Video games seem utterly terrified to say anything most of the time, as evidenced by developers like Ubisoft and Infinity Ward going out of their way to say that their games are not the least bit political (when they’re not awkwardly backpedaling or coming up with odd, seemingly contradictory definitions). Saying it isn’t political, regardless if it is or not, is usually a weird cover developers or publishers use to not scare off some potential buyers that want the art they consume to be void of meaning. This is what makes the overtly political Road 96 a refreshing experience, even if what it is trying to say can be a bit too light or unwieldy.
Road 96 is refreshing because it actually tries to tackle what it’s like to live in a fascist country. The nation of Petria is like if Utah turned into an authoritarian hellhole complete with Russian-esque propaganda and iconography. Journeying through Petria shows this divided nation where the rich party and bootlick while those who aren’t as privileged get by and try to fight back however they can. The people fighting back usually fall into two factions: those who want to rebel using more democratic means and others want to violently rip the system up from the roots.
And since Road 96 is a road trip game, players come across all sorts of different characters with different beliefs as they make their way to the border. Talking to the Black Brigades, the more extreme faction willing to use destruction to dethrone the president, offers a more nuanced perspective of them that is far from the heartless terrorists they’re drawn out to be by those on both sides of the political spectrum. Other characters, like the tech wizard Alex, help out whomever they need to, which also shows the fragility of alliances and how context can change them. Even its version of North Korea’s propaganda anchor Ri Chun-hee is given some bits of complexity, however forced, unrealistic, and unearned they are. It’s a place full of disagreeing people and the game shows at least a small bit of those on all sides, and by attaching factions to personality-rich characters, Road 96 is able to inject some much-needed humanity into the situation.
Its commentary on Tyrak, the unsubtly named tyrant, and his supporters also tends to draw straight from the authoritarian playbook. His administration praises destructive fossil fuels, detains those who do not deserve it, and has a propaganda channel that sings his praises and demands he stay in power for another 10 years; most of which can be directly compared to Russia or the increasingly fascistic wing of the Republican Party in the United States. The latter comparison is where the game is more effective since Petria feels like it is a country that backslid into autocracy in ways the United States seems to be on the brink of now. Tyrak’s supporters even bring up GOP talking points from time to time, like labeling true information as fake news and the callous (and sometimes untrue) deflection that a strong economy can be used to ignore humanitarian crises.
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While its attempts to say something are admirable and some of it is done deftly, a lot of it is handled with kid gloves. For example, Petria imprisons teenagers, which seems like a way to have an oppressed group without pointing to any oppressed groups in real life. People aren’t targeted for their skin color or religion here, but their age. That is not how fascism regimes work since it’s a lot harder to otherize teenagers and this game pretending that they are a legitimate target is cowardly and unbelievable. Road 96 also doesn’t show much or any of the lead up to Tyrak’s reign, a strategy that further dodges some of the stickier parts of portraying the subject matter. And while many main and side characters and events are missing some necessary backstory, Tyrak’s brainwashed supporters get so little of the spotlight; something that Far Cry 6 heartily failed at, as well.
A lot of this might be out of the scope for a small 15-person indie team on its second console game. 11-11: Memories Untold, its previous title, was able to better manage its scope. It did tell a story during World War I, which could be a huge undertaking, but only truly targeted two soldiers. Developer DigixArt used the backdrop of the war to inform the characters, but didn’t need to focus solely on it since most people probably already know just enough about WWI. This meant the game could succeed by only looking at its two leads.
Taking a similar approach in Road 96 isn’t as successful since it is trying to establish its own fiction and not piggyback off a real war that actually happened. It can’t get away with using such a shorthand in Road 96 since that shorthand strips out crucial background in ways that trickle down to almost every facet of the game and is likely why some characters or events aren’t as thoroughly examined as they could be. Road 96 tries to do more than 11-11 and is quite ambitious, but the subject matter begs for more depth than what is on display here.
The mechanics it uses to tell these stories are similarly conflicting. Going through its chapters is somewhat like a real road trip since it’s hard to tell what will come up next. Any one of the game’s most important recurring characters could show up at any time and that brings a welcome sense of unpredictability.
However, that unpredictability loses steam as the procedural story it was billed as seems to be a dramatic overstatement, if not a misclassification altogether. After rolling credits and starting two partial runs, the game appears to just draw from its deck of episodes and slot them in whenever (and even some of those are fixed). Players will mostly be doing the same things in the same places with the same characters, just in a slightly different order. It’s not like locations are truly randomized and change every time; it’s just their arrangement that is shuffled around, which is significantly less exciting. Choices (especially dialogue choices) also have little to no impact outside of the game’s endings and perpetuates a common problem found in the genre that robs players from creating something truly unique.
Road 96 is a more linear experience than it might seem, but some of its qualities mean that it can still thrive despite its more narrow setup. The writing and performances are usually solid and snappy (some scenes and characters are genuinely hilarious) with animation that is crude yet effective and reminiscent of Telltale’s work. Its soundtrack is generally great with its mix of high-energy dance tunes and tone-setting indie rock that makes the cassette collectibles worth tracking down. Aside from a few out-of-place ones (like the nail gun shootout on the freeway), the mini-games are also used well for the most part, as they control relatively smoothly and are intelligently woven into the story to make it more interactive, a choice that addresses one of the genre’s most prevalent problems.
But its biggest selling point has more caveats since its political story, while captivating at times, is a bit too light on its subject matter. Tyrak’s Petria is a bad place and Road 96 isn’t detailed enough to yield a more fleshed out explanation of why that is, nor does it have the teeth to viciously bite into its subjects. Even with a muzzle on, Road 96 sticks out despite its flaws and inches the medium forward just a bit and will hopefully encourage others to try to do something more bold. Many other games are too scared to say anything or are wholly unconcerned with doing so, making Road 96 a road trip worth taking for its attempts to explore tougher territory, even if those ventures have some bumps in the road.
