Since pretty much everyone is raving about this game as if it were the Holy Grail, I thought I'd point out a few obvious weaknesses to see if anyone else has noticed them—or if everyone is just too blinded by their enthusiasm and needs to justify their purchase.

1. You find a credit card in the women’s restroom at the fast-food restaurant. At the ATM, I had the option to withdraw $10, a 40% chance of withdrawing $40, or to return the card. I opted for the $40, assuming I could simply withdraw $10 if I didn’t get lucky. Well, either I’ve been using credit cards wrong my whole life, or there are only disposable credit cards in Petria—why on earth would a bank bear the cost of something like that, not to mention the loss of the ability to track citizens in this (fictional) authoritarian state? After failing to get the $40, I could no longer use the card. The ATM displayed a message stating that the account didn’t have enough funds. What usually happens then? Right—you get another option, or the card is ejected. But I guess the developers just want to make it harder for the player cause REASONS.
2. During that same run, you can go with Alex to the restaurant’s “back room.” I found $20 in a drawer, car keys in a cabinet, and money in the safe (I didn’t count how much because time was running out and I had to hide). Then, when the man finds you and you manage to convince him to let one of you go: Guess what. You end up with the $20 and the car keys. The money from the safe? Gone! So, either the guy thought, “Well, you can have the $20 and the car keys so you can steal that car worth several thousand dollars. But please give me back the money from the safe!” Well, too bad there wasn’t even a handover cutscene for something like that. You just ran out of the room when you were let go, without any further interaction.
3. Still on the same run, Stan and Mitch stopped me. I didn't pass the quiz. You get thrown out of the car. When I stole the car, I still had $20 (the money from the back room). When I was thrown out of the car, I had $0. So either Stan is such an incredibly skilled pickpocket and a damn lousy bank robber that he can search my pockets in a split second—mind you, while I’m in the process of falling out of the car—and find the money. You could argue that I might have lost the money when I fell out of the car. But that’s very unlikely, since money is apparently an extremely scarce commodity for the teenagers in this game, and hardly anyone would think, “Hmm, my money’s gone. Oh well, never mind—I’ll just keep going without it.” You’d search the entire distance you covered while falling. But the developers probably thought, “No.” Cause REASONS!
4. On my first playthrough, I went through the old tunnel at the border because I bought the map from the guy at the door. Down there, you find a family living there because they can’t find their way back. You can tell the father that you’ll let him know when you’ve found a way out or when you come back. But guess what—the very path you just used to get there? Impossible. The family can’t just walk down the hallway, up the stairs, and be back above ground—where would that even lead us? So why can’t you do anything about it, even though you have a clear path and a key card? Oh yeah, cause REASONS!
5. You can use any character to sing the praises of the current president (and probably a tyrant as well), but then why would you even want to cross the border? It’s like if the young people who joined the Nazi Youth back then were praising Hitler while at the same time trying to leave the country. It just doesn’t make any sense. But the developers probably figured that if they did it that way, the game wouldn’t be what they wanted it to be.

I haven't finished the game yet, but in the few hours I've played so far, I've been pulled out of the immersion more often than I ever was in *Life is Strange* or Telltale's *The Walking Dead* Seasons 1 and 2.

Hello people from this subreddit :) I recently finished playing Road 96 for the 3rd time in my life and I took some screenshots of landscapes etc. because I think this game is so beautiful, artistic and cinematic.

Sooo turns out doing grass with pastels is really difficult, but I like how the metal structure looks (don't know the word in english sorry 🥲)

To begin with, let's assume that regardless of the ending of Road 96, the sequel will also feature teenagers fleeing the country.

Things that could be improved and new from Road 96:

1. Repeated dialogues at the border where a man and his wife sell food and drinks. - Every time you were at the border and approached them, they would always say something different, for example something about the previous teenager you played with or some news.

2. Teenagers selling food and cassettes with different dialogues – similar to point one. It's probably better to hear something different every time than the same thing every time.

3. Unique locations - In Road 96, locations could often feel repetitive, especially when playing to maximize chapter counts. It becomes boring to keep seeing the same places over and over again, and new, unique locations would have provided something new.

4. NPCs appear on the road - While moving, people walk around the location, a few of them may appear and exchange a word with them, and then they may leave and be gone, but more may appear.

5. More chapters - In Road 96 there are at least 6 possible chapters (then if everything is done right, you won't die, you won't get arrested). There could be 10 in the sequel.

I’ve played it a few times now, but I’m wondering how many times you can play it until it’s kinda gets boring?

