Official Review Computer Updated

Broken Roads (Computer)
Official GBAtemp Review

Name: Broken Roads
Item: Broken Roads
Rating: 8.8
Author: Prans

Product Information:

Release Date (NA): April 10, 2024
Release Date (EU): April 10, 2024
Publisher: Versus Evil, tinyBuild
Developer: Drop Bear Bytes
Genres: cRPG
Also For: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

Game Features:

Single player

Local Multiplayer

Online Multiplayer

Co-operative

Australia-based indie developer Drop Bear Bytes’ debut title, Broken Roads, launches today on PC and consoles. Does this new cRPG have what it takes to stand toe-to-toe to its contemporaries?

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The cRPG genre has received a renaissance of sorts in recent years, with excellent additions such as Disco Elysium - The Final Cut and Baldur's Gate 3. After the lasting impression of the latter games, I’ve been on the lookout for the next Disco-like or BG3-like but was left disappointed with new games like Sovereign Syndicate and The Thaumaturge. With visuals somewhat reminiscent of Disco Elysium and mechanics not far from BG3, Drop Bear Bytes’ debut title, Broken Roads, caught my eye. As I was looking forward to seeing what it has to offer and jumped on the opportunity to review it. So, does it have what it takes to stand toe-to-toe to seminal cRPGs like Disco and BG3? Let’s find out in this review!

An adventure in post-apocalyptic Australia

Broken Roads presents a post-apocalyptic version of Western Australia in the near future, where societies are reduced to scattered communes with scarce essential and technological resources. Starting off as either a Hired Gun, Barter Crew, Jackaroo or Surveyor, you find yourself aiding a fallen commune in this barren land.

This seemingly simple premise soon devolves into a fight for survival in harsh environments where mysteries and political schemes abound. Across Broken Roads’ 30-ish hour of playtime split into five chapters of varying length, you’ll attempt to uncover some, if not all, of those lingering mysteries and machinations that will get you to question your own moral standards.

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While the art style does share some similarities with Disco Elysium’s semi-cel-shaded aesthetics, Broken Roads’ art direction does pack an original presentation of its own. Drop Bear Bytes’ depiction of a desolate Australian Outback is on point with intricately detailed environments that evoke - often with subtle elegance - its post-apocalyptic atmosphere. Settlements are made from repurposed buildings from “before”; makeshift entertainment centres are adorned with creative materials; while the surrounds of settlements are unkempt. If you pay close attention, you’ll come to notice more details than initially meets the eye which adds some authenticity to the presentations.

This authenticity comes as no surprise considering that the studio is based in Australia itself. The developers further went on field trips to capture pictures and videos to translate into the game.

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Further adding to this atmosphere is the unique soundtrack. It was composed by Tim Sunderland using everyday objects as instrument. This adds to the originality of the title, as does the overall setting and hand-drawn artwork in cutscenes.

While the presentation draws parallels with classic cRPGs, Drop Bear Bytes added a contemporary touch to Broken Roads with voice acting. This greatly supplements the presentation and immersiveness, as it did in Disco Elysium - The Final Cut; and also helps with progressing through the text-heavy conversations.

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However, in the pre-release build that I had access to, the voice overs were seemingly at random. Within the same conversation, a few lines would feature voice acting and then stopped, but only to be reprised a few lines later. I believe it is a matter of time before it is polished and I hope it is ready for the general public. I also hope that all lines are voice acted, even by means of a future update, as this truly supplements the overall experience.

A cRPG with a literal moral compass

Developer Drop Bear Bytes is open about its cRPG inspirations, with team members having worked on classics such as Planescape: Torment and Fallout 2. Like those classics, Broken Roads adopts an isometric perspective with point-and-click controls. Even if I would personally prefer joystick movements, the point-and-click controls translate well on a controller. In addition to the controls, this new cRPG’s mechanics also draw inspiration from its predecessors and features some new additions as well.

You’ll get to explore the post-apocalyptic Australian Outback in solo as well as with up to five party members in an open-ended fashion. This will involve investigating your surroundings as well as conversing with NPCs. Some explorable areas are larger than others, especially settlements which include individual buildings that you can further explore. Through exploration, you'll get experience points which you can use towards upgrading your skills.

As a narrative-driven cRPG, Broken Roads is heavy on the text and the voice overs, where available, helps in this regard. Some of your reply choices during conversations can lead to different results and can ultimately lead to diverging plot paths and endings.

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So far, the mechanics are akin to traditional cRPGs but Broken Roads mixes things up with its own take on a morality system with its Moral Compass mechanic. At the start of the game, after choosing your character class, you will also have to select your philosophical leanings between Utilitarianism, Nihilism, Machiavellianism and Humanism. Your character will then be able to provide responses in conversations and take actions that align within those leanings (depicted as a 360-degree chart).

However, your moral attributes aren't static. Your subsequent in-game decisions will influence your leanings; in turn modifying your range of choices. This makes for an interesting mechanic and adds to the immersiveness of the gameplay with a dynamic take on character development. For example, you cannot immediately switch from a humanitarian option to a machiavellistic one in the same conversation. But over time, your in-game choices can shift your possible options more towards machiavellistic ones. This adds some weight to your decisions; especially as you come across morally-ambiguous circumstances with no clear-cut answers.

