Road 96

amazon Road 96 reviews

Backpacking is a popular form of relaxation, especially for young people.

The destination is not important, the important thing is that you are free to enjoy the scenery anywhere, stop anywhere and eat what you like.

So, what if backpacking was adapted into a video game?

The answer is probably Road 96, a “rogue-lite” first-person adventure game developed by Digixart.

That said, backpacking is not the only thing worth noting in Road 96. To find out more, Biareview invites you to put on your backpack and start your journey to Road 96.

Road 96 is set in 1996 in the fictional country of Petria. This is a country where most people live in poverty because of an authoritarian government, and the head of this government is President Tyrak.

Confronting Tyrak’s dictatorship are two camps.

The first is Senator Flores, who is also running for president to build a fairer regime.

The second group of Black Brigade rebels used extreme measures to overthrow the government of Tyrak.

Standing between all three factions is… us, the players. We will play as teenagers of Petria and our goal is to escape this country to build a new life.

However, crossing the border is not an easy thing. That’s because Petria’s border – located on 96th Street – is heavily guarded and if caught while escaping, you, your family, and those who help you will be imprisoned in a labor camp.

After each border crossing – whether successful or unsuccessful – time will pass and you will be in control of a new character. After finishing 6 journeys of the game, the fate of the country Petria will be decided.

As introduced at the beginning of the article, most of our time on Road 96 will be backpacking, starting from any location on the map to reach the border of Petria.

But Road 96 is not a game where we have to get from A to B as fast as possible, rather, the game wants us to experience an exciting journey and this is brought through many elements.

The first element is the characters we interact with in the journey.

More specifically, the game gives us 7 character lines: kind policewoman Fanny, young hacker Alex, a truck driver “Big” John, two less-intelligent robbers Stan and Mitch, taxi driver the mysterious Jarod, the female MC Sonya, and the girl on the border crossing named Zoe.

All of these characters have their personalities and are very well-built. Not only that, but their past stories are also very interesting, making it difficult for conversations with them to be boring.

The second factor is the activities that we can do, whether on the go or at rest places.

For example, while riding the car of two robbers Stan and Mitch, the car friend is assigned to assist the driver to help them chasing a target.

At another moment, the game will ask you to find important items around the area to free Zoe from the police handcuffs.

The activities that the game brings can be simple, can be complex, but one thing is for sure, they do not overlap. If there are duplicates, then the frequency will probably be very low, because throughout the game the writer does not perform the same operation twice.

where can you get a Road 96 online

Road 96 – Nintendo Switch: Buy it now

Road 96 – PlayStation 4: Buy it now

Road 96 – PlayStation 5: Buy it now

Road 96 – Xbox Series X: Buy it now

The third element is the music of the game.

Inspired by the music of the 80s and 90s, Road 96’s songs give players many different feelings.

Some songs create a feeling of joy and relaxation while sitting with friends, some songs create a sense of excitement when the action scene takes place, and some songs create a sense of tension when the player is hunted by the government or other powers.

If there’s a downside, it’s that we can’t go straight from the starting point to the border.

The game forces us to interact with important character lines when meeting them on the road or at a stopover.

I indeed commend these interactions, but I also believe that if we want to keep quiet from start to finish, regardless of everyone, the game should allow us to do.

To get from the starting point to the border, you will have the options of hitchhiking, catching a bus, hailing a taxi, or even walking.

This choice determines who you will meet on your journey, leading to the activity you will do.

But not only that, but these choices also affect your two main resources, health, and money. These are the two most important factors in choosing an exit route.

For example, you can hire a smuggler to help you out of the border, but she will charge a very high price, if she doesn’t save enough money on her journey to pay the “incidental costs”, you will be arrested.

In another case, you decide to cross the border by hiding in a cargo truck. If you are not healthy enough to hold your breath and pass the checkpoint’s detector, you will also be arrested.

Whether captured or passed the “gate”, that border crossing plan will not be used in the next runs. So you will have to consider from the beginning of the journey which resources to prioritize.

Another important factor is that during the runs we will be able to gain “Abilities” that choose the journey more diverse, such as equipment unlocked by two bandits Stan and Mitch give, or a lucky charm from female MC Sonya.

After finishing a run, these skills will still be kept for the next turn and they will indirectly affect your escape.

Besides the choice of how to escape, Road 96 also gives us choices that determine the fate of Petria’s country.

More specifically, throughout the game, we will have opportunities to show support for Senator Flores, the Black Brigade, or neutrality through words or actions.

If you show more support for which faction, there is a high chance that the faction will win on the last election day.

And notably, we can also see a change in people’s opinions. For example, the writer has repeatedly expressed support for Senator Flores, which leads to an increase in the number of votes for Flores after each run.

In case you want to support the tyrannical side of Tyrak, you can do this too, through indirect actions.