Road 96 Reviews
Check out Road 96 Review Scores from trusted Critics below. With 15 reviews on CriticDB, Road 96 has a score of:
Road 96 is a masterpiece in storytelling and depending on your own experience, you may even be moved by its through line of hope, loss, and the ultimate goal of personal freedom. Many of the game's themes haven't directly applied to my life, but Road 96 is an education in empathy and it really makes you feel for the folks out there who are scrambling to get their lives in order because of other people's actions. It's not a perfect game — mechanically things could be improved at times — but its story is about as close to perfect as...
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Teens are mysteriously missing along Petria's border and in Road 96, you'll walk in their shoes to uncover the secrets of what's going on.
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While Road 96 doesn’t have quite the level of freedom of choice that it advertises, it doesn’t matter. This is a moving, thought-provoking adventure that’s filled with obscure moments, dark comedy and characters you won’t forget in a hurry. Its heavy political slant won’t be for everyone, but if that doesn’t put you off, you’re in for one hell of a journey.
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Another thing that keeps gameplay fresh is the sheer number of mini-games hidden within it. Table Hockey, Connect Four, Penalties, Cups and Balls, a police informers variation of Guess Who? and many other well-designed distractions can all be played within the story of Road 96. Playing the trombone for Zoe was fun, as were the not easy to describe ‘dance party’ limo shenanigans with Sonya.
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It's these non-playable characters that really help cement Road 96's world. There is a cast of figures who will reappear throughout the game on different journeys, and help the player explore the reality of the totalitarian state they live in, those who help to prop it up, and those who are fighting against it. There's some great variety to be found here too, from the satirical angle of state TV reporter Sonya and the slapstick comedy of criminal duo Stan and Mitch, through to the heartfelt, kind-hearted revolutionary John and the journey of fellow teen Zoe.
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Road 96 from DigixArt centers around the plight of teenagers who are trying to escape an authoritarian nation by crossing the border. It obviously has more than just subtle ties to current events. The world is divided. Multiple refugee crises, political turmoil, war, homelessness, crime, and disease are running rampant. So, just as we’ve seen with music, literature, film, and art, it makes sense that a game studio would attempt to comment on at least some of those issues. Unfortunately, it ends up feeling more like baby’s first revolution than a poignant commentary on any particular topic.
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On Wednesday night, as a hurricane tore its way through the Eastern Seaboard, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld a Texas law that essentially criminalizes abortions after six weeks. The 5–4 decision, issued at midnight, effectively nullifies Roe v. Wade, which has been the law of the land for nearly half a century. Though the letter of Roe still stands, the road is now paved for future statewide anti-choice bills to circumvent it. And this happened, as Slate put it so well, in the “most cowardly, dishonest, and shameful manner imaginable.”
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It might be a stretch to call it a piece of work on par with that of some of the most-acclaimed film directors of the modern age, but Road 96 is an incredible adventure game that succeeds thanks to a strong narrative, a superb cast of characters, one of the year's best soundtracks and its unique procedurally-generated approach that might see you coming back after the initial eight hours or so, just to see what could possibly be on any other routes. Everyone will walk out of Petria (if lucky) with their own unique stories to tell, and they're certain...
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Road 96 is a road trip game. A pretty easy way to summarize it, that both explains everything and nothing at all. What it is really about is an attempt to escape the country of Petria and cross over its border. Driving, hitchhiking, or even just catching the bus to get closer and closer to freedom. The trip to the border has to be completed multiple times, helping different teens make the journey over and over again, with each trip being completely different.
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Interactive dramas often appear to have more narrative branches than they actually contain. Although games like Heavy Rain can take you on wildly different paths, they start at a designated point with decisions at pivotal points altering your route. With 148,268 story permutations, Road 96 promises to make everyone’s trip unique. Offering a staggering number of possibilities, will this procedurally generated, choose your own adventure, be able to maintain a cohesive story whilst making each journey along the highway distinct?
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Road 96 is a special title well worth checking out for anyone with an itch for adventure. Its replayability may be limited, but for its budget price tag, this is one narrative-driven, decision-based adventure that almost completely delivers on its ambitious vision for the genre.
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Road 96 is an adventure game that’s stuffed with fascinating characters. Everybody has a story, and the game does an excellent job at weaving those stories together in an interesting way. The use of music and the game’s art style also helps to elevate the experience. Road 96 is a bit bogged down by some UI issues and framerate drops, but that didn’t stop me from really enjoying the complete product.
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Imagine taking a road trip to the same place but taking a different route each time. You’ll see sights you may have missed, experience different emotions, and you may even meet some new friends along the way. That's Road 96.
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Strong themes and good writing can't save the game from itself. Procedural-generation ruins what would otherwise be a great narrative adventure.
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Road 96 wears its political commentary like a badge of honor, and while its themes aren't always elegantly explored, it remains an interesting and unpredictable experience.
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