Road 96 Reviews
Road 96 is a brave step forward in the world of narrative-driven video games. The snippet style structure superbly interweaves the diverse cast of characters creating an incredible journey through an authoritarian world. Although there are performance issues, this is an experience like no other and a must for fans of story-based games.
Clocking in one whole run of about six episodes took me seven hours. After dabbling in New Game+ for a little bit to complete my relationship bars and discover all of the collectibles, I expect to invest another seven hours. Road 96 offers a unique style and storytelling that the gaming industry desperately needs right now. I worry that this one will float under many people’s radar as it’s by no means an edge-of-your-seat story with larger-than-life actors. This is a chill game with cozy vibes mixed with a little bit of social unrest to shake things up a bit. Conflict! At any rate, if you have the need for this sort of title in your life, Road 96 scratches the itch well.
I like premise of Road 96. It sets you up for endless adventures on the road, where each situation can either get you miles further toward your goal or thrown into the slammer … or worse. While you’re vulnerable, your destiny is in your hands.
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.
Strong themes and good writing can't save the game from itself. Procedural-generation ruins what would otherwise be a great narrative adventure.
Developed by a small team of about fifteen people, Road 96 is a narrative and artistic success. The title charms from the first moments with its mesmerizing atmosphere, its exotic environments and especially its characters as colorful as the game. Relying on procedural storytelling was a risky bet, but brilliantly taken up thanks to a mastered, funny and touching writing, carried by interactive gameplay and intelligent mechanics.
Review in French | 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 is an adventure that will delight those who put storytelling before gameplay. Good dialogues and situations, varied, with many minigames... It's playable and has some interesting ideas, though it often leaves the feeling of being somewhat corseted.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Road 96 is a procedural narrative adventure that stretches across different protagonists and several miles. Travel through Petria’s corrupted landscape and make decisions that will determine your freedom and survival, and the fate of your country.
Much like the real world, everyone’s hopes and dreams are different, and it’s this uniqueness that makes them so undeniably beautiful. It’s a poetic struggle, and stopping to appreciate the instances of silence on a road filled with tragedy and heartbreak helps Road 96 feel like something I’ve never played before. Road 96 feels like an experience created by a studio that understands the fragility of the world we exist in, seeking to project these issues onto a fictional world where comparing them with our own is all too easy. Subtlety isn’t the objective here, and by pulling no punches, this game manages to say something well worth listening to.
Yet, I can’t help but feel entranced by Road 96’s framework; the depiction of a journey as being a bunch of moments. Moments where you dig into a character’s psyche or just have fun playing air hockey. It’s lightweight, effective, and I can’t think of another place where it’s this well-executed. If you’re willing to stomach the rough patches and politics, there’s a rich game within. One that explores how people affect and are affected by the world. Personally, I think it’s worth the trip.
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
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
Thankfully, Road 96‘s mesmerizing landscapes, unique characters and chilled soundtrack will allow players to kick back and enjoy some really good storytelling in a world that feels strangely familiar to many.
DigixArt’s Road 96 is an impressive indie effort to deliver an interesting narrative-driven title with an original branching plot mechanic.
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 offers a non-Manichean adventure on the roads, looking for a brighter future on the other side of the border. Despite some uneven mini-games and some brutal cuts in its narration, the game still offers some interesting cast and landscapes, carried by a strong soundtrack with delightful 90's vibes.
Review in French | Read full review
Road 96 offers a non-Manichean adventure on the roads, looking for a brighter future on the other side of the border. Despite some uneven mini-games and some brutal cuts in its narration, the game still offers some interesting cast and landscapes, carried by a strong soundtrack with delightful 90's vibes. Too bad this Switch port suffers from such a big downgrade once grabbed on the go.
Review in French | Read full review
Road 96 is a difficult experience to frame, and perhaps lacks the emotional impact of Valiant Hearts or the artistic delicacy of 11-11 Memories Retold. However, some ideas remain worthy of being discovered, such as the courage to give the role of the protagonists to a small number of co-stars and the messing up of their stories along the lines of Pulp Fiction.
Review in Italian | Read full review
As it stands, “Road 96” feels like a preview of a better future in which another game grafts more sophistication onto its sturdy template.