McPixel 3
McPixel 3
Game
Game2016
The Way
Developer Puzzling Dream
The Way is a 2D cinematic platform game released for Microsoft Windows in 2016 and Nintendo Switch in 2019. It was developed by Puzzling Dream and published by PlayWay. It tells the story of a space explorer who is unable to accept the death of his wife. Finding ancient writings on eternal existence during one of his last expeditions, he returns to the site in search of a way to bring her back to life. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
209 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Nov 4, 2026 · last updated Nov 4, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
71
Fresh
122 positive · 50 negative
95% range 64–77%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 122 | 50 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 1 | 32 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 4 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
500 of 629 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
71% recommend · 130 yes, 52 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 182 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (1,089 of 1,319 positive).
Players praise the game's beautiful pixel art and emotional story. [1][2][3] Many reviewers find the puzzles engaging but note frustrating platforming and controls. [4][5][6] Some players criticize the game for tedious backtracking and trial-and-error puzzles. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [7]
the art and story of this game are amazing, but this game is an absolute CHORE to play. it's slow and absolutely padded with simple puzzles and gameplay elements. but one failure may require 15-45 sec of backtracking, which doesn't seem so bad until you do it for the 20th time due to a difficult section. also, a lot of the puzzles are trial-and-error or gotcha-type memorization, which is more frustrating than fun.
- [1]
10/10. I cried multiple times. This is what a masterpiece of a game looks like. The story is beautiful, emotional, and strung through every moment of the game. The sci-fi genre is beautiful, the style, everything. I wish there were more like this. Reminds me a lot of epic sci-fi worlds like Hyperion or Foundation.
- [2]
A hidden gem. This is a cinematique 2d platformer, a genre which was more popular in the 90s with games like Prince of Persia, Another World, Flashback and Heart of Darkness. In The Way, you play as Major Tom, yes, that's his name. Just in the first scene you get your recently deceased wife out of her tomb and carry her to your home. You can't let go of her and the rest of the game is about finding a temple of life …
- [5]
The game is good, and the puzzles are engaging—challenging but not overly difficult or illogical. However, bear in mind that I have not gone through the entire game yet. I agree with everyone who says the atmosphere feels very much like Another World. For me, the biggest downside is the controls. They feel somewhat clumsy, even compared to Another World, let alone Flashback. All in all, if you can get this game on …
- [4]
Wonderful game. The only downside is the jumping is a little stiff for some of the platforming asked of you in a few sections. Great puzzles and really enjoyed the story.
Summarised from 31 of the 188 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 10, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
The Way sits at 71% positive across 172 opinionated reactions from 3 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Critics, per Wikipedia
The Windows version has a 67 out of 100 score ("mixed or average") at Metacritic based on 14 critic reviews.
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 209 · most liked firstReminder that they made a Ghost Dog RPG. There was a licensed tabletop roleplaying game based on the Jim Jarmusch film Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
neutral · AI labelView post →THE WAY SHE'S LOOKING IN THIS GAME IS GONNA MAKE ME GO CRAZY OH MY GOODNESS 😳😳😳😳✨️
neutral · AI labelView post →The live-action cutscenes in pixel art survival horror game, Tenebris Somnia, are incredible, but the WAY they're used is also genius! On Consoles & PC: store.steampowered.com/app/2121510/... Vid: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wI6... by indie dev Andrés Borghi & producer @airdorfofficial.bsky.social
neutral · AI labelView post →I Like the Way (The Kissing Game) (1991) • Hi-Five
neutral · AI labelView post →Kiah Stokes double double game BY THE WAY
neutral · AI labelView post →It’s happening! I’ve got the Jumpstart product ready to electrify my game club this school year. 😝 The Light The Way grant will be lighting the way for so, so many students to learn Magic, grow, create, connect, and join our wonderful community, enriching our future. 🫶 edhrec.com/articles/lig...