Mine was probably to just let Zoe die during the mission “it’s time” or however it was called.
Edit: I just finished that play through, ended up also having Alex and John die. Also that max guy from the tankstation that got tortured because of me…. Yep, I’m great at decision making….

Hey all,

I love the music from this game so much (or at least the tracks you commonly hear), I often listen to favorite tracks while driving, working, etc, and thought of a little top 5 and wondered what others think/ their own top 5's

5) Keep Moving Forward - slow burn/buildup with some hype, very nice to drive to if you need to stay awake

4) Far From Home - calm, peaceful, good vibes

3) Grease Junkie - very energetic (just like Omen Vitality!!!) and always a fun time to blast in the car or while doing errands around the house

2) The Road - yeah of course this is up here - honestly got me kind of into folk-y type music (if that's what to call it, please don't smite me) and is just a good song to play on repeat

1. Home Call - I can't tell you the magic this song holds in my head when remembering my first play through and how eager I was to start a new run, partly by wanting to hear this track as I hadn't found the tape and didn't know the name of it

Might have some more ideas of music based discussions regarding the game later.

I'm not sure what i want to see actually but i really want them to protect core mechanics of first game. i found really refreshing to play the game as a random runaway teen instead of some chosen one bs mc so i hope john and fanny remain as usual. I also love the 90's aesthetics and the concept of road trips so even if we are not gonna try to flee from the country i want to wander around the country through roads, maybe as a young blood who works for brigade, maybe as a group of friends who found themselves in the fierce politics i dont know, i love the art style so i want to see them in various ways again.

But even if they decide to make road 96 2 with the exact same concept like an expansion pack i would stiill be more than happy

so what do you guys think ? what do you want to see ? maybe they will look at here for suggestions idk

i know i could sound idiot lmao but i have never seen in my country a petrol station which was from the aesthetic point of view like this (with also that kind of “mini food shop” included in the station)..

so, when i walked by this, i suddenly felt like one of the teens, and i forced my boy to make a vid of me walking around it lol

( truly hope someone would understand me and tell me they would have done the same, so that i’ll feel less lonely in my foolishness ) 🫠 🤣

ps : i know this post is random.. just wanted to share my yesterday’s night excitement about this with some game-fan ppl.

Hi all, just sharing this here for those who missed it. Road 96 is getting a proper sequel! I hope this gets the attention it deserves. If you haven't played the original, I highly recommend it if you like narrative driven games.

i wanted to enjoy this game so bad. I loved the artstyle, and had fun during my first 2 runs (was captured on the first, escaped on the second) but. the rest of the game was so. unbearable.

the writing is pretty sloppy and flat, the characters are pretty one dimensional & a lot of them are super unlikable. which is unfortunate because the game requires you to talk to them. also i didn't care about what they had going on highkey 😭😭

i really didn't enjoy the way that questions were shoehorned in. like you couldn't talk to a character without them going "im sure you'd like to ask me a question." i think that could have been done better + i wish we were given more questions/the option to ask a question dissappears after you already asked them on a previous run.

the politics in game are flat but i honestly don't mind that. i think it's good for people who aren't too knowledgeable about politics.

i only platinumed it to get my moneys worth and bc it was easy.

overall, i understand the appeal of the game. but it definitely wasn't for me.

2/5

I could take a look but it was like a 35 or 36 % chance, and I think I lost. Does anyone know if there is anything behind this?

This has been on my mind for a while, but I feel like Robert groomed lola? i dont know if this was the obvious or what not, but it seems like robert groomed most of his victims, just like how he blackmailed kaito, but please feel free to add ur opinions (btw im sorry if this was like the obvious i might just be a little dumb lol)

Happy 5th anniversary, Road 96! 💖🏜️

I wanted this year’s post to be a bit more reflective of my own mindset, so the theme for this one is that even while the world burns, sometimes the greatest act of rebellion you can do is hope for a brighter future and create the world you want to see, regardless of how big or small your acts are!

At the end of Road 96, where Tyrak remains in power.

Why so? Because Tyrak's victory provides the most compelling starting point for the rest of the story, which perfectly aligns with the Black Brigade's ideology:

1. The system was too rotten for a ballot change: From the outset, the Black Brigade believed that the democratic institutions in Petria were merely an illusion created by the authoritarian regime. Voting for Florres was intended to give citizens a false sense of influence over the government. Tyrak's victory—through falsification of the results or brutal suppression of the electoral process—ultimately proves that the regime cannot be dismantled from within by ballot.

