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2 best friends get political, and musical in this fun adventure game | Full Review - Road 96: Mile 0

2K View2023-04-07

Road 96: Mile 0 is a narratively-driven first-person adventure game with political commentary and dystopian themes.

🟩Pros

+Masterpiece of a soundtrack

+Thought-provoking social and political commentary

+Profound and moving Story

+Amazingly crafted rhythm game setpieces

🟥Cons

+Technical performance not so great

+Overall not an improved experience over the original Road 96

Road 96: Mile 0 is actually the prequel to the critically acclaimed game Road 96, bearing the same first-person adventure gameplay, emphasizing narrative choices, consequences to actions, and social commentary. However, the gameplay setup is very much different from each other, especially with Road 96: Mile 0’s focus on a more fixed narrative, coupled with musical and rhythm themes.

I have been eyeing the first game; Road 96, for a while now. As such, I played it first before diving down to Road 96: Mile 0, and both games have been such amazing but way differing experiences, one more so than the other. More on that later.

Played or have not played Road 96?

For those who haven’t played Road 96; you can clearly play this one first to gain a better background to Road 96 if you play on playing that later, however you might miss some of the subtle references this game has and be exposed to some minor spoilers. You couldn’t go wrong in choosing what to play first.

For those who have played Road 96, this game is a highly focused game narrative and gameplay wise that adds more to the game series’ lore and background. The narrative has now shifted into two main playable characters – one we already know and love — and the gameplay is much more non-procedural and linear, with less survival aspects. But with added rhythm and mini-game elements.

Split Worlds

The story follows bestfriends Zoe and Kaito in a grounded dystopian adventure with a whimsical spin to it. Zoe is the daughter of a high-ranking government official frustrated with her pampered but tightly controlled life, and Kaito is from a less fortunate class who is looking for things to change. Their relationship dynamics are tested by their widely different backgrounds and initial beliefs, as well as the events that will unfold in the game leading up to the original Road 96. Different choices can and will affect the two characters, especially their beliefs. For the better, or for worse.

The story is now more fixed and linear, due to the fact that it’s a prequel, forcing the developers to keep the canon in-line with their previous game. However this does not stop Road 96: Mile 0 from giving players choices and a great thought-provoking narrative ride overall.

Gameplay Analysis

The gameplay in Road 96: Mile 0 is for the most part roaming around areas, interacting with people and objects, which usually boils down to making a hard choice. Some inconsequential, some heavily affecting the outcome of the story. Handing off a big responsibility to the player in how the story goes and deeply immersing them.

Every now and then, the gameplay is injected with fun and amusing mini-games and puzzles, mostly being the skateboarding/rolling skating rhythm game setpieces for each and every level with a matching masterpiece of a music that embodies the 90’s feeling perfectly.

The soundtrack is amazingly catchy and it even immediately set me off on a googling journey to find the OST and listen to it outside playing the game. It also fits the narrative theme of the game quite perfectly with its 90s lyrics and aesthetic to it.

Some of the other mini-games are a bit too cheesy and stylized, such as shooting newspapers to bystanders to symbolize its distribution or hammering nails to planks in a rhythm game fashion to symbolize building a wooden contraption. Ultimately, they are all still mostly fun and add a lot of variety to an otherwise monotonous gameplay full of walking and dialogue choices.

Overall, I had fun playing the first parts of Road 96: Mile 0. From the start, it is already a very compelling adventure game with its cool musical, mini-game segments and the ensuing intriguing political narrative. If you have already played the first game, you will appreciate the story even more. If not, then the musical aspect might grab your attention instead.

Amazingly crafted rhythm game setpieces

It seemed kind of out of place especially with all the first-person roaming around in-between, but the rhythm game component that even scores your runs and allows you to replay it to beat the high-score is a highly compelling gameplay aspect that is ironically the best main movers of the story for me. It’s just really fun and charming to see these stylized setpieces come into play and I was always excited to finish the levels to be able to play the next segment. Overall, expect Road 96: Mile 0 to be beaten in under four hours. It’s pretty short, but an incredible short ride nonetheless.

Technical Analysis

The graphics are heavily stylized with handpainted aesthetics, and have slightly improved over the first game. However I can’t help but notice the poor performance I am having with some stutters, considering that the game is not visually demanding and I have a decent setup (i7-8700k, 32GB, RTX 3080). The hardware isn't really being utilized in some cases and the game needs a bit of optimization to run more smoothly. Regardless, this is the type of game that doesn’t really require a flawless performance to be enjoyable, with its somewhat light control elements and a focus on narrative over gameplay.

Conclusion:

Road 96: Mile 0 is a fun musical-infused adventure game with heavy social commentary to go along with it. Its soundtrack is a masterpiece in my books, and the story is still just as moving and profound as the original game. If you have already played the first game, you will appreciate the story even more but might get disappointed by the change to a linear experience and fixed characters. If not, then the musical aspect might grab your attention instead, while setting up the stage for an even better game in Road 96.

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