“Keep Driving” is included in the Steam Next Fest and it reminds me of that time I drove halfway across the country to a lake not far from my home

At some point during the journey you say to yourself “hang in there, I don’t think this is going to take much” this Fucking golden dragon’.

Roads are constantly emerging and there are spaces between A and B that may prevent you from getting from A to B. That’s fine if you know what you’re doing, but, what’s annoying is that you’re a borderline useless fool still trying to recover from acne. And, worst of all, your ego isn’t big enough to consider somehow convincing you otherwise.

this is your life Keep drivinga role-playing game where your goal is to drive your crappy engine to your partner’s house so you can play the game on a little cartridge because it has a retro vibe to it. This was my life a few years ago when I decided to go for a ride on the reservoir alone in the Ford Fiesta my grandpa bought for me.

As you do in Keep Driving, I hit more obstacles that day than I planned, and after telling my dad I was going out and reading some philosophical mumbo jumbo that I pretended I didn’t find it hard to listen to Say one side of a body of water has beautiful scenery. The main one is that I actually have no idea how long the trip there and back will take. Sure, I had found directions on Google Maps, seen the distance indicated by the little blue line, and seen how long it was expected to take, but none of that really sunk in.

In this, I’m a little different from the nameless protagonist in “Keep Driving,” who, in true Dominic Toretto style, plots his journey one road at a time. From corner stores to garages to places where you can work odd jobs to make some pocket money, what are the amenities you need most in every little gas station? How much gasoline is left in the car’s tank? How much is left of the car itself? All of this, along with your character’s overall state, is in a constant state of flux.

Sometimes they are hungry, sometimes they are cold, sometimes they are inspired. Sometimes they need some toilet paper to clean up so the group of people they hitchhiked with on their trip don’t start complaining about horrible things smell.

Life moves at your pace, and on each stretch of the road you have to fight two or three obstacles in turn-based combat, which makes life even more interesting. Everyone is tall and tough until they and their ride encounter a puddle, a blurry lane, or a tractor that needs to be overtaken.

In the wonderfully surreal back-and-forth between the abilities you and your hitchhikers unlock and the threats to your energy, car durability, and fuel usage, there’s something that hits home for any inexperienced driver. Hit the nail on the head. . Just like they are on your test, every little incident you encounter on the road isn’t something you can easily fix, as those with more driving experience inevitably will.

It’s a matter of life and death, and crashes can lead to you having to choose between horrific options like walking to the next town to get gas, or risking calling your parents, which will lead to a game of if they don’t like you enough Just don’t answer the phone.

To help solve these problems, you need to fill your engine with a bunch of stuff. A ratty little survival kit that can be used in a moment of personal weakness, or when you’ve spray-painted this crappy sedan black, added a turbine, and slapped some flame decals on it and decided to wrangle its briefs, Then a warning light got stuck. A toolbox, a case of beer, a slice of pizza, headache tablets, a bar of soap, a trumpet, a bag of coke or the joint you bought from a sinister villain in a hoodie, all contribute to this gently lapping shore A sea of ​​soup fills your boot and rear footwell, constantly eroding and replenishing around some ephemeral dumplings that are all going somewhere, that’s all.

Unlike me, in my real world, where on summer whims I always want to reach that reservoir, the idleness that inevitably comes with one trying to reach adulthood, “Keep Driving” gives It gives you about three days to arrive at your partner’s home and start playing the game you’ve been told like one of the wise men from the Bible.

If you’re like me, you’ll finish running the Steam Next Fest demo for the first time and then immediately come back to see more. They have been walking those roads.