Synopsis: The prequel to Road 96. Play Zoe and Kaito where it all started. Challenge your beliefs!
Publisher: DigixArt, Ravenscourt
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
Also available for: PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC
Cast: Adi Alfa, Oliver Dabiri, Mikee Goodman, Leyla Hamilton, Ryan Highley, Collin Hill, Hylan Kaczmarek, Mark Kaczmarek, Mirabelle Kirkland, Angela Leblanc, Kole Quentier, Kengo Saito, Annie Warburton
Developer: DigixArt
Written by: Ian Reiley (writer), DigixArt Team (story)
Producer: Kevin Bard
Designers: Niels Enault, Tristan Hilaire, Jean Manzoni, Virgile Nebulone
Road 96 feels like it was released six months ago, but it was back in August 2021. Developer DigixArt has returned to the country of Petria with Road 96: Mile 0 to tell a prequel story focused on Zoe, a character players of Road 96 will know well, and Kaito, a character not from that game. Kaito is, however, from another game by DigixArt released in 2016 on mobile devices titled Lost in Harmony. Combining the narrative and character-driven gameplay segments of Road 96 with the musical rhythm of Lost in Harmony is a choice, but it works most of the time in Road 96: Mile 0.
There’s an odd design to Road 96: Mile 0, which makes it neither great for new players to this story nor those returning to Petria after playing Road 96. You control both Zoe and Kaito at different times, characters on different sides of the political and class systems. Your choices will push these characters towards either fighting against the totalitarian government in Petria, wanting to cross the border to a better life, or being a mindless citizen who accepts what the news tells them. However, these choices feel redundant, as anyone who has played Road 96 knows where Zoe ends up and if Kaito is with her when players meet her along their journey in that game. When I did my first playthrough, which took around 4–5 hours, I made every choice that fits with the Zoe I know from Road 96, and she ended the game where players will first meet her in that game. I started another playthrough and played for about an hour, making all the opposite choices for Zoe, but it feels like playing against the grain in a fruitless effort and rather pointless. At least when playing as Kaito, I knew nothing about him. I would have preferred Road 96: Mile 0 to ditch the choice-based system and tell a focused story, or focus on Kaito as the main character and have Zoe as a supporting character you can’t make decisions for instead.
After beating Road 96: Mile 0, I downloaded Lost in Harmony as it’s free on mobile devices, and that game’s musical rhythm elements in Mile 0 were instantly apparent. While in that game, each level is the rhythm section, Road 96: Mile 0 ends each “level” with a music segment. Usually, these come as Zoe and Kaito reach an emotional moment between themselves or other characters. The rhythm sections enable the game to portray the characters’ feelings in a heightened way, as well as the politics of the game in a visual way. This is most evident in one section where Zoe and Kaito are racing on the opposite side of the track, Zoe in the colourful and beautiful-looking city as the privileged daughter of a Minister, and Kaito in the “real Petria,” a run-down, depressed authoritarian city.
The music in Road 96: Mile 0 is a mix of original songs and then randomly licensed ones chucked in like The Offspring have a song here. Similar to Lost in Harmony, either Zoe on rollerblades or Kaito on a skateboard will move automatically while you have to move them left or right to dodge things, as well as press a button to jump over or duck under obstacles. Sometimes QTE events appear on the screen that you’ll be scored on. It’s not really a rhythm game in the way most know, but the music elements are fun and used in interesting ways to crescendo or showcase the major narrative beats. However, this isn’t a game you’ll pick up to play the songs for alone.
There will be a lot of confusion for players picking up Road 96: Mile 0 without having played Road 96. This game loves to cameo characters from Road 96 and linger them on-screen long enough for you to spot them, but for anyone who has yet to play Road 96, all of these moments will feel odd.
As someone who enjoyed Road 96 but wrote in my review of that game that “the politics feel too childish to be helpful at times,” not much has changed in Road 96: Mile 0. The game has a lot to say about social classes, governments, racism and more, but the musical segments being used at the curtain call for most of these beats means they’re often undercut with silly imagery or played off as a bit of fun. I enjoy this world, and returning for one more adventure was a short but worthwhile adventure. However, if I play another game with any of these characters next, it better be post–Road 96.
(Road 96: Mile 0 code provided for review)
