Earlier this week, Team17 has joined forces with Australian development team Drop Bear Bytes, hailing out of Torquay, Victoria, and confirmed their isometric RPG Broken Roads will release on Steam and consoles in 2022. We wrote about Broken Roads when it was first announced, and it’s an original and narrative-rich, isometric, turn-based role-playing game set in an unforgiving, post-apocalyptic Western Australia. Watching the original trailer back in 2019, I was getting series Wasteland 2 vibes with a bit of Shadowrun, and finally we’ll be able to play an isometric game with Xcom-style combat in a true Australian setting.
I just love the opening dialogue of the new trailer, “My nan called it the end of time. Dad called it a waste of beer. Me, I just called it another day in bloody paradise.” You can’t get much more Aussie than that! At the heart of Broken Roads’ thoughtful and mature storylines is a deep and meaningful morality system – the Moral Compass – that influences quests, dialogue, and character development. The system is shaped along four different philosophical paths: Humanist, Utilitarian, Machiavellian, and Nihilist, each with their own unique traits.
As the journey begins, players will be asked a series of questions – moral quandries – that determine their starting position on the compass. Their decisions will affect future ones, and players will be faced with real moral dilemmas. Broken Roads will include the following features:
- Deep and compelling: Broken Roads builds on classic single-player role-playing games, blending traditional gameplay with original mechanics and experiences
- Moral Compass: A unique system that influences both story and gameplay as the plot unfolds
- Authentic setting: Explore real-world locations across a post-apocalyptic Western Australia filled with intriguing and emotional stories
- Unique visual and musical styles: Hand-drawn visuals and a soundtrack composed with instruments constructed from everyday objects help make the world of Broken Roads vibrant and alive.
- Gameplay: Up to 5 party members, turn-based tactical combat. ~25 hours playtime
Pete and Dan interviewed Craig Ritchie, Founder and Director of Drop Bear Bytes back in October 2019 on Episode 147 of the Game on AUS podcast. When asked why Australia was the setting for Broken Roads, here’s what Craig had to say:
“Recently I flew over to West Aus and I drove around for about three days. I took about a thousand photos of just interesting locations so everything you see is actually some of the buildings that are there. The map is based on West Aus and the routes and roads are all accurate with a little dose of creative license and correct a few things. You know, to make sure that the vehicles and so forth were actually what you might find, not just in Australia but actually in Perth. The road colourings and markings were consistent with what you’d find in the Wheatbelt area, so yeah we definitely put a lot of effort into that.”
You can watch the full interview below.
Broken Roads will release on Steam and consoles in 2022 from Drop Bear Bytes and Team17.
#gameonAUS
Written by: @ChrisJInglis