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Broken Roads, multiple paths

The dilemmas that Broken Roads presents are expertly executed. I often paused to think of the possible consequences of my actions, and this is not something I often get to do in games and it was refreshing to do so. The realistic, near-future settings - instead of fantasy ones of other cRPGs - also adds more weight to your decisions.

For example, early on you will get the opportunity to help members of a community choose their mayor. You could choose to maintain the status quo, with the current mayor who has somewhat assisted you so far. However, this would mean keeping the indentured servitude system in place where whole lineages live and die in a form of modern slavery (yes, some things take a horrible turn in the apocalypse). Or would you try a new form of governance with no certitude over a newcomer’s success in ensuring the community’s functioning and safety; especially this being a newcomer who does not necessarily aspire confidence in keeping their word?

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By exploring the world and talking to NPCs, you can gain further information that can assist in such decisions. With the open-ended exploration, your means and sequence to tackle quests and side quests are also up to you. In one case, you might be presented with the option to help get someone out of jail and gain some important information in return. Will you pay his hefty bail or break him out? In the case of the former, the means you collect the bail amount is left up to you and in the case of the latter option, you’ll have to explore your surroundings further to take a less than “legal” route. You can, of course, decide to ignore his plea altogether.

The ways you decide to take on a quest can influence your gameplay path down the line. In some cases, your past actions may lead to conflicts. This results in turn-based tactical combat which bear traditional RPG mechanics of consumables, equipment and character skills. These can add a welcome layer of diversity to the gameplay (and yes, there are even hostile kangaroos!), although you can have a mostly pacifist progression, should you make your decisions wisely.

The combat system could also use some touch up as it can be confusing at times. For example, I wasn’t sure how many Action Points my party members had and this impacted my combat strategy.

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In addition, while the varying ways to succeed or fail a quest leads to interesting outcomes, they don't always coalesce satisfactorily. In one quest, one character passed away when I thought I made the right decisions to save him. This could be considered an unexpected twist but the quest had an anticlimactic ending that indicated some room for improvements.

What could also be improved are some of the presentation aspects. In addition to more consistent voice overs, the day-night transition could be reworked to be more gradual. In the build I played, the transition is just a loading screen when the clock hits a certain hour and the environment darkens.

On a minor note, a few technical issues persisted in the build I played. Once, my saved game wouldn't load but this was fixed by rolling back to an earlier save. While there is an option to highlight interactive environmental elements with TAB when playing with mouse+keyboard, this option is not available when using a controller. It's somewhat odd that this feature is not available on controllers (and even toggling the menu option to show interactive elements does not fix this issue). It seems like a technical issue that might (and, I think, should) be fixed in future updates.

Nevertheless, I think (and hope) that these minor gripes can be ironed out with future updates. But even in its current state, Broken Roads is a compelling cRPG that will entice fans of the genre. It is slow-paced and text-heavy in nature, with branching paths that can lead up to five major endings. But with references to your past actions and choices, the possible ending permutations are staggering. The overall package is an impressive flex for the company’s debut title which indeed stands up there as one of the iconic contemporary cRPGs.

Broken Roads - Official Release Date Announce Trailer

Verdict

What We Liked ...

Intricate branching paths with interesting outcomes
Freedom of playstyle
Moral Compass mechanic adds to immersiveness of gameplay
Original setting and detailed environments

What We Didn't Like ...

Some confusing elements of combat
Seemingly random voiceovers
A few persisting technical issues

Gameplay

The meaningful in-game choices, freedom of playstyle and dynamic Moral Compass mechanic make for an engaging experience, even if the branching outcomes don’t always coalesce satisfactorily.

Presentation

Broken Roads offers an original setting with detailed visuals and welcome voice acting that would benefit from some polishing.

Lasting Appeal

With the morally-ambiguous decisions and the resulting branching paths, Broken Roads will get you to carefully think about your choices and the alternatives entice replays.

8.8

out of 10

Overall

An impressive debut title from Drop Bear Bytes, Broken Roads has what it takes to be considered as one of the iconic contemporary cRPGs.

Reactions: PeterHarrison, Skelletonike, eyeliner and 1 other person

Nice to see an early review. I've this game on my wishlist for a while...

Reactions: Prans

This game has been getting pretty bad reviews on Steam for what I'd consider minor issues. The devs have been replying to people and taking suggestions, which is honestly great.

It's still on my wishlist and I will get it eventually (unfortunately not this month nor the next, already bought/pre-ordered too many games).

8.8 on gbatemp in contrast to 4/10 on ign while sitting on a very mediocre 60 at metacritic and mostly negative on Steam. Pass for me.

Skelletonike said:
This game has been getting pretty bad reviews on Steam for what I'd consider minor issues. The devs have been replying to people and taking suggestions, which is honestly great.

It's still on my wishlist and I will get it eventually (unfortunately not this month nor the next, already bought/pre-ordered too many games).

Thanks for this full review of the game that will definitely help me to play and enjoy the post-apocalyptic adventure. Special thanks to the GBatemp for providing such a portal like this.

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Product Information:

Game Features:

An adventure in post-apocalyptic Australia

A cRPG with a literal moral compass

Broken Roads, multiple paths

Broken Roads - Official Release Date Announce Trailer

Verdict

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