Road trips are more about the journey than the destination, as they always have been. You could fly to Disney Land, it would always take you a few hours, but you will also fly over the beautiful vistas, giant balls of string, and artery-clogging burgers you would find along the way. It’s ultimately about togetherness, the feeling that Open Roads manages to nail right from the start.
Here we experience the story from the point of view of 16-year-old Tess, as she is being forced to pack up her room since her single mother Opal is unable to afford it now that HER mother has passed away. At its most basic sense, Open Roads is a ‘walking simulator’ a term that still exists out there, but with a multitude of games in recent years remixing the idea, it doesn’t get tossed around as much as it used to. The remix here is focused on the lead characters’ relationship through several visual novel moments.
Our first exploration bit through the character’s house eventually leads to the discovery of a hidden briefcase in the attic and a suggestion of buried treasure which is of course how all the best road trips start, something that Open Roads gets. The issue, and a recurring one in the narrative, is just how easily the idea of a last-minute road trip is accepted over the fact they need to be packed in a few days to leave. Honestly, several decisions feel more the product of being done so that a story can be told rather than being of sound decision-making, but I digress.
“…eventually leads to the discovery of a hidden briefcase in the attic and a suggestion of buried treasure which is of course how all the best road trips start…”
Thankfully, less-than-sound decisions are delivered by two more than-capable talents in actors Kaitlyn Denver as Tess, who was phenomenal in Dopesick, and Keri Russel as Opal, who delivered commanding performances in The Americans. Both manage to interact with each other in compelling moments of dialog, as we largely explore the series of events that lead to where we are. Since they serve as the only two characters present, the fact that they are so aptly portrayed and offered chemistry helps to overshadow several of the game’s flaws.
This is narratively important as many of the objects you might interact with have a ‘Hey Mom?’ prompt that leads to a dialog moment between the two. With Tess serving as a blank vessel for the audience and her mother as the keeper of wisdom, the dialog remains grounded and relatable as you discover facts like your mother’s summer fling, your aunt’s childhood teddy bear, and more. In the best of ways, it feels like playing Unpacking, one of my favorite indies, in the ways these moments felt familiar to my own life experiences. And that’s the Thing, you can feel omnipresent with these characters in their story since it feels so grounded in the act of life.
Since the game was set in 2003, there was also so great use of callbacks that I related to. In one moment Tess looks out over the fog over the ocean and comments ‘Reminds me of this game, Silent Hill” that made me grin ear to ear even though it was a tiny little moment. The fact that her mother then proceeds to berate her for talking about a video game, also, felt familiar. Driving in the car also made me chuckle when flipping through the channels I found an All American Rejects song or a speech by George W. Bush. Open Roads has an acute understanding of savoring the little moments.
Unfortunately, like any road trip, it’s over far too soon leaving you only with memories. In the case of Open Roads though, it’s over even faster. In total, the game took me roughly 3 hours to achieve the Platinum trophy, which involved some chapter selection, probably placing my trip at 2 hours prior to that. It only features a location in a hotel and exactly zero sleeping-in-the-car moments. Come on now, even Bottle Rocket features more… I mean it’s the same motel but the sentiment remains! I would have liked more time behind the wheel, and there were so many tropes left unused. I know with indie games, especially artist ones like this it can be par for the course, but given how long I waited, it was a shame my experience was over so quickly.
“It feels like playing Unpacking, one of my favorite indies, in the ways these moments felt familiar to my own life experiences.”
Where the game succeeds though, is its art direction. Both leads are hand-drawn in an art cartoonish style that harkens back to a simpler time, feeling like an 80’s or 90’s Saturday morning. In each dialog scene, one or both of the characters are percent cycling through chrisp-drawn frames, such as laughing or shrugging, and never are they less than a delight to watch.
The art direction extends far beyond the leads to the 3D space of the world around them. Players explore environments in first person, as you might expect, interacting with objects in the areas to progress. This too manages to deliver as any object she picks up turns into the cartoon animated style of her so she can look at it in first person. I have never played a game where I felt so encouraged to interact with items like that, and I beat What Remains of Edith Finch six times.
The largest complaint I would lodge against the art, and it’s a very minor one, is lip movement. Both Tess and Opal have animations where they open their mouths but their movement is not meant to correlate to the actual dialog of the game. This can be a little jarring at first. Again, In honesty, this criticism feels akin to Gordan Ramsey after he just told you he loved your dish, adding ‘What would I change?’ It felt worth noting all the same.
Verdict
Open Roads is an engaging yet familiar road trip story, that makes the smart decision of banking most of that experience on the relationship between both leads. With good voice acting and exceptional art direction, I overall enjoyed my time on the open roads until the credits rolled.
Unfortunately, it’s just too hard to overlook just how short Open Roads ends up being. At 3 hours to complete its trophy list your car ride will be over long before you know it. This is almost a good issue to have as the short length is largely an issue because of just how much I enjoyed what there was in the experience. I didn’t regret my time though, and I think that says the most.
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Review For PlayStation 5, Also available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC
Developer: Open Roads Team
Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
Release Date: March 28th, 2024
A mother and daughter set out on a last minute road trip after discovering a hidden secret about their family.
Pros:
+Art Direction
+performances
+relatability
Cons:
- Short
- Some Narrative Decisions
-
Open Roads
