Broken Roads Review – A Fairly Mediocre RPG

My fondness for RPG video games mainly stems from how creative they can become and how different they are from other video game genres. Each RPG title becomes a portal to explore other universes filled with possibilities and looping gameplay. So, I recently ventured into the irradiated wasteland of Broken Roads and faced the harsh reality of the post-apocalyptic world.

Story And Setting

In post-apocalyptic Australia, a devastating war has left the outback barren and radioactive. This game stands out because of its unique setting, which features the ruins of once-great cities and vast expanses of dunes. Broken Roads offers a new but overused perspective on a common theme in the gaming industry

Broken Roads’ storyline follows a basic structure, but as you progress further, it becomes non-linear, mainly due to the Moral Compass system.

Your character is just an ordinary person trying to survive in a world where people have divided themselves into factions, all struggling to survive. This could have been an amazing and engaging experience, but it fell short because of how limited the scope feels as you progress through the game, mainly due to its short storyline that doesn’t stick with the player after it ends.

Broken Roads’ storyline follows a basic structure, but as you progress further, it becomes non-linear, mainly due to the Moral Compass system. Since it is a round compass, you cannot walk on the straight path of morality, and some of the decisions in this game embrace major philosophies.

Morality Compass Has Considerable Effects On Storyline And Decisions

In Broken Roads, the story changes based on the choices you make. A fairly old concept you may have seen in other games but here your morality influences the dialogues which in turn can change the tide of events.

It is a very interesting feature implemented behind the game’s core decisions. Moral Compass illuminates four different philosophies divided into four quadrants, with a golden arc in the center reflecting your views on the world.

Moral Compass impressed me, and I would count this as one of the very few highlights of this game.

As you make more decisions in one moral compass quadrant, the golden arc’s outer edge will expand further to the other quadrants. As I have said before, the post-apocalyptic wasteland has blurred everyone’s morals so much that you are incapable of making your typical binary choice of what’s right and what’s wrong.

Since decisions were constantly being gauged by Moral Compass, I had to think before making a dialogue choice. Any choice can alter the game’s future direction or even lead a simple meeting into combat conflict. Moral Compass impressed me, and I would count this as one of the very few highlights of this game.

Gameplay

I was bummed by some decisions made in this game, mainly the few initial chapters quite take some time to set things up, which can feel quite linear. The gameplay does pick up after the Brookton attack, which proved to be a game-changing event. 

Although the story is interesting, the pacing slows down during combat and takes some time to pick back up again.

I had to make sure I was hoarding enough scavenged materials in my inventory so I could partake in aggressive battery with the NPCs. This is how you can get access to weapons and other usable that aid you in combat. Since the inventory doesn’t hold any limited slots, you can pretty much pick up anything and hoard it. 

Broken Roads is a mashup of different genres that surprisingly work together, but mainly in the core; it is a turn-based RPG title. I am no stranger to turn-based RPGs, so I was immediately invested in this game by the first playthrough. But my enthusiasm didn’t last long. 

Fairly Lackluster Combat System

I have mixed feelings about Broken Roads gameplay. For starters, I have found the combat system to be lacking. I would have preferred it if the game had focused more on the narrative and RPG elements. Although the story doesn’t bore you, it does slow down during combat and takes some time to pick back up again.

Regarding combat, you have to keep two things in mind—your movement and action points. They decide how long you can stay in combat. The cool thing is that they’re separate, so you can use them to your advantage. For example, you can engage your enemies while staying in cover or even move to a better position if needed.

There is nothing too flashy, and it doesn’t evolve later in the game. However, you can add companions to your party. Companions provide huge assistance in combat, but this is as integral to the game as they can get. I didn’t find them important or impactful to the storyline, but I can appreciate any help I can get.

Visuals And Performance

I’m not really into flashy visuals. I prefer a good story over eye candy. Broken Roads’ graphics may not be groundbreaking, but it gets the job done. After all, it’s about surviving in a hot, sandy environment where every single living thing could be a potential threat to you.

Broken Roads looks cool and focuses more on the atmosphere than how you play the game

I admired the development team’s dedication to visiting the real-life Australian landscape and capturing it as realistically as possible in this game. It is the effort that counts, and it certainly enhanced the broody atmosphere. If only the team were this dedicated to improving game combat and below-average short storyline.

Not every game needs to have amazing graphics. Broken Roads looks cool and focuses more on the atmosphere than how you play the game. This is great because now the game is widely accessible to everyone. I also observed high fps on my PC setup without experiencing massive drops.

Verdict

My concluding thoughts are riddled with disappointment for this game. Some of the aspects of Broken Roads are pretty well done especially the dreadful post-apocalyptic atmosphere. However, the potential stays hidden and developers didn’t do much to further enhance the experience. Broken Roads’s dreadful atmosphere isn’t good enough to save its lackluster combat, flat characters, and below-average storyline.

It is a broken world where humanity still flickers like a weak flame, but it doesn’t have to be uninteresting. The short storyline, lack of combat system, and flat characters don’t give much to do, but if you are keen on exploration and adventure, you will find some mileage in Broken Roads. As for me, the road ends here.

That’s all from me. While you browse our website, feel free to look at our other detailed reviews.

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