Road 96

 Xbox Series X
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 51 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 51
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 51
  3. Negative: 8 out of 51
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  1. Yura_zb
    Apr 15, 2022
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game is just incredibly beautiful and also fascinates with its pleasant races. I love to play it… Expand
  2. ehtaco
    Jul 16, 2022
    6
    This is a decent narrative game. I like the concept, but it gets pretty tedious. The characters you spend most of the game interacting with suck. There are two that I genuinely 'liked' and even that almost changed towards the end of the game. All the characters are so obnoxious and they're written mostly terribly. Also, your dialogue choices rarely seem to matter. The game plays out theThis is a decent narrative game. I like the concept, but it gets pretty tedious. The characters you spend most of the game interacting with suck. There are two that I genuinely 'liked' and even that almost changed towards the end of the game. All the characters are so obnoxious and they're written mostly terribly. Also, your dialogue choices rarely seem to matter. The game plays out the same regardless. You'll notice this pretty quickly. The game will give you two or three options, but the majority of the time, no matter what you pick, the person you're talking to says something so open-ended and vague that you'll realize it could've "worked" for every choice given. You can tell there are not many genuine 'branches' or dialogue. I will say, towards the end of some of my playthroughs, there were some moments where something would go massively wrong and I actually felt like "damn, if I would've done ___ differently, that wouldn't have happened." And that was nice. Based on the mostly faux dialogue choices, I'm not certain those moments aren't scripted, but if they are, they're done so very well if they had me feeling like it was *MY* fault things ended poorly. That part actually works nicely.

    Again, genuinely cool concept. I mostly enjoyed my time with it, but it's far from perfect. I'd love to see the devs evolve on this concept and put out something bigger & better in the future.    … Expand
  3. Wilsonka
    Aug 7, 2022
    10
    A beautiful game that brings a sense of nostalgia and comfort. Nice plot and DELIGHTFUL music.
  4. CC_Andyman
    Jul 11, 2022
    3
    The completely obnoxious, heavy-handed, over-the-top political overtones turned me off almost immediately. If I want that nonsense, I'll turn on the news. No, thank you. I should also note that said politics were completely omitted from the trailer. Gee, I wonder why? I'm glad I just checked it out on Game Pass... if I had bought this game, I'd be angry. 3 for its original concept. 0 forThe completely obnoxious, heavy-handed, over-the-top political overtones turned me off almost immediately. If I want that nonsense, I'll turn on the news. No, thank you. I should also note that said politics were completely omitted from the trailer. Gee, I wonder why? I'm glad I just checked it out on Game Pass... if I had bought this game, I'd be angry. 3 for its original concept. 0 for everything else.… Expand
  5. Kirbyisthebest
    Jul 12, 2022
    3
    i played this blind on gamepass as I like story games lately. This is a unique and cool concept for the genre, fun cartoony world and interesting characters and decent music. Unfortunately you realize very quickly it was written by somebody suffering from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. It beats you in the brain with it with zero subtlety. To really enjoy this game and thei played this blind on gamepass as I like story games lately. This is a unique and cool concept for the genre, fun cartoony world and interesting characters and decent music. Unfortunately you realize very quickly it was written by somebody suffering from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. It beats you in the brain with it with zero subtlety. To really enjoy this game and the choice aspect you have to view the world through a lens where Trump is a cartoony mustache twirling demonspawn. Every choice in the game boils down to three viewpoints of a basic stereotyped modern American leftist. Option 1: Vote for Hillary because she is not Trump. Option 2: Violently overthrow tyrannical dictator and slaver fascist Trump because he eats babies. Option 3: You are selfish and only care about yourself. Those are your only options as a human in this world and every major choice in the game is one of those three options basically. I kind of did a mix of 2 and 3 and ended up feeling like my choices didn't really matter at all for the finale. None of the themes and simplistic childish political metaphors felt like they were appropriate for this cartoony silly world, and they're definitely outdated if you're playing after 2018 or so. I still finished it because I thought the ending might be better or surprise me but I hated the quick and simple ending and should have expected it. All in all I should have never played it, wasted time. Still, there is a pretty solid game in here, and if you have TDS still you'll probably love it. I liked most of the cartoon characters and atmosphere and music and some of the dialogue. The unique and randomized layout of the game was really great too. I feel like somebody could take the basic framework of this game and make something way better. Either make the story more serious and get intelligent adults to write it, or make it more silly and over the top or just not solely about TDS. There's a way to do this same message and theme with a technique called subtlety that the developers are unfamiliar with… Expand
  6. Yourmumsbills
    May 20, 2022
    9
    5 minutes in and i was already hooked! just a fantastically designed game. Good writing, good characters and great music. The procedurally generated nature of the game makes it a lot more interesting than other games of it's type. If you're into narrative driven adventure games like: Firewatch, Oxenfree etc, i think you will really enjoy this one.
  7. GuardianFrosty9
    Apr 17, 2022
    10
    It's a masterpiece. This game is true Indie hidden gem many players won't play but you absolutely should. The story is impressive, characters are very well written it has full voice over. Choices really matters and there is always a place to replay it again to see another side of the story. Soundtrack is absolutely 10/10
  8. d3uzZ
    Jul 17, 2022
    4
    Игра с процедурно-генерируемым путешествием, политической повесткой, подавляющим количеством положительных отзывов. И все это от авторов Valiant Hearts.

