The Nerdy Type

A lot of people can relate to the experience of their work-life balance being off kilter, especially in today’s age of constant connection and working from home. Those times when the boss demands more than we feel able to give, your family needs us to be present, and we’re stuck in the middle, constantly feeling pressure on all sides. 

Path to Serenity is the second game released by solo developer Silviu, operating under the name of Ludus Pax Studio. It’s a game that goes far beyond what you see on the surface, diving into the serious issues of work-life balance, burnout, and realizing what’s truly important in life. 

The story of Jim

The protagonist of Path to Serenity is Jim. He’s a hardworking husband and father, but he’s so deeply entrenched in the need to climb the corporate ladder that he’s failed to notice that his family has begun to drift away from him. On a particularly difficult day at the office, Jim has what can only be described as a panic attack, escapes the confines of his workplace, and finds himself back at a cabin that he once spent a lot of time in with his family. 

Around the cabin, there are several points of interest that you need to find so that you can relive memories of those times alongside Jim, learning about his past through his present actions. The Cairns he used to build with his son, the spring where he proposed to his now wife, and the cave where they’d play hide-and-seek all feature in this trip down memory lane. 

As this journey of remembrance goes on, Jim begins to realize that he’s lost sight of the things that are truly important in life. He’s put too much emphasis on his work and not given enough attention to the people at his side. That’s an important message that we all need to hear from time to time. We all need to stop and smell the flowers from time to time.

Setting priorities straight

We’ve all been in Jim’s shoes. I know I have, and I still struggle to find that work-life balance even today. Silviu has also been in that situation, with previous employers taking too much and not offering enough. It’s an almost universally encountered issue for the working adult population, and it’s nice to have a reminder that we’re not alone in struggling with it. 

In light of his own personal experience and those of the people he’s known throughout his life, Silviu set out to make Path to Serenity a calming and almost meditative experience. There’s even a relaxation mode, perfect if you need to switch off for a little while and just explore the wilderness around the cabin and escape reality. 

On top of that, Silviu has pledged to donate 10 pence per sale of the game to Safe in Our World, a registered charity in the UK that aims to support and promote mental health awareness within the video game industry. An incredibly generous move on Silviu’s part, and one that I can fully get behind. 

It doesn’t need to be perfect

Path to Serenity is an indie game created by one man with a passion for gaming and a desire to put himself out into the world, and that means that any imperfections can be overlooked in favor of supporting Silviu and appreciating the efforts. Besides, any of the ‘issues’ that I faced ended up making the game more memorable in the best ways, and at least one of them was entirely my own fault. 

At the beginning of the game, Jim is at home and going through the motions of his morning routine before work. I discovered two baskets of washing that could be interacted with and proceeded to immediately throw them into the nearby washing machine. I can admit that I was getting a bit ahead of myself, because a few moments later the game told me to do the laundry and… There wasn’t any to do. My bad. 

If only I were that on top of my laundry in real life.

The second ‘issue’ I faced was when I got stuck up a tree. I’m still not entirely sure how it happened, but I can only assume that there’s an invisible hill surrounding the spring, because I managed to somehow climb it before making my way into the tree on the bank to gaze out over the wilderness. Far from being upset, this glitch somehow managed to make the game more enjoyable, and I quite enjoyed being a ‘tree man’ for a few moments. 

Graphically, Path to Serenity is not the most impressive when held up in comparison to more mainstream games, but it doesn’t have to be. The emphasis here is on the story and the experience, not whether Jim is a good-looking man or not. Despite the blocky textures of both Jim and the areas he visits, it all still manages to be incredibly charming. It’s easy to see the effort and thought that Sliviu has put into it, and for that, he should be applauded. 

If you want to try Path to Serenity, and help pave the way for support in the video game industry through the donations Silviu will be able to make through sales, then you can find the game on Itch.io, Humble, or Steam.