Broken Roads - Review

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Digitally Downloaded reviewed Broken Roads:

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Review: Broken Roads (PC)

So this is what Australia will be like soon...

One of my favourite things about Broken Roads is that every second sentence there's a word that's highlighted, and you can press a button to see a little pop-up explaining what that word means. That word is inevitably a piece of Australian English, and the developers felt the need to include a complete glossary so that non-Australians could figure out what was actually being said.

In every other way, Broken Roads plays out like a classic Fallout (as in, before Fallout 3) or Wasteland. It's a post-apocalyptic, gritty, hard western that likes to challenge the player's morality almost as much as it does throwing them into deadly situations. But it's also Australian. Not in a Crocodile Dundee over-the-top caricature to appeal to the stereotypical "understanding" of Australia that other places in the world seem to think is cute. No. It's as Australian as Fallout is American. It just is, and that's appealing.

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There aren't too many truly authentic games set in Australia, made by Australians, telling Australian stories. Broken Roads is one, and it is one of the most different and interesting games you'll play this year on that basis alone. Yes there are more refined RPGs out there, but none of those will take you on a crash course through Australian mannerisms while delivering a compelling narrative of human resilience, community, weakness and savagery.

Score: 4.5/5