Path of War

Path of War is an elaborate strategy game produced by the German studio Envision and published worldwide by the Korean publisher Nexon. Path of War is a server-based game and requires an internet connection. Up to 50,000 players battle on a single server with a common goal: to recapture Washington. Path of War is set in the near future, after the U.S. energy grid has suffered widespread outages due to terrorist attacks—at least according to the government’s version of events. Players take on the role of rebels setting out from the West Coast toward the capital. A meta-game this strong, in which players act collectively rather than just fighting for rankings in skirmishes, is unusual and bold.

This is all the more remarkable given that, in the F2P strategy game segment, games all too often follow industry standards to minimize the commercial risk of an expensive production.

Furthermore, the approach of incorporating line-defense mechanics is fresh and well-executed. Added to this are the detailed and elaborate graphics, the overall technical performance (Path of War is based on a proprietary engine developed in Ingelheim), and the polished gameplay experience.

The DCP Jury 2016