Shame to admit, but I had this game in my library unplayed for a long time, until one day I decided to try it. I played for 8 hours straight and couldn't stop. Truly an amazing experience

One of those games that comes around so rarely it makes me sad. It's an adventure in terms of of it's genre tag, but adventure in terms of it's flowing, revealing, sometimes emotional story and also an adventure for your head and heart. It's that sort of game that you really fall into.

Gameplay-wise, it's all about choices, understanding the scenarios and people around you and determining the beliefs and motivations of your character. Action and tension come in the form of the many set pieces, beautifully rendered in it's own sun-basted art style and delivered by a set of characters just deep enough to make you care and just caricatured enough to keep you smiling.

And there is plenty of comedy despite the dark undertone. If you really don't like any politics in gaming you might choose to steer clear but even then it is deeply satirical, and you'd miss out on the other aspects of intrigue, subterfuge and companionship which fill the story via a wide series of procedurally-timed events.

It's almost certainly a story you'll want to play over, and you'll need to several times if you want to understand the full context and make the connections between the various road-trippers and the dystopian setting. But it is no slog to do so, each run is short, snappily delivered and offering up a new piece of the story.

There are long-standing debates about whether video games can be art, and whether video game writing is ever good enough. This outstanding game is a strong vote for "they can be" on both counts

This game will always hold a very special place in my heart. To call this a game feels like an understatement, as this experience was a lot more than a game to me. It's a beautiful, thought provoking, emotional adventure that taught me a lot of things along the way. Road 96 brought me a new perspective on life, one that spurred a positive change in me as an individual.