Frontier: Path of Shadows

[h3]RANKING:[/h3] [table] [tr] [td] [h3][strike]AVOID[/strike] | [b]FLAWED[/b] | [strike]MAYBE | WORTHWHILE | COMPELLING | UNMISSABLE [/strike] [/h3] [/td] [/tr] [/table] [h3]SYNOPSIS:[/h3] [table] [tr] [th][b]ASSESSMENT:[/b][/th] [/tr] [tr] [td] Frontier: Path of Shadows plays more like a visual novel due to a practically linear story & lack of side-quests. Bolted on features like the alignment crystal that shapes narrative feel superficial. Combat is suitably tactical, but overused to the point of nauseum, as there are no ship-to-ship engagements. Artwork & assets look artificial & their constant reuse makes locations feel generic. Questing is practically non-existent beyond the main story arc & objective types are similar & bland. While a fixed cast of characters means no true party management. While it has potential, right now its a disappointingly [b]FLAWED[/b] experience. [/td] [/tr] [/table] [table] [tr] [td][b]STATUS:[/b][/td] [td]Just released, but execution lacks finesse. Needs to be in Early Access [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td][b]APPEAL:[/b][/td] [td]Fans of simplistic sci-fi, story-driven Indie adventures who don't mind the unrefined production level [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td][b…

Needs some QoL. There are tons of times that you have no idea what's really going on. Also the combat system is a bit janky. Sometimes it auto ends your turn other times not. So you go to click end your turn and the GuI hasn't caught up and you end up missing a turn. The AI for the ground combat is also wonky. I had a couple of maps where the mobs just huddled up in one spot. They would move back and forth and never attack. Finally and this is the big one. The mechanic regaring scanning the planet needs to be reworked. Either make it less flaky, or greatly reduce the cost. Got a random event that took all my cash and couldn't scan anywhere to land. So went off and fought some rando stuff, see above, and got a whopping 250 credits.. which allowed me to try twice on a planet and of course failed. It has potential but needs more love before it's playable.

Great storyline, characters and soundtrack. "Frontier: Path of Shadows" is blend of RPG and top-down space-sim. I would highlight a lot of factions, loot, skills system. Crystal-affinity system is amazing. To conclude, I recommend this indie game.

Well, I was enjoying this game quite a bit until I got to planet scanning. Hoo-boy is this a poor game mechanic. Here's what I wrote in the forums to the developers: [i]Ok, after doing more planet scans, I have come to the conclusion that the scanning "mini-game" is not enjoyable at all. It is beyond tedious. You have to move the mouse teensy tiny bits, then wait a few seconds for the signal to move up, then inevitably go back down. Then move the mouse a teensy tiny bit again, and wait for the signal to move up again, then back down. Repeat over and over until you hopefully find the exact pixel where the signal stays up and doesn't go back down. This is not fun. It requires WAY too exact of a mouse location amongst thousands of pixels. I hope this gets redone to make it much more forgiving. Otherwise this will drive me away from this game in a hurry.[/i] So, we'll see if the developers fix this in the next few days. Otherwise I'm trying for a refund with my 2.3 hours played. Be compassionate, Steam, please. [Update 9/18/2026 - the developers have indeed improved the scanning, and some other improvements as well. So back to a positive review. Now to start over and see wha…

The game needs polishing and more content, BUT The characters and the story intrigued me, so you - yes, yes, you - go buy this game so that we all can see how it unravels. … Please? There’s pretty solid combat btw. No fishing though.

There are some bugs, not everything is explained properly and some quality of life features are missing, but I definitely don't regret my purchase. The writing is pretty good and so is the combat. What you see in the developer play video is what you get. I will most likely be finishing this game.