Road 96 Critic Reviews

Road 96 expertly replicates the thrills and trepidations of classic road trip stories. Its most obvious strength is its unpredictability, which comes from a combination of randomly arranged scenes, eclectic characters and unexpected mini-games. But behind that lies some highly cultured narrative design that weaves the disparate elements together into an impressive whole.

Road 96 is an emotional and politically heavy story with incredible character work and fiercely held beliefs.

Road 96 becomes, thanks to its fine writing and its ability to make you think and reflect, into one of the best independent video games of 2021. An excellent journey of encounters with your ideals and, above all, with those of others.

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 tells a poignant story of those trying to escape a corrupt and dangerous country through great gameplay and multiple playthroughs.

It might be a stretch to call it a piece of work on par with that of some of the most-acclaimed film directors of the modern age, but Road 96 is an incredible adventure game that succeeds thanks to a strong narrative, a superb cast of characters, one of the year’s best soundtracks and its unique procedurally-generated approach that might see you coming back after the initial eight hours or so, just to see what could possibly be on any other routes. Everyone will walk out of Petria (if lucky) with their own unique stories to tell, and they’re certain to be entertaining ones.

Road 96 weaves a colorful and deeply unique tale that never ceases to engage.

Road 96’s procedurally generated scenarios make each playthrough unique and yet manage to string together and become a rich, interwoven story that has heart. Because no two trips are the same, your experience will be uniquely yours and dependent on the choices you make. Regardless of what happens, each journey down its winding roads is an enjoyable ride of emotions, laughs, and surprises that is sure to please.

Road 96 is an experience that you will remember in a few years if you let yourself be absorbed by its world. His first few bars may be confusing, but as the minutes go by and the puzzles begin to fit together, you determine what he wants to tell and how straightforward his message is. All this outlined with a cast of charismatic characters written in a fantastic way.

Just like a solid road trip, Road 96 is filled with ups and downs. As you strive to survive Petria’s worst roadblocks, you’ll find yourself making defining decisions. Even if the world of Petria isn’t as defined, the characters more than make up for the long, empty stretches of road. Road 96 is game that makes you think long and hard about both the journey and the destination.

Road 96 is a nice revelation. The slow start gives the wrong impression of a game similar to many recent narrative adventures: well written, but without that peculiar something that can make it shine. Instead, its formula based on the repetition of the paths and on the procedurality of the encounters proved to be a great strength in the long run, capable of adding depth to the game and distinguishing it from its (valid) predecessors. More than this, it's the perfect game for summertime: a good song on the radio, the long road ahead of us, sunglasses on and a future where plenty of choices await.

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.

It could be argued it’s a little pricey for a game that can be quite short… so maybe wait for a sale, but if you like storytelling then you will likely enjoy this title.

Road 96 is a fascinating and frequently tense adventure that manages to keep its story on track despite the odd bump in the road.

The randomizing order of narrative sections mixed with the more traditional choice-based elements of Road 96 made for a compelling experience. Adding in wacky but ultimately human characters really fleshed out the world of Petria and gave some moral dilemmas weight. The occasional mini-games were also enjoyable to break up the dialogue. If you are looking for a narrative adventure that deviates a bit off the normal path, Road 96 is definitely a trip you should consider embarking on.

Road 96 is a special title well worth checking out for anyone with an itch for adventure. Its replayability may be limited, but for its budget price tag, this is one narrative-driven, decision-based adventure that almost completely delivers on its ambitious vision for the genre.

Road 96 is a brilliant and clever take on choose-your-own-adventure game. Thanks to its complex, but coherent narrative which works on multiple runs, Digixart succeeds in telling the story of pride, revolution and hope through intimate moments and an interesting cast of characters.

Certainly Road 96 isn't a game for the masses, it's a bit of a niche. But this does not mean that it cannot please those who want to try something new and special. If you like compelling and captivating stories, backstories and slightly daring adventures, if you love the fact that every choice made has a weight on the unfolding of events, then it is a title that you could and should try. It is certainly an experience different from many others that in the end they all look a bit alike.

Perhaps it is difficult to explain and understand where the strengths of the Road 96 concept lie, but we can assure you that we are facing a very good game that makes the most of its curious narrative exercise, one in which the linearity of a cinematic story is combined with the procedural nature of a 'choose your own adventure', all this while it is played with making decisions that help to build a plot that we feel as our own, although perhaps not so much. At times the game's history seems too on track for that player's agency to matter, at least that's the feeling it gets, and between that and the fictional disambiguation, which makes it fall into multiple genre clichés that prevent it getting wet in the topics it deals with, subtracts points from a work that is otherwise the most interesting that has been published this year.

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.