The problem is that, despite initial appearances, Broken Roads’s investment here is entirely in its worldbuilding.
It summons a handful of ‘what ifs’ - and then forgets to include the player in answering them.
Raiders who attacked Merredin generations ago were taken for ransom, which went unpaid.
Now their children and grandchildren provide labour to pay off that debt.
But Broken Roads mistakes presenting an idea for engaging with it.
It’s a quest you could take out of any other RPG.
It’s far from the promise of complicated moral dilemmas.
Once the game opens up, even underwhelming quests give way to scavenger hunting.
It is difficult not to feel like something went horribly wrong.
I remember learning more about my companions in the demo than I did playing the full game.
Broken Roads feels lonely and pointless, but not like that’s what it was aiming for.
I know my time with Broken Roads was significantly affected by bugs.
Broken Roads accessibility options
Font size can be increased.
Interactable objects can be toggle-highlighted.
Camera pan, zoom and drag speed can be changed.
Controls can be remapped.
In the end, it’s missing even a single spark.
A disappointingly unconfident game, with enough early promise to distract you for a little while.
A copy of Broken Roads was provided for review by Versus Evil and tinyBuild.
