Broken Roads is a post-apocalyptic role-playing game set in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. Players lead a party of up to five characters, engaging in a blend of turn-based tactical combat and classic RPG mechanics. Broken Roads employs a distinctive Moral Compass system. The player’s actions, including dialogue choices and mission outcomes, are plotted on a compass spanning four quadrants: utilitarian, humanistic, machiavellian, and nihilistic. The player’s position on this Moral Compass grants specific characteristics that influence gameplay. Similarly, companions and key characters possess their own compasses, shaping their reactions to the player’s decisions and statements.
Broken Roads distinguishes itself as a true role-playing experience. Player choices directly impact the narrative, and initial responses to in-game questions define a character’s personality, which remains immutable throughout the playthrough. This system ensures that each playthrough offers a unique experience, contingent upon the player’s initial character creation choices. Throughout the game, players will confront a series of challenging moral dilemmas. From the outset, Broken Roads establishes the significance of these choices and foreshadows their impact on the unfolding narrative.
The game’s Australian setting and characters evoke comparisons to the Mad Max movies, while its isometric perspective and gameplay mechanics are reminiscent of the original Fallout games from 1997 and 1998. The game employs a similar isometric view and character movement system. While some characters feature voiced dialogue, the majority of interactions are text-based. The graphics are detailed and boast a simple yet stylish aesthetic. The visual fidelity inspires thoughts of a potential Fallout remaster with a similar level of graphical polish.
Combat encounters are turn-based, akin to those found in Fallout, and emphasize strategic decision-making. While initially straightforward, the combat system quickly evolves in complexity and difficulty. As with other similar titles, players gather resources to upgrade equipment or trade for new items, and experience gained translates into new or improved abilities.
Broken Roads demands attentiveness from the player, as every decision has the potential to influence the game’s outcome. Selecting the wrong companion or antagonizing the wrong individual can have significant repercussions later in the game.
The game’s structure ensures that each playthrough differs, dependent on player choices. Replaying the game to explore the consequences of alternative decisions is a key aspect of the experience. While the narrative, in my opinion, may not necessarily warrant multiple playthroughs, I found a single playthrough to be satisfying.
In conclusion, Broken Roads is a well-crafted and stylish game, remarkable in its simplicity. However, given that computer role-playing games have a niche appeal, a universal recommendation is not possible – although I would highly recommend it to enthusiasts of the genre!
Versus Evil provided a review code for this assessment. The providers of materials do not exert editorial influence over our reviews.
