Line #1 Main/PathOfGreatestResistance


1	->''"Well, seeing as this is the most dangerous thing I've ever seen in my life, I must be going the right way."''
2	-->-- '''Gordon Freeman''', ''WebVideo/FreemansMind''
3
4	In many video games where there is more than one direction to go, it is possible to become lost, or unsure which way to go next. Almost invariably, the way to go is the way the enemies are coming from.
5
6	Relatedly, the area with dead enemies strewn around is backtracking. The opposite is when a monster breaks open a door, crashes through the floor or knocks down a wall to allow you access to the next stage, assuming you survive.
7
8	Not to be confuse with the VR RailShooter "The Path of Greatest Resistance".
9	----
10	!!Examples:
11	* In ''VideoGame/CliveBarkersJericho'' there are a number of places where there is no obvious direction until something tries to kill you.
12	* Common in ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games too. If you get stuck, pick a direction and if the enemies are challenging, you're going in the right direction.
13	* ''Franchise/DeadSpace'' is trying to reduce this through the guide lines, but you pretty much have to kill everything that gets in your way anyways.
14	* In ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' some areas can be very confusing, but the path forward is usually the most difficult and enemy-filled. Even the bosses exist only to block the path forward.
15	** In GagDub ''WebVideo/FreemansMind'' Gordon sometimes comments that despite being lost, he usually knows where to go based on how many things he has to kill and the number of bloodstains and dead bodies he encounters.
16	---> ''[[Film/TheWizardOfOz Follow the Dead Body Road, follow the Dead Body Road...]]''
17	* Both ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'' and ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' were like this: if a room is filled with bodies, you've already been there.
18	* The ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' games are like this too. The early games had a trail of dead monsters as a sign that you've been to a particular area.
19	* Ever since ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' introduced the Homing Attack, nearly all Sonic games since then have had paths identifiable (and accessible) only by finding a trail of stationary midair enemies. This is most commonly used to begin an expert path or for a shortcut; very rarely is it actually required.
20	** In games before or without the Homing Attack, faster routes are either accessed through advanced platforming techniques or involve a more challenging gauntlet of traps and enemies.
21	* In the ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' games, this is very useful to determine the point of origin of an enemy whose camp or cities you haven't found yet.
22	* Occasionally in the ''Franchise/SilentHill'' games it can be easy to get turned around or unsure of which direction to go. When you are attacked by one of those damned nurses when you open a door, you know that yep, this is the way.
23	* Related to one item from Website/TheGrandListOfConsoleRPGCliches, [[ConsoleRPGCliches73To96 #82]]:
24	--> ''When you are confronted by two doors, the closer one will be locked and its key will be hidden behind the farther-away one.''
25	* ''Especially'' prevalent in ''VideoGame/GoldenSun''. Whenever there's a fork in the road, the path that seems shorter ''will'' be blocked off later on, forcing you to take the other path around.
26	* The ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' series seems to use respawned (or replaced) enemies as shorthand for "this is where you're supposed to be going now."

Context Main / PathOfGreatestResistance