    Не люблю я, когда разработчики суют мне свои политические взгляды под видом игры. Поэтому любая игра, где есть аллюзии на современную политику, превращается для меня в кусок беспросветного г**на. Здесь же аллюзии на каждом шагу:    Игра с процедурно-генерируемым путешествием, политической повесткой, подавляющим количеством положительных отзывов. И все это от авторов Valiant Hearts.

    Не люблю я, когда разработчики суют мне свои политические взгляды под видом игры. Поэтому любая игра, где есть аллюзии на современную политику, превращается для меня в кусок беспросветного г**на.

    Здесь же аллюзии на каждом шагу: вместо дорожного приключения, обещанного в описании, вам будут вдалбливать о политике устами здешних мамкиных революционеров. Иронично, но игра про выборы не даёт выбирать то, что ты хочешь. Под разными ответами в диалогах будет именно то, что нужно сценарию, а не тебе.

    В итоге это недо-высказывание еще нуднее чем LiS 2.    … Expand
  9. Qlasiq
    Jan 1, 2023
    9
    Simple, amazing game, and only reason I rate it 9 instead of 10 is there could be little more main characters in the game.
  10. Yaters
    Nov 2, 2022
    10
    Such a Beautiful Ride from the start the music coupled with the beautiful visuals with your decisions shaping the journey making it an incredibly emersive experience that everyone should enjoy that gives it a chance!
  11. WillGoss
    Jul 12, 2023
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Short and sweet ! The story is very good, they really did a great job to make me feel angry about the corrupted government. A lot of countries are experiencing that and not a lot of games can really show the reality of that. The thing I didnt really like is that its a bt repetitive, but at least the characters are charming. Every time I wanted to know each characters a bit more. Good game! And the music is very good !

    + Charming characters
    + Soundtracks are cozy
    + Good story

    - Replayability    … Expand
  12. UndenommeJose
    May 5, 2023
    10
    Genie absolu. C est bien ecrit. DA pas degueu en fait. Et la BO, mon dieu. Que du bonheur
  13. Dhall
    Mar 6, 2023
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A wonderful concept that fails miserably to reach its potential. I would have *loved* if this game had been good, but sadly, the concept is the only thing propping this game. So much more could have been done with the idea of a country full of teens fleeing a dictatorship, but it left me wanting so much more, fantasizing about what the game could have been. Feels like a shower thought that was shared with friends and ruined.

