Developer: DigixArt Studio
Publisher: Ravenscourt
Release Date: 4th April 2023
Platforms: Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, Windows, Switch
Reviewed on: PS4 Pro
▫️ code provided by the publisher ▫️
Road 96: Mile 0 is a prequel to 2021 / 2022’s Road 96, a narrative driven first person adventure game – or walking simulator if you like- from DigixArt Studio. I played the game recently when I picked it up in a PSN Store sale and thoroughly enjoyed it. While it definitely had some flaws – which are largely shared with this follow up release – it was a really intriguing approach to telling a game’s story. The game required multiple run throughs to gradually unfold the interweaving stories of a range of NPCs you encounter, together with how these slot together into the bigger narrative of the game’s events.
Road 96 did this by chaining together multiple series of procedurally generated short episodes in each “journey” to the border of a fictional nation, Petria. The game even proclaimed that every journey was different and for me this was its main strength. Playing through to see developments in the various characters you encounter and seeing the main plotlines fall into place. Of course the player’s decisions influenced these proceedings – literally to the extent of life and death in some cases.
To finish the main story in Road 96 required eight play throughs, each with a different ending. This may sound repetitive but it really isn’t – as noted each run was completely different – the only part that was the same was the final approach to the border. But, the way in which the characters crossed, or failed to cross, had eight different variations.
Mile 0 has almost none of that and to me it suffers greatly because of it. I appreciate the studio have attempted to try something different without repeating the mechanic of the original game but I don’t think what they have done works.
My biggest problem with Mile 0 is the introduction of so-called “Psychedelic Ride” sequences. These are sections of gameplay akin to runner style games with a rhythmic element. The two characters ride either a skateboard or roller skates down a track, jumping and ducking to avoid obstacles, collecting items and at times pushing buttons in QTE esque style.
We still have first person sections which typically involve fairly straightforward puzzles, dialogue choice and some rudimentary exploration. Even these I felt were a poor shadow of the original game which had a myriad of different scenarios you would encounter. It felt a bit lazy to me. A good example was near the end of the game when we wanted to access the same shed we had broken into near the start – and we do it exactly the same way!
I went with the game the first few times I encountered the ride sections but really didn’t enjoy them at all. It is a gameplay style far removed from the first person narrative adventure I had enjoyed in the original Road 96 and wanted more of in its prequel. I noted that the review notes said these sections were skippable so this is indeed what I ended up doing. However, there isn’t even any easy way to do this – the game only offers you the choice to skip after you die five times at a particular section. And even then it only skips ahead to the next checkpoint. Any given “ride” could easily have half a dozen checkpoints or more so even skipping as quickly as possible would take a few minutes to get through each ride.
What’s more, even though they are skippable and largely standalone sections, there are some narrative choices contained in these rides. As noted, after the first three or so rides I just skipped through as quickly as I could so I’m fairly sure some of my “choices” would have been random.
Having said that, I don’t think that is such a huge deal as the story in Mile 0 is nowhere near as engaging as its predecessor. Set slightly before the events in Road 96, Mile 0 tells the stories of Zoe, a character we met in the previous game and Kaito, a new character in the Road 96 series but apparently from a previous DigixArt game, Lost in Harmony.
The main events of the game revolve around the relationship between these two but to me was never really compelling – I never particularly cared about either of them. I could probably say something similar about the individual characters in the original game but what I did care about was the way in which the various stories intertwined and gradually built up to form a strong narrative arc. There is some of that in Mile 0 – the last hour or so of the game in particular finished stronger – but not enough for me to find satisfaction.
During the course of the game both characters have a belief gauge which shifts their attitude along a spectrum in a similar fashion to a paragon / renegade system. This isn’t clearly explained by the game but is intuitive enough to understand what is happening. What it doesn’t do is have any immediate effect on the gameplay. Both characters have important end game decisions to make though and this is where their beliefs kick in. I did like this and as I’ve mentioned, the narrative aspect of Mile 0 did play a more important role as the game reached its conclusion. I saw my ending but presumably the number of permutations of different endings must be quite high. I have no inclination for another play through to find out however.
Having never played Lost in Harmony I can’t comment about Kaito’s characterisation in that game but in Mile 0 he is a caricature of an Asian immigrant. In fact, his whole family is: his mother and father have strong accents and work blue collar jobs. Again, the word I want to use is lazy, the game relies on stereotypes. Zoe, the other protagonist, is a typical rich-girl-rebelling-but-has-a-nice-side character we have seen in many Hollywood movies.
Mile 0 retains the stylised look that the original game used – it’s bright, colourful and somewhat cartoony. While this is obviously a design choice, one of my criticisms of Road 96 was that this visual approach was somewhat at odds with the serious, rather dark, story and subject matter. Or maybe it’s intentional to lighten the mood! It’s probably a fairly marmite approach and I fall into the not really liking it camp for both games.
The soundtrack to Mile 0 is definitely one of its stronger points. The aforementioned Psychedelic Ride scenes are all set to music and these tracks are all high quality ones. The in game music is similarly really enjoyable and does evoke the time period the game is set in (1996).
I feel like I’m being quite harsh in the review but I can’t get away from the conclusion that for me DigixArt have abandoned what made Road 96 great and highly enjoyable: the interweaving narratives of multiple characters and the concept of a journey. They have done this to shoehorn in a chunk of unenjoyable, incongruous gameplay: the “Psychedelic Rides” sequences which I quite quickly found annoying and started skipping pretty quickly.
I mentioned a previous DigixArt game, Lost in Harmony, and by all accounts this is what the rides are based on. However, this game doesn’t review particularly well (it has a Metacritic score of 63 on Switch) so I would suggest bringing its gameplay into Road wasn’t the wisest design decision the studio could have made.
I should probably stop for a second and remind myself that Mile 0 is a prequel rather than a sequel. Did DigixArt reuse existing game assets from the original Road 96 and this Lost in Harmony in order to bring out a new title in a shorter spell than developing a full new game? I obviously can’t answer that but at the same time I can point out that this game isn’t anything like a full price title. It’s retailing for £10.99 which is obviously an extremely attractive price point and indeed cheaper than Road 96 itself still sells for (currently £15.99 on PSN Store).
For me the gameplay of the “Psychedelic Rides” was a total turn off and the narrative driven parts of the game were far weaker than Road 96 so I am seriously disappointed by Mile 0. I would recommend watching some videos of the rides’ gameplay before buying – it may be to some players’ enjoyment but I am sceptical.
I really hope that DigixArt can put their energy into creating a true sequel to Road 96 which returns to the incredibly rich narrative style which made the original game so much fun and satisfying. This prequel falls far short of the high bar they set previously.
-Calum
