Road 96 PS5 Review: A Wonderful Slice Of Counterculture
A lot of video games try to capture a sense of revolution, from the likes of Homefront through to the Red Faction series. However, it's fair to say that although some manage to showcase the end actions of revolution, very few are able to portray the day-to-day society that leads up to that point. This is something that Road 96 from developer DigixArt is able to do excellently, and the title is now being released for further platforms than its initial PC and Nintendo Switch launch.
Road 96 is set in the fictional totalitarian state of Petria in 1996. The authoritarian regime is grasping onto power in spite of protests and the behind-the-scenes machinations of a group of freedom fighters, while at the same time there is an epidemic of teen disappearances that the government knows more about than they ever let on to the public. This is where the player comes in, picking up the journeys of multiple teens as they try to get to the border and escape into freedom.
Related: Glitchhikers: The Spaces Between Review — A Reflective, Abstract Experience
The gameplay itself is split into different procedurally generated journeys to the border. In their travels, the player will need to keep an eye on their character's health bar and the amount of money they can get their hands on over the course of the road trip, as well as picking up vital skills and items along the way such as lockpicking or credit cards. The player will have a choice of how they want to travel, from hitchhiking to hiring a cab, and end up in a random event after each bit of travel where they can learn more about Petria and its struggles.
This leaves Road 96 in a unique position as a cross between The Oregon Trail and Beat literature like Jack Kerouac's On The Road.
Read more on screenrant.com