    The attention to detail is terrible. Tachometers and Speedometers in cars don't match with the sensation of speed when driving, or realistically what your kind of car could even do, and you can see the background "Pop" into existence like it's inflatable after looping every dozen seconds or so. The weather can also change in seconds, going from mostly clear skies to downpour right before your eyes. A mountain that's supposed to be several thousand miles away appears as if it is several hundred miles away, and a psychotic taxi cab driver is *somehow* available every single day across stretches of road spanning literally thousands of miles to pick up any one of your playable characters in a given run.

    Dialogue, and other choices, move around when the screen shakes or other effects happen, making picking a choice you didn't want very easy. Voice acting at the best of times is "satisfactory", but most times leaves you disappointed.

    The characters. The characters are bad. Some of them are stereotypical geniuses. Some of them are too dumb to live. Some of them are filled with juvenoia to a ridiculous extent to the point of overriding any empathy. Too many are like that. Some of them get incredibly weak redemption arcs after being horrible people that cheat and lie. Some of them are just "Good", with no real character flaws, and one of them goes from "Good cop" to "ACAB" to "Good cop" whenever the story demands, and unironically says "Fake news" while pulling a gun on people on a bus that ask her about labor camps for teens. Compared to the other characters, the psychotic taxi cab driver feels more realistic, and at least you know what to expect.

    If it wasn't so prevalent in the story, it'd be in the next paragraph, but frankly the political commentary in this game warrants a separate paragraph, or the next one would've been a horrible wall of text. I swear to god I'm not a Trump worshiper, the political "commentary" really just is bad. The (definitely not) Fox News station that reports spun stories for the "red" candidate, will show the entire election getting more than 100% of the vote. Oil is bad, Bush did 9/11 (not exactly, but it gives me comedic relief to say it. The government unironically did do a terrorist attack in game though and blamed it on an unsympathetic activist group that sometimes has extremists), and the red candidate will order the wholesale slaughter of teens protesting in the streets at his 50ft concrete border wall.

    The story. Written by "The Whole Team", it takes place in a fictional country called "Petria", but it's very similar to the United States in terms of political commentary, infrastructure, and culture. Your role in the story is of a nameless, faceless teen that's trying to escape a dictatorship that's kidnapping teens to be put in work camps and sometimes mk ultra'd. It is never explained in the entire story *why* teens are being rounded up. Apparently adults in this universe just have no empathy, and no foresight whatsoever. Your "choices" really lead to 3 main endings, which are...

    SPOILERS:

    The red candidate stays in power and keeps being a brutal dictator.
    The blue candidate wins the election, and everything is going to be perfect in the future, but not before the blue candidates supporters have a violent protest because reasons.
    The blue candidate doesn't win, but a violent protest happens, and blue candidate is installed by the people anyways.

    SPOILERS OVER.