neutral · AI labelView post →Playing status: 100% achievement, finished the game Grindy Achievement(s): No. Optional Achievement(s): Yes (16 achievements). Difficult Achievement(s): No. Intro The Way is a puzzle game with some platforming elements in it. It tells a story about a man that lost his wife, seeking a secret place that holds the secret to immortality. Puzzles are made in such a way to utilize your unique powerups and vary in difficulty. Pros: - A lot of puzzles in various difficulty - Nice-looking backgrounds…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →STILL REALLY UPSET BY THE WAY THIS GAME RUINED MY LIFE
neutral · AI labelView post →the art and story of this game are amazing, but this game is an absolute CHORE to play. it's slow and absolutely padded with simple puzzles and gameplay elements. but one failure may require 15-45 sec of backtracking, which doesn't seem so bad until you do it for the 20th time due to a difficult section. also, a lot of the puzzles are trial-and-error or gotcha-type memorization, which is more frustrating than fun.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Gorgeous graphics, interesting story, abysmal gameplay/puzzles. Playing a game shouldn't feel like a tedious chore. The reaction to solving a puzzle should be "yay I did it" not "thank ♥♥♥♥ that's finally over".
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really wanted to enjoy this game, I was a massive fan of Flashback and Another World. For a large part of this game I felt I was playing those games again. The trouble is, the further you get through this game, the more padded the problems become. You get no sense of accomplishment for completing them. Very often the solutions are quite clear, bit the amount of time involved in completing the puzzle is just too long. I have up on this after navigating a load of steam vents. I could spend…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →FROM THE GIRL WHO SAID RIZZ LAST GAME BY THE WAY #BeyondtheHorizon
neutral · AI labelView post →[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/43083373/]Clever games curator review: 5/10 Some of the best pixel art graphics I've ever seen, enhanced with modern lighting. Intriguing story, told by gameplay not canned cinematics. BUT: crappy, slow gameplay with *frequent* insta-death and *infrequent* checkpoints. If ever a game needed a godmode/walking sim option it's this one, but I'd happily settle for the option to save-scum. I just don't have the patience for what the developer expects of…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game looks cute, has a nice story, I like the thing with the memories and the sadness behind it, I like the cutsie characters and the whole premise.. but the experience is ABYSMAL, I can't even begin to explain how unsatisfying is to play the game, solve the puzzles and navigate the world (especially if you have to do jump tricks in a game that doesn't have good controls). It should have been just a couple of puzzles and a narrative game with minimal hustle. The first section of the game is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ok... so The Way has the 4 things that interests me the most in a videogame. - Pixel art (My GOD is it gorgeous, although the animations are choppy) - Good sound design (Not gonna blow your mind but its good soundtrack) - Subtle storytelling (Not a complex or amazing story, but its shown, not told) - Cyberpunk. And that's about as much as i can talk good about this game. Notice how most reviews of this game on steam are middle of the way? Yeah, there's a damn good reason for that. This game…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Didn't get far. Starts by making you walk really slowly through an intro sequence that would've been better a bit later in the game, after a taste of real gameplay. Next was a forced stealth platforming sequence, where you aren't yet familiar with how far you can jump or the mechanics of the robots you're trying to avoid, with a tricky (at least to me, not knowing the game at all) jump at the end of it. One mistake and you're dead and have to restart the section again, including all the slow…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I will never forget when Gradey Dick drove in during a Lakers/Raptors game a few years ago and then Bill Macdonald said, “DICK ALL THE WAY TO THE HOLE.”
neutral · AI labelView post →The game begins with you digging up your wife's grave. It's a phenomenal opening that immediately gives way to "walk here to click a thing and then walk back to click another thing" non-puzzles, many of which include waiting for a security light to pass. The opening act includes one decent puzzle, several mediocre password hunts, and one infuriating backtrack-fest where you walk back and forth across the level to see which of nine combinations is the correct one. I am now finally on an alien…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Gorgeous graphics, interesting story, abysmal gameplay/puzzles. Playing a game shouldn't feel like a chore. Only ever buy this game when its on sale if you actually wanted it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nice story. Just a shame that there is a game attached to it. The opening stealth section is some of the most annoying stuff I had the displeasure of sitting through. Whenever you are caught by one of the drones you lose all progress till the last checkpoint and let me tell you: this game doesn't save anywhere near enough. When you have to activate the generator you actually just have to do the same thing twice but guess what: there is no checkpoint in between. Let's talk walking speed.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →New book ⬇️⬇️⬇️ How Dungeons & Dragons Changed the Way We Play by Aaron Trammell mngbookshop.co.uk/978147803904...
