Road 96 Reviews
Apart from being an excellent first-person adventure, Road 96 is an overwhelming experience and an emotional dive into the '90s, with their music and style. As you stand on the side of the road, fantasizing about a better future, you'll wish that journey never ends.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Road 96 is an excellent storytelling adventure, earning the nickname 'adventure' better than others in its field. Various playable situations, monitor the parameters of the protagonist, make decisions with frank consequences, improve with each new attempt and keep traveling to find the desired freedom.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
While many of your actions are said to have an impact on the game, in practice, that impact is fairly minimal. It all comes together in an ending that also feels far too convenient, not seriously reckoning with much of the themes the Road 96 brings up. In the end, it feels like Road 96 doesn’t have nearly as much to say about these topics as it thinks it does. It sticks the landing when it comes to its individual characters, but much less so regarding the overarching plot. Still, those character stories are engaging, the mini-games you’re thrown into are consistently fun, and Road 96 looks and sounds great. It all makes for a trip that’s worth taking, as long as you know what to expect.
Road 96 is a magical game that speaks to the player in a very personal way. Through the narrative and mechanics, we will feel completely immersed in this complex and deep world.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
I simply had to know everything about each each character and wanted to see just how different the endings were. I can attest that in each of my playthroughs, no run was ever the same. With so many games being essentially carbon copies of one another, a game like Road 96 is a remarkably refreshing surprise. Don’t let it escape your notice, it’s well worth your time.
Road 96 is an enjoyable narrative journey that makes the most of your first run to the best of its presentation. While it may not win over gamers of certain political mindsets, its strengths are more derived from how it made a narrative game entertaining enough that doesn't forget that it's a video game first. I'm always looking for creative ways to tell a story and these vignettes that chronicle a country's turning point through the eyes of its disillusioned youth are what inspire me to continue perusing interactive media as it pushes the boundaries as a storytelling medium. Long story short, Road 96 is certainly a journey worth taking.
Road 96 has a great story supported by a cast of interesting and likable characters and anchored by satisfying mini-games. The procedural nature of this game promises that each playthrough will be unique.
I was really happy to hear that Road 96 was coming to console. I loved playing it on the Switch and while playing again for this review, I fell in love with the game all over again. I recalled certain choices I had made in the past and went with another option so that I could experience all-new moments, and this had me hooked again. Road 96 is a great game and one I will urge people to try out. You will not be disappointed.
Don't let the rather simplistic visuals fool you: Road 96 is a beautiful adventure full of surprises. The initial premise of taking young people out of a country in full turmoil becomes a narrative full of interesting characters and, who knows, a profound change in the government and its population. After many choices and dialogues, observing the results of the complete journey is a unique satisfaction. If you enjoy games with a good story, this is a must-have for your library.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
I really enjoyed my time in Petria, the characters had me interested in their stories and journeys. Being broken into 6 episodes makes perfect sense.
I was really impressed with Road 96. I always enjoy these narrative adventure games, but few have managed to deliver such a powerful story while also incorporating over the top characters. There are a few niggles like dialogue options moving with the character and the graphics certainly aren’t anything to write home about, but the overall presentation is good and fits the style of the game. Road 96 is a journey worth taking.
I was wary about Road 96 because survival games aren't exactly my thing and usually I don't like randomly generated games as well. But this one amazed me. Each time I failed, I was motivated to try again. And each time I was successful, I felt nothing less but pure joy.
Review in German | Read full review
Anything bad I have to say about this game from animation issues, to lip-synching, to some glitches or gameplay grips all come with one major addendum… I did not regret playing Road 96, nor will I regret playing it again.
Road 96 delivers unique and interesting stories with each randomly generated story it creates.
Road 96 is a road worth travelling as you'll meet an interesting blend of characters and learn their stories while living in a corrupt dictatorship as you fight to escape and avoid becoming another missing teen. It's a very cool adventure indeed.
Road 96 shows that it is possible to do a "roguelike," narrative-focused story and do it well. It's a shockingly engaging and well-written game with likeable characters. It's sometimes funny, sometimes terrifying, and sometimes thought-provoking, but no matter what, it never gets boring. Each setback or revelation made me eager to see the next, and my ending felt like a satisfying resolution to the plot that I'd been building. If there were ever a game that defined, "It's the journey, not the destination," it's Road 96, and if you're a fan of quirky, narrative-driven games, then this is well worth a shot.
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.
Whether I was being threatened by Jarod, having deep personal conversations with John, or being made audience to the circus that is Stan and Mitch, I found myself continuing to go back for more over and over with Road 96. If you want a deeply political and sometimes downright scary experience, this is the place to be. Add to that a fantastic soundtrack of both folk style music and electronic synthwave that really hits the '90s vibe, and Road 96 is an experience you will not soon forget.
ROAD 96 is so much more than an indie point-and-click. It's a solid recommendation despite its obvious limits. This small world created by Yoan Fanise and DigixArt, suggests that there is still a lot to see from the Indie scene. What else can I say about this game? Perhaps whoever has lived it will understand, because for me ROAD 96 is Jeremy by Pearl Jam; Something in the Way by Nirvana; Nutshell by Alice in Chains; Firestarter by The Prodigy and 1979 by The Smashing Pumpkins, all at the same time and made into video game form.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
A solid FPP adventure in political-fiction climates, although you have to reckon with the shortcomings (even for a Switch) in the visual sphere. After all, it is worth delving into it because each game brings new experiences.
Review in Polish | Read full review