If you are looking for a laid-back, coming-of-age road trip simulator, or if you are one of those people who strongly wished that Death Stranding allowed you to play music while traveling, Keep Driving is for you!
Keep Driving is a road trip simulator that incorporates a turn-based combat system and an atmospheric story narrated by the environment and casual conversations with the hitchhickers you pick from the road. All while listening to a curated playlist featuring local artist from Sweden.
The game participated in the Steam Next Fest in October, I was instantly attracted by the concept and the amazing pixel art and wanted to give it a try. The demo is still available so be sure to check it out.
THE MECHANICS – FIGHT, PLAN AND EXPLORE
You are out there. Just you, your car, and a long road ahead filled with unforeseen events. Fortunately, in this game, you are well-equipped to fight the road! Smoke some cigarettes, chill out while listening to the music or step on the gas to leave all your problems behind.
Keep driving uses an interesting turn-based combat system. You will face different obstacles that will affect you and your car in different ways – you’ll lose energy, gas, and car integrity. At the beginning of each turn, you’re presented with the negative effects that will attack you, and you can counter them by using items, abilities, or with the help of your companions.
But this combat system has a puzzle-like characteristic: each ability or item can only counter specific malus presented in a specific order. You’ll have to place your own ‘attacks’ and plan the execution order to avoid receiving damage. If you’re good enough with planning, you’ll gain +1 extra turn!
If you want to succeed on the road, you’ll need plenty of items and different skills. And for that, you’ll need money and company. Thankfully, the road is full of hitchhikers, gas stations, and part-time jobs.
The combat system is really interesting, but after some time playing it can become repetitive. At some point I felt like it was all about making enough money to buy some items and keep going without much added interest. However, the team clearly stated at the beginning of the game that this is a work in process and many more content is coming. I would love to see different events happening on the road.
THE NARRATIVE
It’s the early 2000’s, and you’ve just bought your first car. A long, slow summer lies ahead. Hearing about a festival on the other side of the country, you fire up your engine, plot a course on your map, and hit the road. How, if you get there at all, is up to you.
The story behind Keep Driving is based on the developers’ personal stories and experiences from the people they met. So prepare for a personal journey.
The narrative is introduced in different ways. The main story is told in a classic way, but there’s more content that can be discovered by listening to the dialogues with the hitchhikers, which gives an added element of interest to the time spent on the road and I absolutely love it.
A GAME MADE BY YCJY
The studio, YCJY, is composed of Josef Martinovsky and Christopher Andreasson, two indie developers from Gothenburg, Sweden. This studio was completely unknown for me, but they previously released games such as The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human, Sea Salt and POST VOID.
Keep Driving is being funded by Creative Europe Media, an initiative that helped release other amazing games, such as Frostpunk.
CONCLUSION
This conclusion is drawn by just playing the available demo, the game has a lot of potential and it can still grow.
The game shows an interesting combat system with puzzle elements, but it can become repetitive after a few runs making the time spent on the road boring. I hope this will be solved by including more conversations with the hitchhikers and adding different events. I’d really like to explore the alternative storylines of different characters or being able to discover more about the places I visit with the car.
The pixel art is gorgeous, and driving between sunflower plantations can truly take you somewhere else. The travels between destinations are procedurally generated. In the demo, I didn’t feel much variety in the backgrounds and had the feeling that I was crossing the same road over and over. However, there are some elements like the day-night cycle and the raining events that come as a promise of what’s about to be added to the game.
The weakest element in this game is the lack of explanations. Some concepts and elements in the game are poorly explained and the UI doesn’t show as much information as I’d like to when preparing for the trip or when purchasing items in shops. The best part of the game is the amazing car decoration options! You can go as tacky as you want.
