Road 96 Reviews
Road 96 is an atmospheric experiment in procedural storytelling that is successful more often than not. A dynamite retrowave soundtrack and some interesting characters don’t quite excuse a story that lacks a cohesive framework and too many minigames.
Road 96 started off a bit rocky for me but quickly became one of the best games I’ve played all year. It’s absolutely on my top 10 games list for 2021, and, given enough time with it, I’m sure it’ll be yours as well. The Switch is a fine home for this politically-charged narrative, and if you have a desire to overthrow corrupt systems or just cross the border for a better life, chances are you’ll feel the same way too. If you want to get lost in a dystopian world, then do everything in your power to leave it, hitchhike your way to Road 96.
Road 96 is a great experience from start to finish that will please anyone looking for a good story, some interesting characters or just enjoy a long road trip.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Road 96 is a glorious achievement in game creation. Once I got to know the characters and played two runs of this game I was hooked until the end. It’s a game that I thought about when I wasn’t playing it and it didn’t take me long at all to pick up the soundtrack on Steam, which was playing in the background of the creation of this review. A rogue-lite game with an emphasis on story choices and narrative feels like something that shouldn’t work but it does. Road 96 is truly something very special and gets my highest recommendation. This is one road trip not to be forgotten.
For those who like a good adventure game or a visual novel more focused on narrative than gameplay, Road 96 not only delivers a rich and very unique experience, but also surprises and innovates in some aspects. The feeling of traveling, experiencing all that life has to offer, is masterfully achieved until the end. Subsequent runs can reveal some problems, such as the repetition of locations and narrative points, but it is well worth playing the story with an open heart at least once.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The journey to Road 96 is filled with bumps, detours, and tedium. Players looking to complete the game’s presented objective of leaving Petria will find Road 96 an extremely short and inconclusive experience.
Road 96 will keep you busy on your journey to the border thanks to engaging gameplay, interesting characters, and brilliant writing. If you like choose your own adventures, then this is right up your alley.
I’m on my first of many road trips in DigixArt’s “procedurally generated road trip” game Road 96. I’m trying to cross the border of the authoritarian country of Petria and I’ve found myself in the passenger seat of a young hacker’s car. His name is Alex and he’s making a new arcade game: “Furious Tanks”. We play a few rounds; I make some suggestions on how to improve the game and we go our separate ways. I run out of fuel and my escape attempt comes to an end.
The randomizing order of narrative sections mixed with the more traditional choice-based elements of Road 96 made for a compelling experience. Adding in wacky but ultimately human characters really fleshed out the world of Petria and gave some moral dilemmas weight. The occasional mini-games were also enjoyable to break up the dialogue. If you are looking for a narrative adventure that deviates a bit off the normal path, Road 96 is definitely a trip you should consider embarking on.
Some of the story bits personally hit me really hard and I applaud the developers for going all in on a narrative like this. Thankfully, unlike most of the similar games, the gameplay is not just walking and choosing dialogue options and there is some real depth here. The musical choices also help set the game’s mood in a very interesting way.
Review in Persian | Read full review
It is a curious game that will entertain you for a good handful of hours. It is not demanding even in terms of the computer you need, and offers a good opportunity to go little by little shelling and discovering what is behind each character and each event. Without a doubt, Road 96 will delight those who enjoy games for its music, its aesthetics and its history.
Review in Spanish | Read full review