Keep Driving made me nostalgic for road trips I’ve never been on and places I’ve never seen

rockpapershotgun.com:

So maybe it’s just me, but there’s a sense of intense freedom and adventure to Keep Driving's Steam demo that belies its prosaic, tractor-tailing subject matter. The opening minutes are oddly silent, until Westkust’s Swirl blasts out from your radio as soon as you drive off toward your first destination - your mate’s house, to hang out and play console games. It comes on strong and sweet; a rush of wind through an open window on a warm morning.

There’s a lot of creative UI loveliness going on, and between its vivid intricacies, the low-stakes scenario, and the music, it all makes even the most mundane encounter or inconvenience take on a sort of mythical, life-altering importance. In other words, it feels like being a teenager. It’s actually really nice to be told sometimes that yes, you are the protagonist of reality and yes, the tractor you’re stuck behind represents a Bildungsroman chapter’s worth of personal growth.

In game terms, what it actually represents is slightly stiff and drawn-out RPG combat where you use skills and items to defang differently flavoured threats - although there does feel like real potential for it to evolve later. Plus, to be fair, much turn-based combat consists of attacking, defending, and maybe one or two skills for the first few hours, anyway. ‘Threat’ icons will target one of several resources - gas, energy, cash, and your car’s health - and you’ll use abilities and items you’ve stuffed in your glovebox to take them out before they affect you.

What’s interesting here, and I think deliberate, is the way it frames your ability to overcome these challenges through your own openness and curiosity. Picking up hitchhikers means going out of your way, and their possessions taking up trunk space you could be using for precious supplies. But hitchhikers can also lend their skills to help you during these encounters. I suppose you could see this as an expression of either the silent spirit of the road rewarding you for being a dependable