Summary
As I manipulate the corners of Paige’s paper surroundings, I realise that I’m shaping her journey in a far more literal way than I expected. A carefully folded corner can fix a broken building, turn a frown to a smile, alter the weather, or prevent a disaster. InPaper Trail, origami changes the world.
Following Paige’s journey as she heads off to university one beautifully illustrated page at a time, everything in Paper Trail comes alive through folded paper shapes. Exploring from deep caves to high mountains, you’ll uncover secrets while learning more about the world and Paige’s place in it.
The 2D puzzle adventure starts as simple drawings, establishing a brief backstory as the game shows you how to fold the pages. Illustrated on both sides, you turn down the paper shapes at the edges or corners to link images on the reverse with those on the front, solving puzzles and creating a path forward.
There’s no time pressure, making finding the solutions to uncover the next section of path a relaxing experience. You find yourself doing a lot of folding, and sometimes I could see the solution quite quickly, while other times trial and error had to be employed.
You can press a button to see the reverse side of the paper and work things out that way if you prefer.
Paige will move through several different environments, each with a unique design philosophy and story to tell. The simple art of folding paper evolves into more complex brain-teasers that require moving stones or statues, pushing buttons, redirecting beams of light, building a path for a flow of lava, and completing symbols, among other mechanics.
Mechanics And Themes Are Perfectly Balanced
With additional themed mechanics in each area, the puzzles stay fresh and there’s a constant sense of progress as these features grow more detailed and complex without you suddenly hitting a wall you can’t get over. The extra mechanics are combined well, with adjustments in each area in order to add to the complexity while keeping a cohesive design across each distinct section of the game and a nicely balanced difficulty curve throughout.
There is a balance between making each area feel unique and making them feel disjointed, and Paper Trail has perfectly hit the sweet spot here as the locations flow into each other, both visually and mechanically.
Even the cutscenes that connect each area feature interactive folding, but this is likely to be a divisive mechanic. It brings you into the story, yet also interrupts the flow of the journal entry and can be annoying when you are already solving puzzles throughout the entire game. It’s like you can’t even have a minute to take in what Paige has discovered in each location. I ended up going back through them in the journal later to follow the story as a separate short and simple adventure.
Detailed Locations Draw You In
A huge amount of care has been taken in regard to the atmosphere in Paper Trail. The paper may be flat, but the illustration brings it to life. It feels like you are walking through a beautiful watercolour world, with tiny details visible throughout, lending a depth to the environment which is further enhanced by the calming background music, ambiance, and sound effects.
Paige’s story contains some unexpectedly heart-wrenching elements, and the main narrative thread of her childhood mystery is compelling. Despite some darker moments, the game retains a calm and uplifting vibe as hope exudes from the folded pages in front of you.
The difficulty will vary, depending on your puzzle game experience, but I found it was a nice gradual increase in challenge, which felt satisfying to complete. Although it did get very complex as I hit the final locations, making me really work for the final pieces of the puzzle. A more experienced puzzler may not hit that wall, but as a casual fan, I still didn’t struggle all that much until late on, which helped maintain the satisfying yet relaxing progression.
Paper Trail is a beautifully crafted adventure that utilises origami techniques to create a unique puzzle game with cosy vibes, stunning illustrations, and a captivating storyline. It had my attention from the first fold to the final destination, and the journey was beautiful.
