Paper Trail is a nostalgic puzzle game about leaving home for the first time, now on PC and console

In Paper Trail, you play Paige, who is leaving home for the first time and heading off to university. To help this young adult reach her destination, you must learn to fold the world around her, and interact with her environment so that she can cross every path as safely as possible.

The team at Newfangled has worked incredibly hard to bring this cozy game to all platforms. Released on May 21, 2024, Paper Trail allows players to change various elements of each page. Choose the pieces of the page that you want to rotate, spin, or fold the page across/diagonally to change the shape of the paths around Paige.

You can also move platforms across the water to help her cross from one path to another. The game can be played on all platforms, and it's touchscreen-friendly if you're using a Steam Deck. You can even use Netflix Games to play for free, provided you have an active subscription with Netflix.

Paper Trail is a top-down game, meaning that you get a bird's eye view of the scene to interact with. When looking at a puzzle game from above, you can view the entire area and make your decisions based on what you see.

The story behind Paper Trail

Paper Trail begins with a dilemma. Paige has been accepted into university, but her parents don't want her to go. She writes a letter to her parents, but a storm hits, and she ends up needing your help to check on a few people who have been stranded by the weather.

To fold the pages and solve the puzzles, you need to move Paige around. If you don't move her to a part of the page that isn't broken before you start trying to fold the scene, you'll have trouble folding it. Paige acts as a block in a puzzle; you can't fold over her, only around her. You can also use Paige to move objects that are in your way — early on in the game, she moves a boulder out of her path after you create space on the page for it to be moved to.

When you've finished the first set of puzzles, the prologue continues, and you learn about Paige's struggles with creating a path for herself that's being blocked by her worried parents. She leaves in the middle of the night, off on her first grand adventure — and it's your job to help her get there.

It's a test of patience to fold and unfold the pages of Paper Trail. You'll solve puzzles in caves, forests, villages, and plenty of other handcrafted environments.

The demo for the game was taken down on the day of its release, so if you want to try it before you buy it, I recommend downloading it on Google Play, provided that you have a Netflix subscription. If you don't, the game is extremely affordable and perfect for puzzle lovers! At just $19.99 USD, you can enjoy the watercolor environment of Paper Trail from any screen in your home.

Want to read about more cozy games at Pro Game Guides? Try Constance is a colorful Metroidvania that will make the eternal Silksong wait easier or Little Kitty, Big City Review: The cozy cat game we’ve all been waiting for.