Dystopia is available in many kinds. Within the case of Highway 96: Mile 0 (opens in new tab), it’s the deep divide between the working and higher class. One aspect resents the poor situations they dwell in due to President Tyrak’s negligence, whereas the opposite worships him and blindly believes his propaganda. The 2 protagonists signify reverse sides of the divide within the authoritarian nation of Petria, but it surely’s as much as the participant to determine which aspect they help.
What’s lacking, at the very least within the demo, is selection. Highway 96: Mile 0 is a prequel to hitchhiking journey Highway 96, which got here out in 2021 and married random technology with Telltale-esque selections and penalties. There have been barely any variations between my two playthroughs of Mile 0, which focuses extra on the backdrop of a troubled nation moderately than diving deep into its characters’ private journeys.
Certainty or doubt
Highway 96: Mile 0 closes in on two greatest associates, Kaito and Zoe. In Highway 96: Mile 0, Kaito performs the position of a rebellious son with a working class mom and father. Zoe, the daughter of the Minister of Oil, lives a very totally different life from her greatest pal, however they meet up at their hideout outdoors the center of the town. Each Kaito and Zoe are introduced as major characters, however Zoe’s selections are those that matter within the demo and typically change what occurs. Lots of Zoe’s selections additionally have an effect on her spectrum of “Certainty versus Doubt,” which apparently impacts the result of your playthrough.
Highway 96 was praised for what number of methods its hitchhiking tales might play out. Its eight playable characters might attain utterly totally different endings primarily based in your selections. Highway 96: Mile 0’s branching paths appear restricted to Zoe’s Certainty versus Doubt meter, although. In a single playthrough, I went for Certainty, the extra conservative, law-abiding route. Within the different, I leaned towards Doubt, making extra rebellious, pro-worker choices. Lots of the solutions that agree with Kaito, who hates the nation’s dictator Tyrak with a vengeance, leaned in the direction of Doubt.
However the selections I made in each playthroughs didn’t have an effect on the result a lot. Every time I attempted to keep away from an occasion, like pushing a spoiled wealthy child in a swing, I used to be redirected to progress the story.
There are slight variations. For those who don’t steal some batteries for a prank Kaito schemed up, it will nonetheless one way or the other work, however you will achieve Certainty as a substitute of Doubt since you didn’t steal for him. The restricted reactivity may very well be in place to maintain Zoe in-character, contemplating she’s imagined to be the “baddest” lady in all of White Sands.
Kaito and Zoe
Every Highway 96: Mile 0 chapter offers us extra perception into Petria and its capital metropolis, White Sands, however in contrast to the primary sport, Mile 0 stays centered on these two characters all through. One chapter takes us into working class slums, one other visits the wealthier neighborhood the place Zoe and her household dwell, and the final units itself within the city sq., the place the employees are making ready for a speech from Tyrak. Every chapter in Highway 96: Mile 0 additionally includes a skating rhythm sport the place you play as Kaito, Zoe, or each. Fortunately, for those who suck at skating like I did, you’ll be able to skip these sections and lower straight to the story. There are additionally another “rowdy teenager” minigames like throwing newspapers at as many mailboxes (and other people) as attainable.
Highway 96: Mile 0 balances the heavier subjects of politics and social injustice with teenage shenanigans, with some lighthearted exchanges between Kaito and Zoe and campy B-movie humor. It’s a disgrace that we don’t get to discover the connection between Kaito and Zoe as a lot because the world of Petria, although.
Maybe it’d make extra sense if Kaito and Zoe’s relationship was higher defined within the intro moderately than all of the sudden throwing the 2 collectively with out rationalization. Spontaneity is smart in Highway 96, the place most of the characters meet as strangers. Nevertheless, when the one two major characters are imagined to be greatest associates, the sport wants extra background to deepen the connection and lift the stakes.
Our Highway 96 preview from 2021 highlighted that “It is a somber story, and it advantages from the openness you’ll be able to solely actually have between strangers whose paths are quickly to separate.”
That is what the Highway 96: Mile 0 demo appears to be lacking. Kaito and Zoe do what youngsters could be anticipated to do, pranking uptight adults and adorning their hideout, but it surely’s troublesome to imagine they grew to become so shut when the 2 of them are from utterly totally different worlds. What does Kaito supply Zoe that she will’t have with any of her non-working class associates and vice versa? She hadn’t even been to his home earlier than and he’s not allowed at hers. Nothing about their relationship is handy or actually is smart with the context we get.
Yoan Fanise, the Highway 96 sport director, even highlighted Zoe’s improvement as a key cause for making the prequel. “In Mile 0, we wished to point out the place Zoe is coming from, and why she left her comfy life,” he mentioned within the announcement put up. “However we didn’t make it the standard method, we went the loopy street, with metaphorical music sequences, the place you experience the beliefs and doubts of Zoe and Kaito.”
Mile 0’s commentary on social points does relate again to Zoe and Kaito’s friendship, however at the very least within the demo their relationship would not have sufficient weight behind it to hold the meat of the battle.
I don’t know the total story behind Highway 96: Mile 0. I’m inclined to seek out out, if solely as a result of I’ve already spent a few hours with these youngsters, however up to now, I’m not satisfied it’s price enjoying over one other coming-of-age sport. It simply doesn’t stand out with out the gimmick of a story roguelike, or a narrative emotionally compelling sufficient to switch it. The complete sport is out on April 4.