moment to stay on the path to visit grandma and if we listen we fail. This is exactly so because the authority is the one in the wrong here at least that‘s how I see it. The „parental“ figure is teaching us in every role of those girls to stay away from anything that can shatter the fake ideal world they want us to believe in to protect us but they also can‘t help but call it a failure each time because there‘s no progression to this because that path doesn‘t exist. It‘s a meaningless lifeless pretty looking fantasy but it‘s not real. So implicitly we‘re told to go off the path into the woods and face reality instead. And we do so on our own unprepared and naive because we‘re so sheltered in each of these roles. And this goes from underestimating wild animals and dangers like being in water on your own and drowning to heavy stuff like disability issues and depression because the trauma threw you into a corner you feel like you can‘t escape or maybe the taboo sexuality with ginger and the red girl even and lastly the 2 oldest being about sexual harm and exploitation due to vulnerability to grooming due to being sheltered and possibly repressed and also losing your dreams as you‘re forced to grow up too fast and become a mother figure suddenly unable to control your life or passion and becoming extremely lonely. What they all have in common is that they are suffering so much more because they were set up to think of life in this unrealistic fairy tale way and so when reality hit them it broke them down hard. And I also can‘t really see the girl in white as a good character fully either. I‘m not sure about her meaning in all this but what it feels to me is that she‘s unable to let go of that fake world and in a way when she‘s stained with red after going through each of the girl‘s rooms she kinda just absorbs all of their trauma again to keep them innocent. She could be just reverting them back and maybe that means mostly that she‘s the one who‘s trying to desperately keep them around. Because once the girls face reality they disappear from that world. So really i feel like girl in white is just trying to keep the girls from facing reality and that‘s the most sinister thing for me because she does seem good and wholesome in the game but she also tries to shelter the girls. Sure she comes off nice but if the forest is real life then she‘s the manifestation of sheltering. Always after each girl eager to play with them and eventually getting them back on the path. And once trauma has hit she‘s gone. It‘s like they are entering that house after their trauma experiences in reality aka they transferred to a real path shown in how it‘s grim and raining instead of pretty and magical. And girl in white is gone. But yeah. I feel like the game is pretty great. The whole storytelling made vague and visual based is fantastic and I love how open to interpretation it is. It really gives us the ability to do our own work on what it means and that speaks to me. Not to mention how little female centric nuanced games there are. Especially ones that don‘t just exploit sexual abuse and stuff as cheap shock factor or sympathy bait. It‘s just beautifully done with a lot of nuance and artistic integrity behind it and that‘s what makes it so great.

Never played this game, although when in Highschool many moons ago, my father bought me the soundtrack. Absolutely LOVED it and still do!

Could you do an analysis on the Path if the girls DO die because I think that's what the dev' intended in the game's tagline If not, it's okay. I just love hearing u talk about this game! ^^

I remember briefly hearing seeing tatstopvideos talk about this game briefly in a countdown. Not gonna lie that message of staying on the path is legit eerie and terrifying since you’re given no other instructions and only have one way to go.

i love these interpretations they are more compelling than the grim dark versions I've heard before especially Carmen's and Scarlett's

Wish you did more videos explaining old or even newer horror games plots

I remember finding this game years ago and it has stuck with me for being a weird game based of Red Riding Hood. Ever since then, I keep remembering scenes and stuff relating to the game. I decided that it was time to figure out what the game was and return to it. Your video on the game was a good starting point and I think it is a well-done video at that.

Thank you sm for doing this video ❤️

Thank you for making this video. I bought that game in early 2009 because I was drawn to the aestetics, but I never truly understood the point of the game.

I rather think that staying on the path is metaphor of following the rules. aka being good girl than some kind of innocence

I really like your interpretation of Carmen's wolf. She's the character I feel closest to in what she went through. I always thought it was a bit strange how fans interpreted her wolf as a bad person, I don't think he is at all. Carmen is the one who realises this experience isn't as fantastical as a love story, it's like lending your body to someone and having little control. She doesn't regret her decision in the moment. It gets me thinking about ex lovers and how you eventually feel used by them in the end. Carmen's encounter with her wolf had her in control, but reality hits and she realises this isn't like in the movies. There was nothing romantic about her encounter and I think that's what troubles her most.

really good analysis! your interpretation feels accurate to me.

Super random that I thought about this game, nothing quite like it since maybe Hellblade. I legit like these theories better than any of the others I've heard over the years. Doooope video! :D

I play this game, I started it a long time ago and I can not find the real ending still. Once I could pick up a baseball cap and found some special objects as well, They made more scenes at the end. I do not know, this game is a mystery for me and I really love to play it. Your video makes me think!

Great video really interesting

Amazing video thank you

Keep the legend going!!!

nice explaining! do you mind if i use this video in my upcoming let's play project? for the path? also ... sometimes it is preferred to stick to the path and remain sheltered, because the suffering one goes through life is not necessary for growth all the time, in fact some suffering is too great to hold on to or take face on, it will finish you off. not all suffering is worth going through; since some of these types will break the scales and end one's life.

I’d argue that rose nearly drowned during her holistic experience with becomes her awakening

Some game just never get old

After all this years. Im haunted again

This is amazing.

This is copy pasted from another comment section but I really want to spread my opinion so I'm putting it here Persony I like to interpret Gingers story as being about learning about love, when your 13 finding love and starting a relationship is really on your mind. I think it's about change not only when it comes to puberty but sexuality to, might just be wishful thinking as I'm part of the LGBT community. The barb wire may represent feeling like she can't express herself and has to hide who she is

If I wanted to include this game in a crossover that involves "Once Upon a Time" and "Kingdom Hearts", which of the older Red Hoods should be Snow White's best friend ?

Question, While I do agree partially on Carmen, there's beer involved, basically alcohol right? I'm just asking since I'm curious.

Is there any website where you can download the game other than Steam?

This game is unsettling.... A new one would be cool. To me the 2nd to last is the saddest. Seeking approval to the point of facing ego destruction

any games with this kind of atmosphere pls?

This was my first pc game back when I first made a gaming pc. Liked the idea but never finished it could really use a remastered version or at least port it to android or somthing lol

Hm. I think I want to try this game. But, I don’t think that suffering makes us wise is the moral of the story. It’s probably something Rose would say. The world is a very fucked up place and we don’t seem to be getting much wiser from it; it’s rather how we process and accept what is thrown at us that we find wisdom and growth.

😘👍🤟🏻luv the game & hard candy & freeway great analysis

but why doz the girlo in white end up w blood on her at the end

Some of the people in these comments need to google what statutory rape is

headcanon: rose has mdd, i will not hear any but's

Hey I want to say thank you for this This helped me a lot in the girl in white how is she is she a Wolf of the grandmother ulna on I’m so confused by the girl in white😇🤔

While carmen initiated a sexual interaction, it doesnt mean it wasn't rape. She's 17 and was given alcohol by a grown ass balding man who knew better and took advantage of her longing for attention.

:)

that lesbian take is a crazy reach

I've always understood ginger as maybe being trans or otherwise exploring her gender. Like her gender nonconformity and her seeming desire to reject feminity altogether coupled with the horrifying imagery symbolic of menstruation led to think the maybe ginger might be dysphoric and getting her period is what made her egg crack, and the encounter with the girl in red is symbolic of her confusing feelings about her sexuality like you suggested. Is she sapphic? Is she a transgender heterosexual man? I she something else? She doesn't know and all of these new feelings about her body and they way she relates to others scares her