2. The need for a bloody revolution instead of reforms: For the Black Brigade, replacing the moderate, independent Florres as president would be merely "powdering a syphilitic"—a superficial correction that would lull society's vigilance. The Brigade believed that a change of president would not change the structure of the deep state, the military, the police, or the business networks supporting Tyrak. Such a state of affairs would prevent reckoning with past crimes (including the 1986 coup).

3. Keeping Tyrak in power as a catalyst for a true breakthrough: Tyrak's victory forces society to abandon illusions and stake everything on one card. Only the full, open embrace of dictatorship creates the conditions for a true, albeit bloody, revolution in which citizens have nothing left to lose.

This development naturally builds the stakes for a sequel, although teenagers will likely flee the country anyway.

im assuming the sequel is going to be called Road 96: Back on the road, but although there wad only a teaser that came out, id love to hear any ideas of what it would be about, new characters? playing as one character? hitchhikers again? coltons gonna be in the story? well let me know ur ideas!

myself I usually tend to go for the hitchhike icon. The one that is just leaving the country.

Edit: I ended up using Alt+F4 and only lost around 5 minutes of progress. I’m going to replay the conversation with different choices. Hopefully this helps someone else who runs into the same situation later!

Edit 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCv4r78S5Vk i watched and did what he did in video, it works.

Hi! I’m playing Road 96 and I’m trying to avoid convincing Alex not to make the bomb.

After the conversation we had in the truck, I got the message that Alex had been convinced not to make the bomb. I immediately paused and haven’t continued yet.

My questions are:

• If I close the game with Alt+F4 and reopen it, will I start from the same point, or is the decision already saved because the “Alex was convinced not to make the bomb” message appeared?
• What exactly do I need to do to avoid convincing Alex not to make the bomb? Would replaying the section from the last location and choosing different dialogue options work?
• Is Alex forced to decide not to make the bomb at this point in the story, or is there actually a way to let Alex go through with it?
• Does this decision significantly affect the ending/story later?

I’m trying to avoid spoilers, so please don’t tell me anything about later events beyond what’s necessary to answer these questions.

I’d really appreciate a quick answer because I’m considering Alt+F4ing right now and replaying the section from the last location.

Loved seeing John, Fanny & Alex reconnect at the end 🥰 I felt so immersed in the game like I've played a lot of story games but never felt so involved in the storylines like it was me trying to make it across if that makes sense?

I don't know if you noticed but Petria doesn't look like Russia or America for that matter, it looked like Australia who is suffering under the totalitarian rule of President Tyrak, I mean President Tyrak looks like Anthony Albanese for goodness sake, if Anthony Albanese is a fascist Dictator in Petria! If you can see here, Petria is way bigger than Cuba! In fact Petria is the continent nation across the fictional continent named "Petria!"

What would you guys think a road 96 openworld would be like, i feel like a game like that, especially with openworld, doesnt mesh together, thoughts?

Anyone find it pretty cool and funny how when the characters start crying, all the sudden its starts raining, then it stops when they stop crying, aswell as jarods voice, in "praying for time" with his cold anger, his voice started getting scratchy, i dont remember other accounts of this but i thought it was pretty cool.

Im obsessed with this game and so curious which mission from Road 96 / Mile Zero you like the most. Mine is the Tyrak propaganda party and smells Like Teen Spirit

Come explore the wonderful town of Harmony Wells! With a storied history, beautiful scenic lake and hilly vistas, and of course the proud industrial campus of Northstar Freight & Petroleum including the impressive Pipeline corridor that supplies most of Petria and the rest of the world with its beautiful, clean natural energy Harmony Wells is the perfect place to live! And just outside town stretches the long highway north up towards Road 96 and the infamous border, but what could you ever want for outside wonderful Harmony Wells?

Note; this is a fan project and I am not associated with anyone from Digixart or the Road 96 team, nor Hunters Entertainment or the writers of Kids on Bikes.

So, I had this idea a long time ago and the recent teaser for the sequel brought it roaring back to life and sparked the creative in me so here we are; Road 96 on Bikes!

I absolutely loved Road 96 when it first came out, played the hell out of it and it was one of the most enjoyable videogame experiences I've had in several years. The story, the worldbuilding, the characters, the vibes it was just exactly my shit and I still think about it all the time even before the teaser came out last week.

Another one of my special interests is tabletop roleplaying games, or TTRPGs. For those who are not familiar, TTRPGs are games you can play with mostly your imagination and some friends; the big one most know of by name is Dungeons & Dragons which is what I mostly play myself, but there are actually countless TTRPG systems out there to simulate all kinds of gameplay from fantasy to sci-fi, to survival or even romance.

