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Road 96: Mile 0 review – alternative route

Road 96: Mile 0 review – alternative route
Road 96: Mile 0 – Zoe and Kaito have very different backgrounds (pic: Ravenscourt)



One of the best indie games of 2021 gets an unexpected prequel, as the follow-up to Road 96 continues its critique of modern populist politics .



Lo-fi indie games aren’t usually the most obvious candidates to be turned into franchises, but 2021’s Road 96 – an intelligent, thought-provoking effort which made clever use of procedural generation – must have done pretty well, since it has now spawned a prequel, subtitled Mile 0. With Mile 0, French developer DigixArt has again demonstrated a thoughtful approach to its craft: while it preserves the original’s distinctive vibe, it offers a notably different gameplay experience, along with further insight into one of Road 96’s most memorable characters.



Road 96 was set in the fictional country of Petria, a very rundown place ruled by the tinpot populist Tyrak, and took the form of a series of road trips featuring teenagers trying to make it over the border, assisted by a rebel organisation (vilified as ‘terrorists’) called the Black Brigade. Mile 0 zooms in on a period just months before the events depicted in the original game, restricting the number of characters you control to two, and exposing the roots of the Black Brigade.



The characters you play as are Zoe, who featured heavily in the original game, and Kaito, who is previously unseen. The former is the trombone-playing teenage daughter of Petria’s oil minister, while Kaito is from the wrong side of the tracks: his parents live in a tiny basement flat in the posh part of Petria, working badly paid jobs for Petria’s gentry. Zoe, meanwhile, hangs out with Tyrak’s son Colton and is assigned a bodyguard against her will.



They may be an odd pair, but both are sparky and share an interest in skating – Zoe on rollerskates and Kaito on a skateboard – as well as a hideout in a building site in Petria’s exclusive White Sands district. Each segment of the narrative journey they embark upon features an endless runner style skating section, as they either escape from pursuers or embark on fantasy skating sessions in a bid to make sense of what is going on in their teenage brains. And as their odyssey nears its climax, they must put those skating skills to practical use.



Road 96: Mile 0 isn’t just about skating. Its action sequences exist within a similar point ‘n’ click adventure framework to that of the original game, so there are also plenty of mini-games to play and puzzles to solve. The action sequences are simple but effective in gameplay terms, requiring you to dodge obstacles by steering with precision, jumping and ducking, all the while accumulating points by collecting jewels.



It isn’t massively sophisticated, but it is fun, and you’re given a score at the end of each sequence which adds replay value to what is a pretty short game – it can be completed in about six hours. The possibility of different endings, and an abundance of points at which your conversational choices will influence what happens later in the story, also ramp up the replayability.



Mile 0 offers a great nostalgia trip for those who enjoyed Road 96: many of the key characters who featured in the original, such as Sonya, the dippy TV presenter; her driver Adam; teenage inventor Alex; and John the lorry driver make a comeback and, due to the game’s timeline, have more of their backstories filled in. There are plenty of new characters, too, such as Tyrak’s son Colton and other characters from the first game are cleverly alluded to without actually being seen.



Road 96: Mile 0 – skating is a big part of the game (pic: Ravenscourt)



Once again, there are moral dilemmas to navigate, with events having the potential to ruin Zoe and Kaito’s relationship, for example. The writing is sharp throughout, with plenty of humour, and, if anything, an even sharper takedown of the language and behaviour of authoritarian populists than the one found in Road 96. Which makes sense, given how populism has barely receded from politics since 2021.



Once again, DigixArt has come up with a thought-provoking, intelligent game, which invites us to examine the world in which we live through the prism of Petria, an unforgiving, often bleak place, but one which is so beautifully realised that it’s a joy to return to.







That said, it’s debatable whether Road 96: Mile 0 is an essential purchase, even though it won’t make much of a dent in your wallet. Those who played and enjoyed Road 96 will definitely find it an enticing prospect, while those who decide to embark on a chronological journey, starting with Mile 0, should bear in mind that Road 96 offers a much more substantial gameplay experience. One which is also far more innovative thanks to its use of procedural generation to create the feeling that you’re navigating a road movie of your own making.



While it’s more action-oriented than Road 96, Mile 0 is still a point ‘n’ click adventure at heart, a genre which many gamers regard as somewhat archaic. But if you like games that are well written, atmospheric, and thought-provoking this is a journey worth taking.






Road 96: Mile 0 review summary In Short: A prequel to Road 96, that adds skating mini-games but removes the procedural generation of the original – but it’s still engagingly written, and has a lot to say.
Pros: Great writing and dialogue, plus decent endless runner-influenced action sequences. Adds backstory and context to the original game, genuinely funny at times despite its dark undercurrent.
Cons: Pretty short. Lacks the original game’s road movie feel and the sense that you’re generating the story.
Score: 7/10





Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, and PC Price: £9.99 Publisher: Ravenscourt Developer: Digixart Release Date: 4th April 2023 Age Rating: 16



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MORE : Road 96 review – indie road movie construction kit







MORE : Road 96 Facebook ad blocked for being too political – ends up promoting the game anyway







MORE : The Last Of Us Part 1 PC review – the worst of us





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