Deciding whether to take the red or blue pill in The Matrix: Path of Neo draws the line between being the best fake-out ever or the worst. Obviously, you take the wrong pill just to see what happens. Maybe it opens up a new game-mode where Neo stays in the Matrix. Maybe it sets up an alternate timeline that works as a parallel to the movie narrative. Or maybe because this is a movie licensed game no one really thought it through and it's nothing but an excitement-killing dead-end... How did you guess it was the latter? Instead of capitalising on the choice to create something new, the game just restarts if you choose the wrong pill. A brief snippet of Morpheus telling you how disappointed he is like a grouchy parent, and then you've finished the game. It's such a waste of a scene that seriously, it raises only one question: Why? Why is this choice even there if it's nothing other than a glorified exit button? Years later and it's still unclear whether this was genius or the single most flawed design choice in all of games, and that's saying something when Sonic Boom exists. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiJuFvqMmQc
Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.
