Road 96 🛣️

I had no expectations going into this game, I only knew that it would be similar to Firewatch. Well I'd say that graphically and vibe-wise, yes, they are similar. Firewatch is more of an isolated narrative, where this game is still isolated, but within pockets of community. Road 96 puts you in the shoes of various teens over the span of several weeks. The goals of each teen are completely up to you and with each teen, a new path awaits. I personally really LOVED the way that each trip and character interaction was randomized across the game. At first it is a little confusing, but as you progress the story all falls together through the eyes of the various teens you control. You quite literally get to watch the weaving of the fabric that is the society in game. Your decisions do matter and impact the ending that you get, which excites me to go back and try different choices in a new run. Like Firewatch, the music and sounds of the environment suck you in and immerse you. It is not as sublime as Firewatch because this game is less on the environment and more on the people. As you stroll through the world, your peace may be interrupted by another character. This is but a reflection of what is occurring in the society, chaos. Hearing the stories from each character you run into hits home because they are all relatable in such different ways. You get to see slices of all different people and how this chaos effects them because of who or what they are. I also think that many people, mostly Americans lol, can really relate to that political side of the story. This game will make you feel, but what exactly you feel will depend on the relationships you've built while on the road. But the consequences that may come from your actions will also dictate how you feel when those credits roll. The game is pretty short in terms of time needed to finish it, you could probably do it in one sitting. In terms of the 100$, I was able to grab all achievements but one in one playthrough but I didn't mind going back for cleanup in another run. If you liked Firewatch, play this! And also, sorry for the repeated mentions to it in this review; that game really was my frame of reference for Road 96.

you can really see the effort put into this masterpiece. great story, art direction, music, and gameplay. i love the fact that every decision you make can completely change how the game unfolds. its definitely worth picking up on sale. highly recommend. 8.5/10

Only played 30 minutes of the game and decided to refund it, making this the first "your choices matter" game that I have dropped. (one of my favorite game genres) The art design is great with a nice soundtrack but the game was overtly political. I'm an open minded person and I'm used to playing games where characters' and/or writers' opinions differ from mine, and I respect that--but this narrative came on too strong and feels like it was written by an angsty teen or millennial with below average writing skills. The game felt too on the nose, like if you get that one friend that's like "oh I can't live in an America where Trump is president, I'm going to Europe" and then made a simulation/story-focused game based around it. At first I was going to sleep on the game and try it out again but after looking up other reviews and posts on reddit I see that many have come to the same conclusion I came to. For context I purchased the game on sale for $3.99 and though I'd usually keep a game for that low a price this game provided zero enjoyment.

Where do I begin? This was one hell of an journey... The story, the art direction, and especially the music work so wonderfuly to make this masterpiece of an game. Every character's story is solid on it's own, but they're also interconnected so well, And the way it all just colmunates at the... No two encounters feel the same, and they all push the narrative forward The gameplay itself is not that interesting, but again, you play this game for the story, not for gameplay. The animation do get clunky from time to time (I still laugh at the animation of John kicking down that door near the end of the game lmao), but they're fine most of the time. can't recommend this game enough 10/10 absolute cinema

Bom!

The game has good vibes and I enjoyed the music and characters. Your playable character is largely irrelevant as it changes each run, but you run into the same people and get to see them develop and progress the story along. The procedural generation doesn't seem to matter much - if you replayed the game you would see most of the same "episodes", just maybe in a different order. The story was mostly wrapped up at the end but there were several plot threads left ignored or unresolved. Still I'd say it was worth it for my $4 sale price. The game has some wacky characters, some serious characters, and one downright horrifying character. I didn't research this game very deeply and was not expecting it to be as scary as it was with that one guy, so be prepared for that...

Peak. If I had to summarise this game in one word - peak. Visually pleasing, enjoyable soundtrack. Choices that finally MATTER. This is highly narrative driven game, and it's written GOOD. There is no plot holes, you'd think it could get repetitive, but no, every teenager you play gets to meet characters from different perspective. Every teenager you try to save may get unpredictible outcome. It feels immersive, you want to play this game more and more. This game is everything that Firewatch tries to be. Road 96 is much more than that - I'm in love with it. It's absolutely one of the best games you will ever play and is a reason why people love indie games. Achievements are easy to complete. I feel like negative reviews towards this game are just from Trump apologists, to be honest. Road 96 is highly critical towards fasiscm.

No me ha gustado tanto como esperaba. Es entretenido y el tema político y de cómo la sociedad puede influir en el pensamiento colectivo me ha gustado bastante, pero no sé por qué no he llegado a conectar realmente con ninguno de los personajes. Ha sido entretenido. Lo malo a destacar son los controles. Con mando son pésimos, y con teclado y ratón van algo mejor pero tampoco son muy allá (ni siquiera trasteando con ellos en las opciones). También me he encontrado con bugs visuales, cosa que ha manchado mi experiencia. No es mal juego y lo recomiendo, pero a mí personalmente no me ha movido el piso.