Three years after the pacifist 11-11: Memories Retold, DigixArt returns with Road 96, a narrative road trip that continues to betray director Yoan Fanise’s manpowering obsessions. Made again in Montpellier, but in a dystopian universe between the USA and the Soviet Union we swallowed the kilometers.
After asking ourselves a few questions about what to look for when we see a movie (rat!) Or our report on political protest, Street 96 Immediately plunge us into his world of encounters, asphalt and stopovers: at the head of a teenage girl (the adventure is partly procedural), we must leave Petria at all costs, this damn land in the hands of an autocrat who is ready to read everything and who does not hear let no one leave the land. Atmosphere, even if the director likes to play clichés:
In Ptria there is a lot of misery and galley, corruption is an almost natural way to find money. The game is also very cartoonish, we play with the clichés a lot and we love it. It was in the 90s too.
Let go of the dogs!
But to believe the desert landscapes, the pine forests and the caravans that criss-cross the kilometers, Petria has everything Road movie American, and it is certainly not the visual aspect that is borrowed from the national parks and inevitably reminds of the very narrative Firewatch that makes us think differently. At this first contact we are at the wheel of an old sled, the interior is cleverly arranged, because an opposition flyer reminds us of the upcoming election, which is being held in advance, the current President Tyrak seems to be controlling a huge state propaganda and is happy about it catch up with the fugitives by throwing their equipment to the police and forcing his boot. Who obviously has to make noise.
But the political situation hardly seems to worry Alex, a hitchhiker fetches a copy of while she is too concentrated on her game Tanks 1990 that we can quickly try (and try to improve) after changing a few lines of dialogue just to reposition the plot. If the young programmer doesn’t hesitate to give us all falsely cool nicknames of the time, the tone changes radically, evoking a mysterious attack that happened ten years earlier, in 1986. One thing is already certain: you will have to end the adventure more than once to understand all the details:
Each path is unique and many sequences are not that easy to unlock. The player will often be able to express himself through his actions without realizing important butterfly effects that can change the fate of the country.
Neon yellow west
The replayability of the title is evident in the sequence below, when our hero is forced to stop refueling and face the hostility of the local tank attendant. The many posters in the area leave no a priori doubt about the outcome of the vote, and research rewards are rising, even for those who would repeat those ugly teenagers on the run who want to cross the border. Neither one nor two, the guy blackmailed us and we had to serve customers who were passing quickly and who were forced to cover their cost or liter needs. Trying to show 12 liters and no more drop is here a mini-game that is absolutely not a penalty!
We didn’t want to reduce the interactions to the choice of dialogues, especially no walking simulator, because we like the gameplay at the risk of a strong ludo-narrative dissonance. Each sequence is designed around several key elements of the scenario, and in particular a gameplay activity we call “Kid’s Surprise”.
But the police returned quickly, and the previously quite free dialogue options are sometimes conditional: If we can treat the cops (properly) by “Fascos” for free, it will be necessary to master one of the six skills of the game. (cracking locks, lucky charms, intelligence, government ID, energy or hacking) to get out of all situations. The narrative lacks a few plans to keep it flowing, but we understand, given the demeanor that characterizes the local authorities, that escaping can be very difficult.
However, some choices that the player is free to make have implications. okay, and this preview session makes us think that next Street 96 could well end in a popular revolution or a more peaceful transition through the ballot box.
We can also mark the posters of one or the other camp, and why not both, as long as we claim a third way:
It was unthinkable to judge the player’s choices: he is free, and that is the essence of the road trip. You have to find your way around, form an opinion through encounters and understanding of this complex world. It’s funny to see how player behavior sometimes changes too late during the game, with dire consequences.
Paft Dunk
Street 96 is made to be played and played again, and so our second session begins in a completely different order, as our teenage girl on the run sits badly in the sidecar of a motorcycle that starts at full speed this time, for ever reason: The comic duo responsible has just committed a violent slump.
Without a passenger compartment, interactions are more limited, and hence a dialogue of the deaf begins, allowing you to enjoy the Simon Delacroix soundtrack that is deliciously anchored in the 1990s and that will surely be reminiscent of those who went to electro for the great Hours that this decade offers.
We could then believe that Street 96 put a lot of emphasis on his dialogues, but forgetting that we have to rely on a lot of mini-games: exit the gas pump, the cops are our equipment again, and for lack of ammunition we have no choice but to throw the wads of banknotes one by one to slow them down. The psychedelic display that then appears on the screen shows the level of police corruption, which should be pushed to the maximum in order to be able to breathe easy. It’s crazy. Tyrak’s troops therefore give up in the end, and it is up to us to continue the adventure on foot, by bus, as we are still several hundred kilometers from a gentle freedom …
WE ARE WAITING FOR … A THIN IN THE AIR!
Escape and fight the oppressors against the backdrop of electro retro, which bodes well for the new game from DigixArt. The few kilometers downriver will have enabled us to meet lovable personalities, and the few mini-games on offer give hope for real surprises. Hopefully the final version, which we will discover by the end of 2021, will go the distance on Google Stadia, PC and Switch.
