Two years after its launch, narrative roguelike Road 96 nonetheless sticks in my reminiscence. The road-trip drama follows a forged of children trying to flee an authoritarian authorities by hitchhiking throughout their nation’s border. It’s a tense collection of vignettes the place improper decisions end in stunning teen deaths, a political slasher movie the place the killer is unchecked fascism. While a few of its commentary was left a bit underexplored, it delivered an unmistakable message about youths combating oppressive energy methods.
Its new prequel, Road 96: Mile 0, isn’t fairly so assured. Rather than increasing on its predecessor’s inventive style experiment, developer DigixArt takes a complete left flip with a extra linear journey full of psychedelic musical sequences. It’s Sayonara Wild Hearts reimagined as a political thriller. What it does maintain intact, although, is its “choose your adventure” gameplay hooks, as gamers form how its two younger heroes see the world by way of their actions.
That resolution finds the weird prequel trapped in one thing of a pitfall. DigixArt’s try to create one thing extra nuanced backfires right here, leading to a relatively obscure political drama that’s too cautious to be significant. It’s a reminder that creating artwork with a powerful perception system isn’t about pandering to at least one facet of the aisle; it’s paramount to telling a transparent and impactful story.
Challenge your beliefs
Road 96: Mile 0 is about earlier than the occasions of its predecessor, additional exploring the rise of its fictional dystopia. The story follows Zoe and Kaito, two buddies residing within the sheltered neighborhood of White Sands who’ve very totally different views of the world. Zoe is a privileged daughter of a authorities employee residing in a flowery a part of city, whereas Kaito resides within the slums along with his working-class mother and father. The core narrative hook is that each characters are pressured to problem their beliefs as they be taught some onerous truths about White Sands.
It’s break up up into two distinct gameplay loops. The fundamental hook is its musical interludes, which have the duo taking part in out some story battle by way of trippy sequences. In one, Zoe tries to flee her overprotective safety element by skating round obstacles to the beat of a rebellious Offspring tune. It’s a larger-than-life sequence the place she skates up the facet of a skyscraper as the key service agent tries to seize her like King Kong. There are 10 scenes in complete, all of which provide thrilling and visually distinct set items which are extra “fun” than something the collection has carried out but.
Though I get pleasure from these sequences on a pure gameplay degree, they don’t have a lot perform thematically. Only one or two digs at any of the sport’s political concepts, with characters grappling with the federal government’s lies by way of a surreal musical nightmare. Otherwise, it’s a random little bit of gamification (there’s even a excessive rating part that serves no actual perform apart from replay potential) that doesn’t mesh with the choice-driven nature of the collection.
The bulk of the thematic work occurs in additional conventional first-person exploration segments, with Zoe and Kaito strolling by way of a number of set areas in White Sands. In these components, we be taught extra concerning the authoritarian regime operating the city and make dialogue decisions that decide the place the characters land on the political spectrum. Zoe’s story carries some potential initially, following somebody who’s pressured to query a skewed model of the world that’s been normalized to her since beginning – particularly as she learns Kaito could also be concerned with a “terrorist” group trying to destroy these energy methods.
That’s the place the sport’s politics get murky.
Both sides
The decisions introduced in Mile 0 aren’t notably compelling. Zoe solely ever will get binary choices in conversations: She can both completely insurgent towards energy or stay foolishly oblivious to it. There’s no in between, which makes the concept of flipping between the 2 really feel ridiculous. I simply ended up choosing all of the rebellious choices each time, as there was by no means a second the place staying loyal to authority would really feel constant along with her journey. Choices don’t make a lot of a distinction both. Each one pushes Zoe and Kaito to the left or proper of a spectrum, which seemingly doesn’t impression a lot outdoors of the ending.
Perhaps not desirous to punish gamers into pondering they’d made a “wrong choice,” Mile 0 retains its political backdrop frustratingly obscure. We by no means actually be taught something concerning the political occasion operating city apart from the truth that they’ve established a surveillance state. Their insurance policies are unclear and we by no means actually know who they impression. It’s a little bit of an odd alternative when the story attracts some fairly on-the-nose parallels to Donald Trump through its not-so-subtle President Tyrak.
Many will in all probability assume it’s a right-wing dictatorship, however the lack of particulars leaves it feeling like a purposefully obscure Rorschach take a look at to keep away from an excessive amount of controversy. For occasion, its Fox News-adjacent media empire is known as GNN, giving right-leaning audiences room to learn it as a “mainstream left-wing media” critique. You’ll possible find yourself projecting your individual assumptions onto its fictional political occasion based mostly on what you despise in actual life (it’s value noting that DigixArt isn’t an American studio, regardless of the politics right here referencing the Trump period).
In an try to assemble some troublesome ethical decisions, Mile 0 wades into hole “both sides” territory. Much of the story revolves across the Black Brigades, an opposition group trying to take down the federal government. Zoe’s pressured to ponder whether or not or not the group is righteous in its motives, whereas Kaito should query if it’s too radical for its personal good. But once more, we by no means actually get a way of what the Black Brigades actually are. We know for a incontrovertible fact that they’ve been painted in disingenuous methods by authorities propaganda, however we’re nonetheless left to imagine the state of affairs may not be black and white.
The battle virtually performs out like a parody of The Last of Us Part II; every thing is introduced in an ethical grayscale that’s by no means actually earned.
The sport’s quick Steam description features a phrase that acts as a transparent mission assertion for the venture: “Challenge your beliefs!” But how can one do this in a sport that doesn’t current lots of its personal? Everything is introduced in a cartoonish method that’s too obscure for me to have an opinion on. The solely means I can start to make ethical decisions is by drawing by myself biases and projecting my view of the actual world onto it. When I’m deciding if the Black Brigades are reliable or not, my thoughts has to see them by way of the lens of the Antifa motion for me to have any emotions about their in any other case unclear techniques or philosophies.
Road 96: Mile 0 looks like a complete backfire in that regard. Without providing a transparent perspective of its personal to assist orient gamers, I’m by no means given a cause to query something in any respect; it simply reaffirms no matter I already consider. I ended my journey with each Zoe and Kaito’s “belief” bars completely maxed out in direction of insurrection, doubling down by myself worldview moderately than subverting it. It’s onerous to think about many gamers naturally coming to a special conclusion when the boogeyman politicians of White Sands are simply stand-ins for whoever you don’t like.
Road 96: Mile 0 is out now on PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
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