neutral · AI labelView post →Originally I had praise for this game, but not after another 3 hours of "gameplay" whay "gameplay"? Because of the 3 hours 50% of it was repeating tasks after dying WAY AFTER completing the task! i got it on sale and I am happy I did, it is infuriating at times. Worth the sale price because it feels like an app, not a game. needs more save points. IF you have to go do something and quit the game, or if you die, you can lose up to 40 minutes progress. Keep that in mind. Do not quit this…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →By the way, Buy The Way
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bullshit! Rubio is really stepping up his lying game these days. 'Lying is The Way' --- GOP Motto, some people say
neutral · AI labelView post →SO IT'S JUST EVERY GAME REST OF THE WAY IS A PISS DRINKING CONTEST (EXCEPT MIAMI)
neutral · AI labelView post →The game is zero fun, is extremely boring and has too much platforming which is done badly. And some really unintuitive puzzles on top of it. Not much except that at all. Don't buy it even for one euro
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →10/10. I cried multiple times. This is what a masterpiece of a game looks like. The story is beautiful, emotional, and strung through every moment of the game. The sci-fi genre is beautiful, the style, everything. I wish there were more like this. Reminds me a lot of epic sci-fi worlds like Hyperion or Foundation.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wonderful game. The only downside is the jumping is a little stiff for some of the platforming asked of you in a few sections. Great puzzles and really enjoyed the story.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i have a dream that, someday, this old game could be patched to decrease frustration/rage and increase accessibility, so that more people could enjoy all the good parts. as with many puzzle games, it can be hard to make every puzzle 'fair' to everyone. but TBH, i was okay with almost all the puzzles in terms of figuring them out. but, oh man: - those sluggish controls (with long no-control animations), - the movement speed on the endless ladders/stairs, - the painful repeating of sections…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →2/10 you walk slightly faster then if you were walking in pudding the amount of backtracking in this game Press X to retry it sent me back soo far..... it should just send you to the current puzzle... not that last few things you have solved and got past ive done this one laser puzzle 39 times and 70%+ of the deaths are the last jump that i always miss and get sent back to the very start....
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Y'all got any more of them checkpoints?
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Do you want to know The Way? I will show you. ♪Show You di weiiii show tHe wAy aaahh ♪ No bruhda this is not the way actually
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really wanted to like this game since I like platformers in general. However, this game felt like a slog to play through because of certain mechanics. THE GOOD +Story and setting looked promising THE BAD + Walking around felt so slow because of the slow walk animation + Platforming felt awkward + Had different puzzle but had no explanations or context If you want a story rich indie platformer, there are other better options out there
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good WNBA game 6 Morning VALKS ALL THE WAY
neutral · AI labelView post →The game is clearly inspired by the older cinematic platformers (Prince of Persia, Another World, Flashback) but becomes an exercise in frustration due to issues around checkpoints and character controls. The story is passable, and treads some basic sci-fi tropes. The main character's actions do not make them particularly likeable, but there's enough to see the game to its end. Probably the worst aspect of the game is the sparse checkpoints. These will force you to repeat multiple hazards and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A hidden gem. This is a cinematique 2d platformer, a genre which was more popular in the 90s with games like Prince of Persia, Another World, Flashback and Heart of Darkness. In The Way, you play as Major Tom, yes, that's his name. Just in the first scene you get your recently deceased wife out of her tomb and carry her to your home. You can't let go of her and the rest of the game is about finding a temple of life to resurrect her. It's not a super interesting plot, but it serves its…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Mixed feelings about this one: Pros: - Very nice visuals, "Another World" style (except pixels instead of polygons). - A simple but engaging plot (with flashbacks and all - just the right story for such a game). - Nice puzzles that are quite naturally embedded in the game. Cons: - Not generous enough with checkpoints, resulting in