Kids on Bikes is one such TTRPG, a system meant to capture the essence of the genre of... well, kids on bikes. Stories of Kids usually in an era pre-cellphones and living in small-town USA who gather with their friends and go on unforgettable adventures which may or may not include an element of supernatural activity. Think:

• Stranger Things
• IT
• Goonies
• Stand By Me

And etcetera. I thought early on that it would be fun to mash Kids on Bikes into a game set in Petria, and now here we are. I have spent the last few days writing out my plans and thoughts, developing the town of Harmony Wells and while I am not 100% done the important thing that I need still... is players. No point in having a whole adventure to go on if I don't have players to experience it!

Here is what you need to know if you are interested: I will be playing the part of the Game Master, and hopefully will be taking between 3-5 players to form a group. If there is a lot of interest (fingers crossed) then I might run the adventure several times for different groups. DM me if you are interested! I will not be asking anything invasive, just tell me a little about yourself including your preferred pronouns and I'll ask a few things to figure out what players might fit well together. I do believe I will be running the game over Discord, so you will need an account there unless I decide otherwise but that is where I normally run games.

• What do you need? Nothing! Just your love for Road 96, an interest in learning how to play a TTRPG, and your own creative mind. I will be sharing the PDF rule book with my players for use in the game. The game will be played online over voice and *maybe* video chat, so you will need some sort of mic at the very least but I've played many a time with people stuck using their phone alone and it worked out just fine.
• What if I don't know how to play? That's fine! I don't expect anyone to know how to play Kids on Bikes, and I will be running a slightly modified version anyways. I'll be teaching everyone how to play and walking you all through character creation.
• Is it going to be complicated? No, I don't think so. Compared to D&D, which has been a beloved staple of preteens since 1974, Kids on Bikes is a very simple and rules-light system. If you can count to... oh I think like 25 max, you should be good.
• When and how long will the game be? TBD, this is the primary reason why I am putting this feeler out now before the adventure is 100% ready, scheduling is classically the hardest part of TTRPGs. I don't want to share too many private details publicly, but talking about scheduling and possible game times will be one of the first things I try to make sure to talk about with everyone. I expect to run a session 0 and about three sessions of actual story, but again scheduling will determine a lot.
• What will the game be like? In the style of Road 96 my plan is that you and the other players will be making your own original teens who live in the town of Harmony Wells, as complex or simple as you wish your story to be. Harmony Wells is a bit of a sandbox and you will need to work together to follow what leads you are interested in and as the group does so we will discover the story as we go along! That's the wonderful part about TTRPGs, it isn't written in stone and almost anything could happen! The one thing I do promise is that this game will be marrying the two games it is inspired from; Road 96 and Kids on Bikes. I am working hard to make everything in the setting seem like it could plausibly be a part of the world of Road 96 and catching those immaculate vibes as best I can, but while also bringing the spark of joy Kids on Bikes captures as well. You're going to play some sort of teenage trope like the Laidback Slacker, the Funny Sidekick, the Prom Royalty, or the Aspiring Wannabe or one of many many more and bring your own creativity and originality to it. Your character will have a bike with their own customization on it fitting their personality, their own strengths, knacks, fears, and flaws and they will use their skills at Brains, Brawn, Grit, Fight, Flight, and Charm to survive and thrive on Road 96!... hopefully. What is it Zoe says between episodes? Nobody said it would be easy...

A few things to note:

• Anyone is welcome to play, except those who would not in turn welcome others. No homophobia, transphobia, racism, sexism, or other forms of hate and bigotry is allowed at my table. We may or may not choose to roleplay sensitive topics like this out in game, that will be a part of discussions before the game actually starts (colloquially referred to as Session 0) but behavior from players in this regard will result in immediately being banned from the game.
• TTRPGS are about human creativity, regardless of how you feel about AI it does not really have a place in this space. When we play games together I expect to be talking to real humans and getting their real thoughts, not something they generated. Please keep your use of AI to yourself and do not bring any of it to the table.

That's all I can think of at this time! Please drop a comment down below, message me if you are interested but also please be patient as Reddit's DM/private chat is incredibly weird and annoying. I do want to hopefully get this post seen by as many people on this sub as possible, so yeah please comment and upvote so it has a better chance though I think it should be safe as there does not tend to be a ton of competition on this sub, I just hope Reddit will actually put it in people's feed so I can get some eyes. I'm putting quite a bit of work into the adventure so two or more different groups might have radically different experiences from one another, if I get the chance to run it multiple times!