QUALIA ~The Path of Promise~ review

The hardware wars are over, everyone. Machina wins.

Across the last few decades, the bishōjo (literally “pretty girl”) game has been steadily growing in popularity in the West. And that’s hardly surprising, given the genre’s approach. Routinely, players interact with an attractive female character, simulating the development of a romantic relationship.

The appeal of bishōjo is evident throughout most of the 8 to 10 hour reading time required for QUALIA ~The Path of Promise~. Here, players step into the loafers of Dr. Hiro Koshino, a gifted scientist who seems to channel all of his energy into work, especially after the passing of his live-in parents.

Maid with Attention

Recently, Koshino made a breakthrough, helping to engineer an android that passed the Turing Test- an assessment to see if artificial intelligence can carry a conversation that’s indistinguishable from human communication. Interestingly, that’s not the only scientific constituent in The Path of Promise. The visual novel delves into how machine learning functions and offers a comparison with the way humans acquire knowledge.

Fortunately, the writing is never unapproachably dense, and explains its theories in simple terms. But occasionally, the push toward authenticity makes for some long-winded conversations. At the beginning of the novel, a new android named Machina is revealed to an investor. And while the financier’s questions provide some expositional context, the dialog is a bit dry. We’re here for the buxom, plum-haired android, who’s perpetually wearing a frilly pink maid uniform, rather than a consideration of the economic feasibility of mass android production.

Lessons Switch Users Won’t Learn

While Machina’s hardware is complete, her software requires a constant flow of data. As such, Koshino brings her back to his apartment for additional learning. Unsurprisingly, a romance emerges between the creator and his creation. Both have a lot to learn about the world, and that shared experience provides several tender moments. Sporadically, Koshino wonders if he’s correctly nurturing her, injecting the oedipal undercurrent that’s commonplace in the ‘scientist falling for his creation’ narrative.  But if you’re looking for something a bit more libidinous, you’ll have to grab the PC version as well as the R18 patch, which delivers a few interludes that are too racy for Nintendo.

Given the availability of this lewd-patch, you might assume that The Path of Promise isn’t worth playing without it. But there is gratification in watching Machina grow and her relationship with Koshino intensifying accordingly. Ultimately, QUALIA implies that the real test of artificial intelligence is for a machine to sense and reciprocate love, and that’s a fascinating question.

Machina would Ace the Voight-Kampff test

Much of Machina’s transformation is assisted by the talent of Kitami Rikka (Doukyuusei 2, ToHeart2), who seamlessly voices the character’s progression. Observing that slow and steady change is one of the novel’s best traits, and hearing her ever-so-slightly robotic speaking give way to a more organic delivery contributes credibility to the novel’s premise.

And yes, there’s a respectable chance for tears in The Path of Promise’s conclusion. Even though I knew where the plot was headed, I still enjoyed the finale and only wished the denouement lasted a bit longer. But that’s a relatively minor offense for an otherwise consummate tale of love between man and machine.

QUALIA ~The Path of Promise~ was played on
Switch with review code provided by the publisher