replaying the same bit over and over again to get through. - The game wants to be all genres at once - not only a puzzle platformer, but an arcade game too. This…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →well recommended!!! Journey to another planet and discover its secrets in order to bring your WIFE back to life. ⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠰⣿⣿⣿⣿⣶⠶⠤⠄⠄⣶⣶⣤⣀⣀⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄ ⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠈⠻⣿⣿⣰⣿⣿⣿⣶⣬⠝⠻⢯⣥⣶⣶⠄⣀⡀⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄ ⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠈⢿⣿⣿⣿⡟⣫⠶⣚⣓⣒⠌⢛⡵⢋⣵⠶⢦⡀⠄⠄⠄ ⠄⠄⠄⠄⢠⢒⣉⣑⠢⣾⣿⣿⣿⡟⢩⣾⣿⡿⠛⢿⣮⠱⣿⣿⠠⡄⠹⡄⠠⠤ ⠄⠄⠄⠄⢻⣯⣶⣿⣿⣦⣙⠿⠿⠿⠆⠋⠉⠄⠄⠄⢠⡄⠄⠉⠄⠁⠄⠄⠄⠄ ⠄⢀⣤⣾⣿⣿⣏⣭⣭⣿⣿⡆⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠼⣅⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⣠ ⠺⣿⣿⣿⢟⣵⡿⢿⣷⣮⡻⢿⣷⣦⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣵⣿⣿⣿⣮⣻⡿⠶⣚⠔⠄ ⠄⠈⠻⣿⢸⣿⡕⣷⣬⡻⢿⣷⣬⣛⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⠿⣛⣫⣥⠶⠛⠁⠄⠄ ⠄⠄⠄⠈⠁⠻⢿⣮⡉⠉⠓⠶⣮⣭⣛⣛⣛⣛⣛⠛⠛⠉⠉⠄⣰⡿⠁⠄⠄⠄ ⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠈⠉⠓⠒⠠⣄⣉⣙⣛⣛⣋⣁⣠⠤⠴⠖⢟⡁⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄ ⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⣨⣭⣭⠵⠶⠒⠉⠄⠄⠄⠈⠑⠢⡄⠄⠄ ⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⢰⣷⣶⠶⣫⣼⣦⡄⠄⠄⠄⠄⡴⠋⠄⠄⠄
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm not the youngest gamer on Steam, and I don't particularly love puzzle games or unforgiving platform games. But nevertheless, I find myself starting this game again and again, and I really want to see where the story goes and complete the game. Like others already mentioned, it'll remind you of Another World and Flashback, because it's story-driven, a bit cinematic (like showing short, non-interactive slices from the past) and also because of the excellent and moody soundscape. Although…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After eight hours in my save game just up and vanished. Looking through the discussion forums it looks like a couple of other people may have had the same issue. Fun while it lasted (though, if I'm being honest, before my save game vanished I had stepped away from it for several weeks due to a puzzle that was annoying the crap out of me), but I doubt I'll start over from scratch after that much time invested.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wish I could use a "neutral" button for this game, because even though I enjoy the story, worldbuilding etc, there are some big flaws. The walking is too slow, and the controls for this game are horrible. It had me switching through keyboard and controller a lot. The shooting and different powers you use are much better with mouse and keyboard, but the platforming with keyboard is a nightmare, so I use my controller for the platforming. Some of the puzzles were too vague without any…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What can I say? Horrible controls are not conducive to good platforming experience, and this game is based around platforming and cheap deaths, trial and error playstyle, and repetition. The ludonarrative dissonance is so strong in this one that it feels like the people responsible for the plot and the group responsible for the gameplay never interacted with one another to see if the level layout even makes sense. I'll give you an example. Early in the game you are going through a temple in…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I feel a bit bad leaving a bad review, but I just want to add to some of the critiques here about this guy, since I was really looking forwards to it and ended up giving up during the intro stealth sequence as well as I see a number of other players have done.Came in wanting: Flashback type gameplay! introspective storytelling! atmospheric settings!The big problems for me is that so far, the gameplay has been extremely repetitive, even forcing you to watch cutscenes of doors opening that you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game has interesting puzzles which are so painstaking to execute that they are annoying. Maybe the remaster is better, but I would not recommend this game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Deadlock being such a hit and Valve/Deadlock's team veing the Way that they are, means it's very possible that from now on their hit game Deadlock will, for the forseeable future, have small monkey men maifioso and gaijin aliens be canon to their gritty Dark Horror world
neutral · AI labelView post →its rly fucking funny to say but i do honest to god kinda agree with that "you cheated not only the game, but yourself" guy in regards to unlimited continues. NOT ALL THE WAY but enough to be like. i see where you're coming from man
