«Survive, form bonds, and make tough choices that will shape your dangerous yet mesmerizing 25+ hour journey across the wilds». We’ll see what it’s about.
Story and Gameplay:
Broken Roads, the CRPG developed by Drop Bear Bytes and published by Versus Evil, takes us on a journey through a post-apocalyptic Australia filled with tough choices and moral consequences. This review delves into the game’s narrative, gameplay mechanics, and technical aspects. In this sense, we invite you to discover this world, with us.
Set in the desolate future of Australia, the game boasts a strong narrative where survival is paramount. While drawing comparisons to other games, like, for example, Disco Elysium, the aesthetic resonates closely with the Fallout series, particularly with the recent release of the Prime Video series. Character creation offers four distinct origins, each impacting early gameplay, attribute points, pre-assigned skills, and occasional dialogue options throughout the adventure. However, aesthetic customization options are preset, with other features revealed later.
A notable aspect is the game’s focus on dialogue rather than combat. The cornerstone of gameplay lies in navigating through conversations, guided by the «Moral Compass.» Broken Roads presents moral dilemmas, with dialogue choices often leading to morally ambiguous outcomes. The implementation of such a mechanic in this genre is commendable, although occasionally marred by unclear dialogue. In this sense, exploring the four philosophical orientations of the «Moral Compass» – Humanist, Nihilist, Utilitarian, and Machiavellian – adds depth to character decisions. Additionally, traditional RPG mechanics govern character attributes and abilities, offering a familiar yet engaging experience.
As for the combat system, saving distances, they have a faint strategic nuance. The cover system is quite simple and the maps where the combats take place are very little varied and also have a single level where the elements are not destructible. All this boils down to killing the enemies before they kill us in a fairly direct combat, where there are at most a couple of options for cover. Encounters are either initiated by some dialogue option or random encounters. As a big drawback, the variety of enemies is quite limited and boss fights or special combats are very lacking throughout the entire game. Regarding the arsenal, we have at our disposal a very limited cast and the occasional throwable object (in addition to consumables). Weapons can only be upgraded up to +3 and the game does not have any crafting system, something that is greatly missed.
Graphics and Sound:
Broken Roads’ visuals are a double-edged sword. The world map boasts a distinctive, hand-drawn aesthetic that effectively captures the harsh beauty of the Australian outback. However, in-game environments lack detail and suffer from repetitive textures. Character models are basic, and animations are stiff, particularly during combat sequences.
The sound design is similarly uneven. The soundtrack features a melancholic ambiance that complements the post-apocalyptic setting. However, voice acting is sparse, with only a handful of characters receiving full voiceovers. The rest rely on text narration, which can feel uninspired at times. The sound effects are functional but lack the impact needed to elevate the combat experience.
Conclusions:
Running on the Unity engine, Broken Roads delivers a decent performance, albeit with noticeable loading times and occasional technical hiccups. Despite it´s conservative approach and ambitious narrative, the game falls short of it´s potential. While offering an enjoyable experience for genre enthusiasts, maybe it will be hard to digest for new players.
In summary, while this game manages to entertain, it´s shortcomings prevent it from shining as brightly as anticipated. It remains a solid choice for devoted genre fans but struggles to compete with the genre’s leading titles on equal footing.
My Score is 7.0
Hen Games 