Beyond the barren deserts of Australia’s iconic Outback landscape lies a richly imagined post-apocalyptic world. Drop Bear Bytes, an Australian indie studio, envisioned how society might evolve in this unforgiving environment decades after catastrophe. Broken Roads follows a solitary adventurer as they explore the remnants of civilization and strive to rebuild community.
Life remains a struggle for settlements scattered across the vast, perilous outback. Security and resources are hard-won, with threats appearing suddenly on the horizon. Yet residents persevere, sustaining their homes through cooperation as much as combat. The player joins a group seeking answers about recent attacks, discovering a web of ideological divisions between factions. Each community survives according to its own principles, offering varying approaches on subjects like leadership, trade and human rights.
Beneath the surface dangers lurks moral complexity, challenging one’s notions of an just world. Drop Bear Bytes introduces an ingenious dialog system, directing choices along a spectrum of philosophical stances. Rather than predefined alignments, players must consider dilemmas from perspectives like humanism or nihilism. How does one attain the greater good through self interest alone? Is any life worth sacrificing for the many? The promise lies not in simple solutions, but engagement with real ideological gray areas that most games avoid.
Through its daring vision, Broken Roads aims to stimulate thought as much as action. By grounding adventures in thoughtful social issues, perhaps players can leave feeling Changed nearly as much as entertained. The Outback becomes a laboratory to experiment with building a better future, and ourselves, in the unforgiving rubble of the past.
Into the Outback
Beyond the story and setting, adventure awaits in the gameplay. When starting your journey, you’ll have the opportunity to craft a unique character with different backgrounds shaping how you meet allies and encounter challenges. As a trader from Kokeby, protecting supply caravans trained you in negotiation while life on the road opened your eyes to new philosophies.
Out in the outback, survival depends on sharpening your skills. Broken Roads offers classless progression letting you specialize how you choose. Expand abilities in ranged weapons, melee, or magic to overcome any threat. Exploration and completed tasks then level your character, though companions progress automatically. This flexible approach accommodates varied playstyles.
Combat brings the threat of attacks from marauders and mutated wildlife into focus. Turn-based groups engage in tactical cover shooting and ability usage. Early encounters present minor difficulties yet later forces challenge even experienced survivors. Overcoming such opposition requires improving armaments and honing party tactics.
Understanding locals and solving their problems drives the quest system. Conversations unfold nuanced roles to play while delivered tasks range from simple delivery jobs to complex social dilemmas. Philosophical stances then shape responses and additionally color interactions, consequences of aid, and stances of those met.
Hardship also emerges from bugs potentially disrupting progression. Quest triggers or objectives might fail to initiate as intended occasionally halting momentum. Through patience and creativity, workarounds often exist to continue the journey despite unforeseen obstacles. With some rough edges, Broken Roads embrace of choice and consequence nonetheless makes for a memorable trek into the unforgiving outback.
Exploring Ethics in the Outback Wasteland
The barren expanses of post-nuclear Australia provide a vivid backdrop for philosophical questions in Broken Roads. Decades after disaster transformed lush landscape into desert, isolated towns struggle to survive amid roving gangs.
Protagonist is thrust into this world, awakening with mysterious past in town of Brookton. But no rest comes, as raiders destroy village. Escaping flames, remains to unravel who attacks and why. Journey begins with only handful survivors, seeking answers across dystopian outback.
Travels reveal shattered remnants of civilization, each sheltering remnants in own manner. Some welcome newcomers, sharing what resources they hold. Others remain suspicious, warding off intruders by force or fear. Through dialogue, character learns of peoples’ philosophies, shaping relationships. Choices influence moral compass, opening doors to some while blocking others.
Roleplaying system offers role beyond violence, emphasizing thinking through problems. Morals guide dialogue options, shifting approach to dilemmas over justice, community and survival. Defining stance along axes such as humanism or utilitarianism. Outcomes vary, though paths remain rarely straightforward or clear-cut. Interactions matter as much as combat prowess.
While supporting cast exists, each stays enigmatic despite sharing road. Trauma of apocalypse and dangers of waste seep into souls, leaving scars. Yet companions open windows into prior world, keeping spirits of life before loss alive. By learning others’ depths, character can embrace what humanity remains as civilization crumbles under bleakest of skies.