neutral · AI labelView post →How is this game so obscure? It's spellbinding. If you approach it as a straight platformer then you'll be disappointed, as it's more of a puzzle game with platform elements. There are a wide variety of different puzzles, but the game gives you enough hints to be able to figure it out, and the platforming isn't so bad either. I played with mouse and keyboard and would suggest that's the best way to play, as it helps with aiming. The audio is wonderfully atmospheric, giving a real Blade Runner…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →1st impression, NOT GOOD! You're going to have to remap your controls in a UI that likes to fight against you, making edits. I have no idea what was going through the devs minds, when they set up the control scheme (Right stick is movement & they expect you to also use your right thumb to jump & interact with objects) OR when they made it so that as you're changing the control scheme, the UI is actively implementing the updates. (for instance, if you change the action/accept button it…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is good, and the puzzles are engaging—challenging but not overly difficult or illogical. However, bear in mind that I have not gone through the entire game yet. I agree with everyone who says the atmosphere feels very much like Another World. For me, the biggest downside is the controls. They feel somewhat clumsy, even compared to Another World, let alone Flashback. All in all, if you can get this game on sale, it is definitely worth a try.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Way is a beautiful game, I was sold on it the first time I saw the trailer. The Way is at its core a puzzle game and puzzles it does very well. When it sticks to that core it is generally a great experience. I think the biggest complaint is the controls and yes they are sluggish but after playing for a few hours I seemed to normalise to them, but it does make the action sequences (looking at the final level with its out-of-nowhere bullet hell) feel completely out of place. It felt at times…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Holy tits, you can't ♥♥♥♥♥♥' save your game! It saves automatically every now and then but it sucks and the spots are often stupid.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What is a person capable of doing for love? In The Way we play as Major Tom, who discovers a way to bring his dead wife back to life. All he has to do is travel to the alien planet, where he will theoretically find help in finding a place to revive his beloved. The Way is a platform game, full of puzzles that are sometimes simple, and sometimes you will spend a little more time on solving them. This is where the first problem of this game begins. Some puzzles are illogical and rely on trial…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game has it all. Pipe Dream, Simon Says, the Pitcher Puzzle, and Bullet Hell. But seriously, some of this game is good, some is frustrating, some is time wasting. I can't really recommend it unless you're desperate for something resembling Flashback, which is not hard given how few games there are like it. But even then, there are differences. It doesn't have the more realistic, deliberate movement Flashback did, so expect to be adjusting jumps mid-air to land on (sometimes) tiny…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It really could be a good game, but ♥♥♥♥♥♥ platformer and action sections with tons of obsolete backtracking spoils the second half of the game. Plus the plot doesnt delivers in the slightest and only leaves tons of questions in the end. p.s. ♥♥♥♥ BULLET HELL FINAL BOSS
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have to say that I'm not a fan of this game. Couple of design decisions that I really don't agree with, and a few bad puzzles. Pros: Pretty art Some of the puzzles are fun Interesting world Cons: Walking speed is terribly slow. You pretty much have to run through the entire game, which means that you're holding shift for hours on end. Dumb decision imo You can fall for approximately 8 inches before dying. Makes the platforming kind of tiresome Some of the puzzles are have no hints as to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →DID SOMEONE LOSE A FUCKING GAME OF HIDE AND SEEK THE WAY THESE FUCKERS ARE EXPLODING
neutral · AI labelView post →AAAAAAAAA I HAVE TO GO ALLL THE WAY BACK TO ROOM 302 AND EMPTY OUT MY INVENTORY THEN COME ALLLL THE WAY BACK TO ACTUALLY FINSIH THE GAME IM SO MAD
negative · AI labelView post →minecraft as a means of not only a game engine, but a battle between mojang not updating certain gameplay elements and players making said mechanics The Way They Are due to optimizing the fun out of everything
neutral · AI labelView post →So I was replaying Pokemon ZA, cuz I was feeling a bit nostalgic for it I FOUND A FREAKING SHINY ALPHA PANPOUR AND IM NOT EVEN A THIRD OF THE WAY INTO THE GAME
neutral · AI labelView post →https://youtu.be/pJiiZNKCnzc After a great setup and narrative hook that momentum is lost due to sparce checkpointing and slow stealth sections.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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