My hunt for an enjoyable game with a red panda as the star looked to have reached its endpoint when I picked up Red Panda: The Quiet Path on release last week. A tranquil low-poly aesthetic, a sneak button, a roll button, and even the ability to throw acorns around. It looks lovely on the surface, but within seconds I realised I’d been climbing up the wrong tree. If anything, Red Panda: The Quiet Path will be my nadir for a decent red panda game. This is not a product I recommend.
The Quiet Path takes place in a forest area, with trees and rocks dotted around, and a nice stream wandering through. There’s some elevation here and there, and a couple of animals wandering around. The game is completely open from the start to do whatever you want. You can run (by awkwardly pressing in on the left analogue stick), roll, swim if the collision detection works, and climb if you can stomach the spinning camera angle and the fact that your red panda barely touches the tree. It is empty, but tranquil, and it does set a calm mood.
The problem is that the incredibly small area is all there is. A whopping three animals give you fetch quests. There are 20 apples to find and eat, and a few other collectables. There are three bird nests to hit with acorns. Genuinely – that is all there. Even with the forced painfully slow walking animation for carrying fruit, I completed every task and found every collectable in 23 minutes. I wasn’t going fast, and I was trying out perimeter runs and climbing random things just to see what could and couldn’t be done. For £6.29, I feel like the price point does not match the quality of the experience. I don’t mind short games at all, but if it’s short and janky, then I get frustrated. The red panda gets stuck on things it possibly shouldn’t be climbing, or falls out of trees mid-climb because the camera spins around. I fell through the fall and out of the world twice. The collectables menu froze multiple times, too.
By the end of the experience, I asked myself whether Red Panda: The Quiet Path was actually a repackaged asset collection bought and released as a dumping ground to get quick money. It is so rare that a game actively angers me, which is why I was compelled to do this review. I’ve seen some Steam reviews talking about how cute it is, and yes, there is an element of cuteness. However, it feels like we’ve botoxed the cosy genre if pastel colours and some forest landscapes are all we need to say something is engaging and relaxing in 2025. We all deserve better. Don’t buy this. I hope the developer learns from this dev cycle and expands their scope and craft in the future.
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