It’s a trip.
Road 96 was an ingenious game that could feel, at times, like a bit of a mess.
The lasting appeal of 90s road movies?
Now here’s Road 96: Mile 0.
Why is it a mess, though?
I wonder if it’s the mileage.
It’s a Catherine wheel stuck in starting position on a fence as it sparks and splutters.
It’s a cat trying to get itself out of a duvet.
Zoe is the daughter of a minister in Petria’s corrupt government.
Kaito’s parents work for The Man and live in a basement apartment.
But as the game starts, they don’t really know each other.
Kaito is on the brink of revolution.
Zoe is on the brink of understanding why some people might want a revolution.
The game that follows is their journey outwards from these points.
They talk about inequality and cause havoc for a local Tai chi group.
And there’s skating.
Everyone’s getting upset, something’s going to give, and then you get a song!
And you think: oh yes, this does happen here doesn’t it?
Sometimes this works beautifully.
Sometimes, though, there’s a sense that the game has not defined its own boundaries.
The point here is to play the game several times and get different endings.
I don’t know.
