Open Roads

It’s a great thing that Open Roads is an incredibly short experience, because when it comes to actually playing it, there just isn’t much there. Thankfully, its story and characters do more than enough to make experiencing Open Roads worthwhile, at least once.

Open Roads' mother-daughter travelog about discovering long-buried family secrets is heartfelt, but this lightweight driving adventure doesn't reach the momentum of the mystery it so carefully maps out.

Open Roads is a very well-executed story about the relationship between a grieving mother and daughter. Both characters are incredibly likable and there is so much chemistry between the voice actors that it’s easy to relate to and care about both of them. While it’s a short experience and one that could benefit from further expansion and animation, Open Roads still has a lot to offer. It’s just a shame it finishes a little earlier than expected because the narrative is strong enough to carry beyond its credits.

Open Roads offers a heartfelt, human story set in our world, focusing on the journey of a teenage girl and her mother as they unravel family mysteries. Despite its engaging narrative and top-notch voice acting, the game feels dated in gameplay design, lacking the innovation of similar titles like Gone Home and Tacoma. The exploration of emotions and relationships is its strength, but its gameplay mechanics and visual presentation fall short of expectations.

Open Roads is a short but emotionally stirring character drama that is, fittingly, more about the journey than the destination, without so much as a speed bump challenge to slow you down in the latest narrative adventure from the creators of Gone Home.

Overall, Open Roads is a mixed bag. Although the game's performances are strong and the story at a high level hits the right notes, its smaller details may feel a little melodramatic and forced. Meanwhile, the game's very basic general gameplay is a step behind some of its walking simulator peers, which can lead to it feeling a little dated despite some of its clear innovations. It's a solid enough game that those interested in the genre should give Open Roads a try, but it won't appeal to anyone who doesn't already quite enjoy these sorts of walking simulator-style journeys.

While some walking sims have evolved, Open Roads is stuck in the past. Its two good characters cannot offset the bland interactivity and mystery that is as flat as the game's 2D conversations.

It's unfortunate that "letdown" and "underwhelmed" are words I've used multiple times when talking about Open Roads because there's still so much about the game that works. The overall narrative touches on some meaningful topics, there's a fair amount of intrigue, plenty of well-crafted dialogue, some interesting characters, and a lot of heart. Yet most things fall frustratingly short or are cut off far too early, making the whole experience slightly lackluster. Despite being a game about a mother-daughter road trip, the game doesn't go too far and that relationship is left only slightly altered rather than meaningfully examined and changed.

All of which combines to make Open Roads an experience that's pleasant to drift along to. The moment-to-moment uncovering of the mystery and your family history is gently absorbing, and provides the catalyst Opal and Tess need - mother and daughter - to come to some realisations of their own. Those thorny familial realisations are handled maturely and end up in a nice place of understanding, which I appreciate, and likely you'll end up with a warm glow from the game, as I did. It's a nice day out. It's just that as soon as it seems to get going, it's over and you're on your way home.

Open Roads’ gameplay may not stun and its visuals are not exactly the most groundbreaking. However, it at least dares to bring something new to the canon of video games by telling a humanistic story in the gaming medium, a brief tale historically conveyed through literature. Perhaps Open Roads would’ve worked better if it was part of an anthology of short games with the same theme, but somehow despite its flaws, it still remains a valiant attempt at telling a short story through a game.

Propelled by a star-studded cast and charming retro world, Open Roads' tale of family tragedy stumbles over its heavier themes, delivering an earnest but ultimately safe road trip mystery. Pottering through meticulous environments full of kitschy decor was at least enough to keep me entertained for its short runtime. However, with sharp teeth and no bite, I was left hungry for something meatier and more emotionally charged by the time the credits rolled.

Pleasant but rarely compelling characters undermine this spiritual sequel to Gone Home.

Though it packs plenty of nostalgia and a lovely art style, Open Roads lacks the most important part of a narrative adventure – at least for me – a memorable and impactful story. Genre regulars may want to take a chance as the time investment is low, but for my money I’d much rather replay What Remains of Edith Finch or even one of this team’s prior efforts like Tacoma.