Broken Roads Review Summary

Engaging narrative, meaningful choices: The game's narrative is a strong point, featuring engaging stories, well-developed characters, and meaningful choices that impact the plot and character relationships. The morality system, often based on philosophical concepts, adds depth to decision-making and enhances player investment.

Unique, immersive setting and atmosphere: The game features a unique and well-realized setting, often described as beautiful and immersive, with detailed graphics, a distinct art style, and a strong sense of atmosphere. The Australian setting, in particular, is praised for its originality and refreshing take on the post-apocalyptic genre.

Authentic Australian setting/culture: The game authentically represents Australian culture, incorporating slang, environments, and wildlife to create a unique and immersive experience. The inclusion of in-game translations for Australian slang is a positive feature, making the game accessible to a wider audience.

Interesting moral compass mechanic: The game features an original and interesting moral compass mechanic that moves beyond simple good vs. evil choices. It allows players to explore different philosophical concepts, influencing dialog options and plot outcomes.

Active developer support/improvements: The developers are actively supporting the game with continuous updates, addressing bugs, and implementing improvements based on player feedback. This dedication to ongoing development and responsiveness to the community is viewed positively.

Combat is simple and uninspired: The combat system is criticized for being simplistic, easy, and uninspired, with limited tactical options and repetitive encounters. Many reviewers found it boring and underdeveloped, suggesting it's not a core focus of the game. Some even found it too easy, becoming trivial after a few level ups.

Story and quests feel unfinished: The story feels rushed, disjointed, and ultimately unsatisfying, especially towards the end. Quests often lack clear direction, meaningful choices, and are plagued by bugs, leading to player frustration and a sense of incompleteness. The world feels empty and static, with repetitive fetch quests and limited exploration.

Game feels clunky and unpolished: The game suffers from a lack of polish, with clunky controls, a problematic UI (especially inventory management), and a general feeling of being unfinished. Players often get lost due to unclear objectives and poor signposting. These issues detract from the overall experience and contribute to player frustration.

Ending is disappointing and anticlimactic: The ending is disappointing and lacks closure, with player choices having little impact on the final outcome. Late-game locations feel contrived and unrealistic, failing to justify the protagonist's philosophical leanings.

Morality system is superficial: The morality system is criticized for being superficial and lacking meaningful impact on the game world or story. Choices often feel inconsequential, and the system itself seems like a tacked-on gimmick rather than an integral part of the gameplay. Philosophical themes are poorly implemented and feel awkward.

Text heavy, dialogue-driven: The game is very text heavy and dialogue-driven, with less emphasis on combat. Some reviewers found the quests straightforward and dialogue to end abruptly.

Insignificant character builds/skills: Some reviewers found character builds, party composition, and many skills to be insignificant, with loot being unremarkable or useless. This suggests a lack of meaningful character customization and progression, reducing the impact of player choices on combat effectiveness.

Simple leveling system: The level progression system is simple and easy to understand. However, some reviewers felt that the leveling system and perks had potential, but many options felt unnecessary due to the game's overall ease.

Weapons use no ammo: Weapons in the game do not require ammo, but the number of shots before needing to reload is limited. This simplifies weapon management but may impact the strategic use of weapons in combat.

Ineffective cover system: The game features a cover system, but small arenas and limited movement points reduce its effectiveness. Cover and flank attack systems are present, though difficult to identify.

Inconsistent bug reports and crashes: Reports on bugs are mixed, with some players experiencing many bugs and crashes (even leading to quitting), while others encounter none. This inconsistency suggests that bugs may be platform-specific or triggered by certain hardware configurations or gameplay choices. The presence of bugs needing cleanup impacts the overall experience.

Good Steam Deck experience: The game appears to be well-optimized for the Steam Deck. Reviewers specifically mention comfortable controls and easily readable text, indicating a positive handheld gaming experience.

Cloud and manual saves: The game features both cloud saves and the ability to manually save at any time outside of battles. These are welcome features that provide players with flexibility and security in managing their game progress.

Noticeable loading screen times: Loading times between different map areas are reported to be around 4-5 seconds when using an .m2 SSD. While not excessively long, these loading screens may interrupt the flow of gameplay for some players.

Animation quality inconsistent: Animation quality sometimes fails to keep pace with the intensity of combat or important story events. This can detract from the overall presentation and impact of key moments in the game.

Qualified recommendation with reservations: The game receives mixed reviews, with many reviewers suggesting to try it, but with reservations. Some recommend it for fans of the genre or those new to CRPGs, while others advise waiting for updates or a sale due to bugs and unfulfilled potential. Many reviewers express hope for future improvements.

Wait for a sale: Many reviewers suggest waiting for a sale before purchasing the game. This is due to concerns about the game's content, bugs, or overall value proposition at full price. Purchasing on sale is seen as a lower-risk way to experience the game and support the developers.

Unique setting and morality focus: The game's unique Australian setting and focus on morality are seen as strengths. Reviewers appreciate the incorporation of Australian and Aboriginal culture, as well as the ethical dilemmas presented in the game.

Lacks depth and feels bland: The game's ambition exceeds its execution, resulting in shallow gameplay mechanics. Reviewers note a lack of depth in the systems, combat, and world exploration compared to its inspirations. This prevents the game from being truly enjoyable.

Better alternatives exist: Some reviewers strongly advise against purchasing the game, suggesting alternatives like "Encased" or "ATOM RPG". These reviewers believe that other games in the genre offer a superior experience.

Indie title with limitations: The game is an indie title developed by a small team, which may explain some shortcomings. Reviewers acknowledge the limitations and suspect troubled development, while also noting the team's inexperience in CRPG development.

Active post-launch support: The developers are actively listening to feedback and improving the game post-launch. They are focused on world-building, offering a cultural experience, and providing ongoing support with patches and communication.

Appealing design and atmosphere: The game has an appealing design and atmosphere, including a distinct art style and cool soundtracks. The reviewer notes that the developers put a lot of love into the game's development.

Misplaced hate/review bombing: The game is receiving misplaced hate, with some players writing reviews after only a short amount of playtime. This suggests potential review bombing or premature judgment.

Limited philosophical representation: The game's philosophical references are limited, with only a few well-known philosophers represented and a lack of female philosophers. This suggests a superficial exploration of philosophical themes.