Paper Trail Reviews

Paper Trail is ranked in the 83rd percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
May 14, 2024

Paper Trail is a beautifully crafted adventure that utilises origami techniques to create a unique puzzle game with cosy vibes, stunning illustrations, and a captivating storyline. It had my attention from the first fold to the final destination, and the journey was beautiful.

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4 / 5.0
Jun 3, 2024

Paper Trail delivers the perfect blend of color and art style that's a standout among the puzzle game genre. The technical mechanics are innovative and creatively integrate new challenges as the story goes on, making the experience engaging and thoughtful. While this storybook looks visually stunning, the plot lacks a sense of depth and doesn’t add much to the games’ experience. Paper Trail puts a twist on the simple indie game and centers itself on display for everyone to see in all its splendor.

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Unscored
May 14, 2024

A beautiful paper-folding puzzler that screwed up the last remaining scraps of my self esteem and yeeted them into the bin.

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9 / 10
May 22, 2024

Paper Trail is one of the finest puzzle games you can buy for the Switch right now. The storybook narrative, compelling visuals, and cleverly designed conundrums, all come together to make for a chill and enjoyable experience that you shouldn't miss, and you'd do well to keep an eye on what Newfangled Games does next. We'd give this one a high recommendation to anyone looking for a low-stakes yet sufficiently challenging new addition to their puzzle library.

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9 / 10.0
May 30, 2024

Paper Trail is a fabulous puzzle game with a unique paper folding central mechanic, some seriously clever ideas and a wholesome story.

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7 / 10
May 24, 2024

A charmingly illustrated, perspective-shifting puzzle game about paper folding, that has just enough intricacy to keep you engaged without ever making you feel stumped.

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7 / 10
May 14, 2024

When you think about it, that’s kind of the inherent pro and con to puzzles, though. Paper Trail benefits a lot from its distinct mechanics, because they help it stand out among a sea of similar games with similar gameplay hooks. But distinct doesn’t always mean approachable, and Paper Trail ends up being quite complex in a lot of ways that could be awesome for one player and super obstructive to another. And that’s fine! The style, which includes the colorful visuals, silly sound direction, genuine writing, and emotive music, all elevate the experience and aid in that sense of approachability. It’s a little too much for me, but I’m mostly a Tetris guy at the end of the day.

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VGC
Top Critic
May 14, 2024

Charming yet challenging, Paper Trail is a beautifully designed game that will have you perplexed by its page-folding puzzles. A generous hint system ensures players won't get so stuck that they get frustrated, while collecting all the origami is a task that will likely turn even the most ardent puzzle fan's brain to pulp.

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9.5 / 10.0
May 14, 2024

For what Paper Trail sets out to do - it does so with a clear passion and mastery of craft that is rarely seen in the industry today. While not everyone might resonate with the story in the same way that I have, those who do will feel every fold and every step of Paige's journey through a whimsical and wonderfully designed world that manages to mix an inventive new twist on top-down puzzling with a heartening premise that will sit with me for a long time.

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8 / 10
May 14, 2024

Paper Trail is a charming game with an interesting and unique puzzle mechanic. The story doesn’t quite reach the emotional highs that we were expecting but it’s still a sweet coming-of-age tale set in a gorgeous world complemented by a beautifully atmospheric soundtrack.

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8 / 10.0
May 20, 2024

In Paper Trails, you help a girl, Page, follow her dream of attending university awaits. The player helps Page avoid obstacles by folding papers into paths on which she can travel. It's a fun, challenging mechanic that provides hours of clever gameplay for puzzle enthusiasts.

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Recommended
May 14, 2024

Paper Trail is a pretty game that, while not too difficult, is definitely worth checking out for fans of puzzle games.

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80%
May 14, 2024

Sustaining its paper-folding hook across reams of compelling 2D levels, Paper Trail is a pretty unique puzzling adventure, with endearing characters, an engaging fairy tale look, and a procession of smartly executed paper conundrums. This is some good sheet.

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8 / 10.0
May 23, 2024

Paper Trail is a neat bit of puzzling whimsy with a unique folding mechanic and thoughtful design that hides just the right amount of difficulty beneath its beautiful exterior.

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GameSpace
Top Critic
9 / 10.0
May 21, 2024

Paper Trail is a game that intertwines the protagonist and her ability to warp the world. That makes the discussion surprisingly spoiler-heavy. So, instead of detailing all of the upcoming challenges that await Paige, I’ll simply say that I am utterly enamored with a wonderful story. Pulling together well-worn story tropes, plunging an eager young explorer out into a new world, and crafting a vibrant new land that is equal parts exciting and dangerous, the team behind this puzzler manages simple ideas executed effectively and provides players with seemingly endless possibilities, that stick to a tight path forward. It doesn’t add up to a hugely replayable experience or explore the freedom that Viewfinder’s 3D model provides, but it is a delightfully illustrated story. I couldn’t be happier to have ushered in a holiday to the home of origami with this cozy creation.

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GameSpew
Top Critic
7 / 10.0
May 21, 2024

Brought to life with gorgeous hand-drawn art, Paper Trail is beautiful to look at. Its puzzles, centring around folding and unfolding paper, are an acquired taste, however, and can quickly grow tiresome. As well-designed and clever as they are, we'd wager some players will struggle to digest more than a couple of levels at a time.

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9 / 10
Aug 18, 2024

It's hard to imagine anything else Paper Trail could offer. It's a tidy little cosy puzzle package with enough oomph to satisfy puzzle game veterans and newbies alike. The charming story and visuals make it stand out and the level of love and care for the title is evident in the gameplay feel, making this a game to recommend. It would also make a fantastic game to sit back and enjoy on a Steam Deck!

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9 / 10.0
May 22, 2024

Paper Trail is a series of gratifying problem solving that challenges the player to think differently by bending their brain with every page turn. It isn't often I run across a game that's so thematically cohesive, but between the puzzle structure, storytelling, and crisp and colorful world, this is an experience that feels like every detail was considered in its development, especially for those who get regularly stymied by thought exercises. Paper Trail is a present that's just as much fun to unwrap as it is to play with, and ranks in some of the better gaming experiences I've had this year.

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7.5 / 10.0
May 20, 2024

Paper Trail is an indie game with plenty of soul that mixes successfully the narrative and gameplay parts into an immersive experience. While the story is interesting enough, what will keep you most invested in the game is figuring out how to fold and slide in order to solve the puzzles.

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Jun 10, 2024

I had a solid time with Paper Trail but it definitely becomes tedious once you realise that its core gameplay is actually rather simplistic.

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