Through this savage yet thoughtful world, player ponders what rebuild means. Which values warrant preserving, which ways advance societies reforged from ashes? No easy answers exist among raiders and ruins. Only open inquiry on journey’s end may offer signs to shape tomorrow, and mortal stakes make each reflection on life and its defenses matter.
“Blast through a retro-futuristic wasteland in our Turbo Kid review, a thrilling adventure where you ride, battle, and survive in a post-apocalyptic 1997. Join the Turbo Kid as he navigates through dangerous territories filled with marauders and mutants, all rendered in nostalgic 16-bit style.”
Broken Roads: A Thoughtful Game Hindered by Ambition
Broken Roads tries to pack an epic story and thoughtful roleplaying ideas into a modest runtime, and it strains under its own ambition. The game world is fascinating and explores serious themes, but it introduces them faster than it can develop them.
Much of the action involves traversing the barren Outback, having conversations to further short, self-contained quests. These discussions can be quite good, touching on philosophy and ethics in an engaging way. Yet they rarely affect the larger plot. With so many quests feeling disconnected, it’s easy to become distracted exploring side paths and forget your overall purpose.
The combat also suffers from a lack of polish and variety, despite intriguing ideas about skills and party roles. Fights often boil down to basic attacks rather than tactical thinking. Meanwhile, the story wraps up its central mystery quite abruptly after building intriguing political tensions.
For all its flaws, Broken Roads presents a game world I found truly imaginative. I was left wanting to learn more about its communities and characters, to see tougher moral choices and have my decisions truly shape the world. The game lays a great foundation but spreads itself too thin in construction.
Fans fascinated by grand RPGS with choice and consequence would find much to admire, if also plenty that could improve with more development time. More casual players may find the experience uneven. For those intrigued by Broken Roads’ concepts and willing to overlook technical flaws, diving into its post-apocalyptic Outback could offer memorable moments. But its lofty ambitions exceed its present reach. With polishing of its mechanics and expanding of its complex character work, Broken Roads could truly shine.
Outback Odyssey
Broken Roads takes players on an epic adventure across the wide, dusty plains of post-apocalyptic Australia. Though the journey is long, an engaging world and intriguing characters keep travelers company along the way.
Drop Bear Bytes crafted a setting deeply steeped in Aussie culture. From the blistering heat and red dirt underfoot, to townsfolk bantering with playful slang, the studio transported readers halfway around the world without leaving home. Each region felt alive with distinct communities, all showing humanity’s resilience in the harshest of environments. Moral dilemmas posed fascinating reflections on how societies form without rules.
Yet beneath the rich surroundings, some technical trouble slowed the trek. Bugs muddled quests and combat felt lackluster against endless foes. Companions contributed little beyond battle roles, missing chances for complex interplay. The tale wrapped too fast just as mysteries peaked, leaving travelers wanting more.
Still, Broken Roads demonstrated great potential. With polish and room to roam, this RPG could let philosophy and adventure thrive together on an epic scale. Drop Bear Bytes clearly poured heart into their homeland to share its stories with the world. Perhaps in time, after fixing a few creaks in the outback ute, they can drive us even deeper into their dazzlingly depicted wasteland and give this exploration the epic ending it deserves. For now, despite bumps in the road, Broken Roads delivers an memorable ride through a vibrant virtual outback.
The Review
Broken Roads
While Broken Roads shows flashes of brilliance in its deeply atmospheric setting and philosophical themes, shortcomings in its execution undermine the full potential of this post-apocalyptic Australian odyssey. Technical issues impair the journey, and companions as well as narrative fall short of engaging fully with intriguing ideas. With polish to strengthen core systems and extend its exploration of complex questions, this CRPG could truly shine.
PROS
- Richly realized post-apocalyptic Australian setting
- Fascinating exploration of philosophical themes and moral dilemmas
- Engaging characters and storytelling
- Atmospheric writing steeped in Australian culture
CONS
- Bugs that impaired quest progression and combat
- Shallow companion interactions and narrative resolutions
- Technical issues that weakened gameplay systems
- Short gameplay length that didn't fully deliver on ambitions