    Overall, this game is just a massive disappointment. I was very excited at the start of the game, but the execution is terrible. I have no idea why this game is so widely loved. I have have to believe these people just don't play many other games, and the devs have tapped into an edgy demographic.    … Expand
  14. P-Daniele
    Jul 7, 2023
    8
    road 96 parla di una storia di viaggio, dove tanti giovani ragazzi decidono di fuggire dal proprio paese per una situazione politica dittatoriale, dove non sarà difficile vedere prese delle decisioni estremiste per preservare la propria posizione.
    ma la questione politica è appena accennata per lasciare un più ampio respiro al viaggio che vivremo, e a tutte le persone che incontreremo    road 96 parla di una storia di viaggio, dove tanti giovani ragazzi decidono di fuggire dal proprio paese per una situazione politica dittatoriale, dove non sarà difficile vedere prese delle decisioni estremiste per preservare la propria posizione.
    ma la questione politica è appena accennata per lasciare un più ampio respiro al viaggio che vivremo, e a tutte le persone che incontreremo durante la nostra fuga dal paese.
    la questione politica è più un pretesto per farci conoscere cosa pensano varie persone che sono schierate da una o l'altra bandiera politica.
    durante il viaggio incontreremo le storie di 7 persone differenti, che in un modo o nel altro sonno tutte legate tra di loro, e risulterà davvero piacevole scoprire le motivazioni che spingono i vari personaggi a fare quello che stanno facendo.
    il titolo è principalmente narrativo ma non mancheranno dei piccoli mini giochi di tanto in tanto, oltre ad una struttura dei livelli che ci richiederà di sopravvivere a questo lungo viaggio.
    non aspettatevi un titolo pesantemente survival, ma più ad un premio se esploreremo per bene il livello.
    per andare avanti dovremo mantenere la barra della fatica alta, e quindi dovremo mangiare e dormire quando possibile.
    inoltre le varie storie dei personaggi ci permetteranno di sbloccare 6 abilità che ci permetteranno di accedere ad alcune zone e ottenere più facilmente le risorse che ci servono.
    unica grande pecca del titolo è che una volta finito il gioco non avremo completato al 100% tutte e sette le storie e quindi si sbloccherà una nuova partita +.
    tutto bello fino a che non noteremo che la storia di una delle sette persone che incontreremo ce la dovremo rivedere interamente senza poter saltare nulla, ma la cosa più grave è quando capiterà di vedere una storia vecchia di un personaggio che non abbiamo ancora completato al 100%, andando a rendere inutilmente lunga la possibilità di vedere tutto quello che il gioco ha da offrire.
    se invece non vi importa vedere tutto, il titolo racconta una splendida storia che solo inizialmente vuole sembrare raccontarvi un messaggio politico, ma che ben presto ci si accorge che le sue vere intenzioni sono quelle di raccontarci le storie dei suoi personaggi che vivono in questo mondo di gioco, e da questo punto di vista l'obbiettivo è pienamente riuscito
    voto 80    … Expand
  15. ObsessedMeat
    Jun 30, 2023
    6
    Gameplay is kinda sloppy, so the game is completely drove by the narrative. Al tough it may be immersive, you'll end the game and understand that your "impacting" choices just lead you to a slightly different 2 minute cinematic ending. So there you are, with a first person telltale game, whilst you are given the impression your decisions matter, but they actually don't. Just like realGameplay is kinda sloppy, so the game is completely drove by the narrative. Al tough it may be immersive, you'll end the game and understand that your "impacting" choices just lead you to a slightly different 2 minute cinematic ending. So there you are, with a first person telltale game, whilst you are given the impression your decisions matter, but they actually don't. Just like real life. 6/10, decent enough not to kill myself.… Expand
  16. ghiaccionove
    Jun 6, 2023
    8
    Engaging, rated 8. Gripping narrative, immersive soundtrack, and compelling characters. Simple yet effective graphics. Engaging gameplay mechanics. Conveys a clear message and prompts reflection.
  17. Ezio1459
    Aug 31, 2023
    10
    很好的游戏，配乐很好听。故事情节也很轻松，同时也折射了社会问题。

Awards & Rankings

41
#41 Best Xbox Series X Game of 2022
47
#47 Most Discussed Xbox Series X Game of 2022

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. XboxEra
    May 26, 2022
    85
    Road 96 is fun to play, a challenge, and also makes you question your political beliefs. Play this game, help others and always vote against fascism.
    Read full review
  2. Movies Games and Tech
    May 4, 2022
    80
    I wasn’t expecting to enjoy Road 96 as much as I did. I thought it would be slower and more disconnected. Instead, I experienced a rewarding and deep title where my choices mattered.
    Read full review
  3. XboxAddict
    Apr 29, 2022
    89
    The team of around 15 developers created a 15-20 hour game that is heavily influenced by the works of Tarantino, the Coen Brothers and Bong Joon-Ho and inspired by many stories, including The Goonies. Although unlikely, I would very much like some extra content featuring the loveable bumbling team of Stan and Mitch. While the game fell a bit short of it’s promises of your outcomes drastically being different because of your choices, it really doesn’t matter. You could strip away all the decision making, and you’d still have a gripping and intense story that you struggle to put down.
    Read full review
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