Paper Trail is a nostalgic puzzle game about leaving home for the first time, now on PC and console
In Paper Trail, you play as Paige, who leaves home for the first time and goes to college. To help this young adult reach her goal, you must learn to fold the world around her and interact with her environment so that she can cross each path as safely as possible.
Paper Trail: a top-down puzzle game available on all platforms
The team at Newfangled has been working incredibly hard to bring this cozy game to all platforms. Released on May 21, 2024, Paper Trail allows players to change various elements of each page. Select the pieces of the page you want to rotate, rotate or fold the page across/diagonally to change the shape of the paths around Paige.
You can also move platforms across the water to help her cross from one path to another. The game can be played on all platforms, and it’s touchscreen friendly if you use Steam Deck. You can even use Netflix Games to play for free as long as you have an active subscription with Netflix. These are all the platforms that Paper Trail is available on: Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Steam and Netflix Games.
Paper Trail is a top-down game, meaning you get a bird’s-eye view of the scene to interact with. When you look at a puzzle from above, you can look at the whole area and make your decisions based on what you see.
The story behind Paper Trail
Paper Trail begins with a dilemma. Paige has been accepted into college, but her parents don’t want her to go. She writes a letter to her parents, but a storm hits, and she ends up needing your help to check on some people who have been stranded by the weather.
To fold the pages and solve the puzzles, you have to move Paige around. If you don’t move it to a part of the page that isn’t broken before you start trying to fold the scene, you’ll have trouble folding it. Paige acts like a block in a puzzle, you can’t fold over her, only around her. You can also use Paige to move objects that get in your way – early in the game, she moves a rock out of her way after you create space on the page for it to be moved.
When you’ve finished the first set of puzzles, the prologue continues, and you learn about Paige’s struggles to create a path for herself that is blocked by her concerned parents. She leaves in the middle of the night for her first grand adventure – and it’s your job to help her get there.
It is a test of patience to fold and unfold the pages of Paper Trail. You will solve puzzles in caves, forests, villages and many other hand-crafted environments.
The demo for the game was taken down on the day of its release, so if you want to try it before you buy it, I recommend downloading it on Google Play; as long as you have a Netflix subscription. If you don’t, the game is extremely affordable and perfect for puzzle lovers! That’s right $19.99you can enjoy Paper Trail’s watercolor environment from any screen in your home.
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