Developer: Open Roads Team
Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
Available On: PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S
Reviewed on Xbox Series S
Several video games try to touch on themes of rocky familial relationships, generational secrets, and awkward adolescence, but there are few I would say hit as hard as Open Roads. This short narrative adventure game follows a mother and daughter as they embark on a road trip in search of answers to a decades-long family secret, complete with shocking revelations and painful truths. Clocking in at around 3 hours, Open Roads is a bit on the shorter side, but this actually works in its favor, creating a heartfelt and emotional story that can be completed in a single session. As I get ready to dive into two massive games back-to-back (Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth/Elden Ring), I’ve been looking for a few shorter games to play through before dumping hundreds of hours into something bigger, and let me tell you, Open Roads was exactly was I looking for.
Set in the year 2003, Open Roads tells the story of the Devine family. You play as Theresa (or “Tess”), a 16-year-old girl trying to balance high school, a part-time job at a video rental store, and plans for her future as a web designer. Opal, her single mother, is struggling to make ends meet while working at a local theater, but that’s sadly the least of her concerns. Opal’s mother, famous radio host/inspirational author Helen Devine has recently passed away, and the house she lived in with Tess and Opal is about to be reclaimed, forcing the mother and daughter pair to move out quickly and find a new place. While packing their belongings, Tess and Opal find some letters and photos hidden away that hint towards a family secret that stretches back to when Opal was a teenager herself. Despite the impending loss of the house and the need to find a new home, Tess and Opal decide to go on a road trip to the summer home the Devines frequented decades ago and find the answers to the mystery they’ve uncovered.
First and foremost, this is a character-driven story. While there is some first-person exploration to be had, much of the game is centered around the conversations between Tess and Opal as they try to unpack the past, analyze their present, and determine their future. Thanks largely to the powerhouse casting of Kaitlyn Dever as Tess and Keri Russell as Opal, these two characters feel wholly realized and left me captivated. Tess is struggling with wanting to blaze her own path forward and figuring out who she is, all while dealing with a mother who seems to be planning her life for her. Likewise, Opal is trying to navigate a life full of confusion and pain due to the cards she’s been dealt, and doing whatever she can to ensure her daughter doesn’t have to suffer like she has. While there’s undoubtedly love and respect between the two, there’s also a tension that comes with the growing pains of adolescence, and one of the things I think the game does a tremendous job with is presenting both sides of this conflict in a way that makes you understand where both of them are coming from. There are some heavy themes spread throughout this story, such as divorce, parental expectations, and generational trauma, and thankfully it handles these topics maturely and in a way that feels natural for a parent and child to discuss, which gives it an emotional staying power.
While the story and characters are likely what will stay with you the longest, it’s impossible to ignore the genuinely unique art style. Open Roads is what most people would consider a “walking simulator”, and what the game does to create a visually striking style is blend a 3D world for you to walk around in while incorporating hand-drawn 2D characters. The cutscenes have a graphic novel-like look to them, which is gorgeous to look at, but what truly stands out is the way you see the 2D hands of Tess come up on the screen while picking up notes and photos you find in the environment. This isn’t the first video game to mix 2D and 3D art, but the way it’s handled here is so incredibly impressive that I kept thinking “This is so cool” every time I saw the effect in action. The only negative side to this art style is that there’s a weird thing that happens during the cutscenes where the characters change facial expressions and posture, but their mouths don’t actually move while speaking, which is jarring since the game is fully voice-acted. It’s not a deal breaker, but it does feel odd and is hard to ignore once you notice it.
I also appreciated how perfectly it captures the spirit of the early 00s. Starting from the opening level where you’re packing up Tess’ room, the amount of period-accurate objects and the overall “vibe” are spot-on. Remember those erasers with fun shapes? How about those little electronic pets? DVD rental cases? There are several small things to be found as you’re packing up her room that just screams “2003”, and as someone who grew up as a kid in this era, I found it nostalgic. Likewise, the old Devine family summer home you visit for a huge chunk of the game is full of things from the 60s/70s, and while I personally wasn’t alive back then, I still enjoyed coming across things like Opal’s old lava lamp, board games from that period, and retro art supplies. While it might seem like a small thing in theory, making period-accurate locations to explore adds a layer of authenticity that I found to be engaging. In many ways, it feels eerily similar to a certain house-exploration indie game from 2013, which means it’s time to address the elephant in the room.
For all intents and purposes, Open Roads is a spiritual successor to Gone Home. Not only do both games share certain elements, such as exploring period-accurate settings and uncovering family secrets, but they also share the same dev team. Gone Home was released by “Fullbright”, but after one of their founders created a hostile and toxic work environment (particularly towards the women working there), the studio split with the founder leaving and the rest of the team ditching the “Fullbright” name and coming together as a new studio called “Open Roads Team”. It’s almost impossible to ignore Gone Home‘s influence on Open Roads, and as someone who adores that game, I found this one to itch a scratch I didn’t realize I’d had for this long. Needless to say, if you also enjoyed Gone Home you’re likely to see a lot of similarities in Open Roads and will probably enjoy it as well.
It’s hard to write this next part without spoiling anything, so I’m going to have to be intentionally vague. While the game goes on a winding path full of twists and turns, I think the ending is going to be extremely polarizing, and while I personally respect where this story eventually ends up, I can also understand why some people are going to be less than thrilled. I don’t think it’s as controversial as something like The Last of Us Part II, but I really want to stress that this is a game worth playing if you’re a fan of challenging stories.
Unfortunately, while there’s still a lot to appreciate and enjoy here, there are a small handful of bugs to deal with. The game is prone to slowdown while walking around the outside of the Devine summer home (particularly in the back of the residence), the camera occasionally locks up entirely for a second or two, and there seems to be an aim-assist feature that pulls your aiming reticle to certain items when you’re close enough to them, which can start acting haywire when multiple items are bunched up next to each other on something like a desk, table, or kitchen counter. All things considered, I didn’t think any of these things were game-breaking, and they happen infrequently enough to not pull down the experience to a point where it’s unplayable or unable to be enjoyed, but it might be worth waiting for a patch or two if they sound like a deal-breaker to you.
On a final note, I want to challenge those who may not be familiar with this kind of game to give it a chance. One of the things I’ve made an effort to attempt over the past few years is to branch out of my gaming comfort zone and try games of all sizes and styles. This focus on trying new genres and experiences has actually led to me falling in love with all kinds of games I wouldn’t have normally played but then found out they were something I didn’t know I was missing out on! True, having Game Pass removes the financial burden of wasting money on something that isn’t for me, but more often than not I’m finding myself learning more about video games and my own tastes by taking a chance on something small and random, and it’s not something I regret in the slightest.
FINAL VERDICT
Open Roads has the potential to be one of the hidden gems of 2024. While it’s been featured in a few showcases over the past year or two, it feels like it came out of nowhere, not unlike the family mystery at the core of this story. Fans of short narrative-adventure games will be pleased to know that Open Roads delivers on virtually everything that makes this genre so special. The story is intriguing, the characters make you feel invested in their plight, the locations you visit feel lived-in and realistic, and the sense of exploration is both rewarding and relaxing. There are a few bugs to deal with, as well as some elements of the story that are bound to be divisive, but fans of games in this genre (especially Gone Home) will want to make sure they don’t miss this one.
– Zack Burrows
Sight-In Games 