Where will your road lead?
Road 96 is a Rogue-Lite Adventure Game developed and published by French studio DigixArt, released in 2021.
Petria, 1996. Years ago, the controversial President Tyrak was elected. Now, his corrupt and authoritarian administration prepares a questionably legitimate election to usher in his fifth consecutive term. While his opponent, Senator Flores, enjoys great popularity, few believe she can really beat the system.
As a result, rebellious youths and other political dissidents are fleeing the country in droves, desperately attempting to cross Petria's tightly-controlled border. In the shadows, the underground political radicals of the Black Brigade plot to use this rising tension to stage an armed uprising, which the regime in turn uses as an excuse to crack down further.
And in the middle of it all is you, a teenage runaway making the treacherous journey to the border by whatever means necessary. Hitchhiking through the desolate countryside, you'll meet all sorts of strange characters and fellow outcasts yearning for a better life. Will you make it across the border to freedom? And more importantly, what about those who come after you?
Gameplay consists of episodic vignettes that occur in a semi-random order, determined by how you travel the road to the border and what vignettes you've completed so far. The game features light survival mechanics; travelling expends energy which you must restore with food, water, or rest, scavenged or purchased during your various stops. When your character's journey ends - be it by successfully crossing the border, being caught by the police, or even dying - you move on to a new character who starts the journey from the beginning, facing new challenges as Petria's political situation deteriorates.
A prequel titled Road 96: Mile 0 released on April 4, 2023. The game alternate between follows Zoe, exploring what caused her to leave home, and her friend Kaito, from Lost in Harmony, as they encounter several of the characters from the original game. There are also two Gamebooks titled Prologue, which is set ten years before Road 96, and About a Girl, which bridges the gap between the first game and the prequel.
Road 96 contains examples of:
A-L
- Air-Vent Passageway: The hitchhiker enters the security room of Happy Taxis through an air vent (and may escape the same way). The vent is too narrow for Stan and Mitch, but just wide enough for the smaller hitchhiker.
- All Crimes Are Equal: Talking shit to a cop in Petria will get you thrown in jail. Being a missing teen will get you thrown in jail. Helping a missing teen will get you thrown in jail. Failing an offshore worker exam will get you thrown in jail. Unknowingly having a teen sneak into your truck at the border crossing will get you thrown in jail. Being the parent of a missing teen will get you thrown in jail.
- All Your Base Are Belong to Us: Throughout the game, the one consistent safe spot is the cave behind the waterfall off Road 96 where the hitcher can paint a message, take a rest, and add a stone to a cairn of rocks. During the last run, the cops have found the cave, destroying the cairn and setting the cardboards on fire.
- Anachronic Order: Character sequences are selected randomly from a pool of available scenarios. While many could happen at any point in the story, others seem to have direct links - for example, John's date with Fanny which he arranges in one scenario and in another is drunk after bailing on it.
- Anti-Frustration Features: While the game normally won't hesitate to have you arrested or take your money away when your energy drops to zero, it will cut you a break during the smuggler escape. If you're on your last bar, then the game will simply stop removing your energy. This also applies to the mountain escape, where you won't be able to die until the final jump.
- Anyone Can Die: Depending on the ending one gets, the death toll can be as light as two people (either Zoe, two player characters, or Zoe and one player character) to Alex, John, multiple player characters and Zoe.
- Apathetic Citizens: Those people in Petria who aren't die-hard Tyrak supporters or Black Brigade seem to simply believe there's no point trying to change things, whether because the vote will be stolen or Flores will be just as bad. Instead they keep their mouths shut and heads down, pointedly ignoring what's happening to teenagers. If you stay neutral throughout the game, the turnout for the Election Day protest will be pathetically low. Pushing for the Revolution or Election ending can change this.
- Arc Number: The number 96 comes up a lot in the story, namely the titular road and the fact that the game takes place in the year of 1996.
- Artistic License – Geography: Several occurrences.
- Mount National is seen in the horizon in every playthrough, at every stage of the journey. However, as you can start your journey thousands of miles from the border, assuming Petria is a fictional country on Earth, it would be impossible to see Mount National from that far due to the curvature of the earth.
- Also, seeing the size of the country, and hence its border, it is highly improbable to only have one road checkpoint at the border to enter or leave the country. But due to the extreme isolationism of the country, it wouldn't be that surprising - but for anyone who'd like to flee, it would be much more practical to cross the border anywhere else, unless the border is some kind of Korean DMZ on its entire length.
- According to the map of Petria, Mount National is the highest peak of the country - it's also highly impractical to set up the only border checkpoint here.
- Artistic License – History: In "Worlds Apart", Sonya doesn't know what a cell phone is. While it would have been uncommon for them to be frequently used, especially in a country like Petria, cell phones were around for about two decades by 1996, though they were much larger and more limited. Since they were for the rich, a wealthy and famous celebrity like Sonya could well have one just to show off having one.
- "Awkward Silence" Entrance: In Roll With It, the music and the loud, obnoxious patrons in the bar fall silent as soon as Jarod walks in. The tense silence continues as the hitcher makes Jarod's signature drink.
- Bittersweet Ending: Even the most positive ending still sees either Zoe or the last hitcher die in the final sequence, and it's entirely possible to get the best outcome for Petria while also seeing Fanny kill John while Alex dies in the protests, leaving her alone.
- Bookcase Passage: One of these is in the backroom of Chuck's bar, leading to a Brigade hideout.
- Boring, but Practical:
- One of the border crossing methods is a simple 11 question employment test. Answer correctly, and your hitcher gets across with surprising ease.
- The peak crossing escape is also relatively boring, being a simple matter of walking and having enough stamina to make the distance.
- But Thou Must!: Refusing to engage with a story section won't get you anywhere. The game either won't let you continue traveling to the border unless you participate or it will simply force you to do so. Some examples include:
- Attempting to refuse to help Stan and Mitch break into Jarod's office (or trying to sneak past them) will have them threaten you at gunpoint to do so.
- Fanny will handcuff you and place you in the back of her squad car if you try to sneak past her while she's trying to fix her tire.
- Trying to run from Jarod in one encounter will have him fire his gun into the air and order you to come back.
- Sonya will not take "no" for an answer when getting you to film a completed oil pump, and after two refusals will simply scream at you to get behind the camera.
- If you refuse to help Zoe escape from the police, she becomes desperate enough to threaten to get you caught, too, if you don't help her.
- Car Chase Shoot-Out: You get into one in The Pursuit of Happiness when some "road pirates" come for John's truck. John drives while the hitchhiker fends off the pursuing banditos with a nail gun.
- Cargo Concealment Caper: One of the escape methods is to stowaway in the back of a truck that's crossing the border, which you can do by breaking or picking a lock or bribing the driver. However, the border police have security measures against people trying to escape this way, and failing to evade any of them will get the hitchhiker arrested.
- Cast from Stamina: The primary game mechanic is stamina management, where many actions will consume your stamina and running out will result in either being captured by the police or being robbed for all your money. The player must look for any means to restore their stamina when possible while also considering what actions to spend stamina on.
- Caught Up in a Robbery: Courtesy of Stan and Mitch, who hold up a fast food restaurant that the hitchhiker stops in. The hitchhiker is pressed into participating by collecting the patrons' money on behalf of the duo, and may be taken as a hostage, though this is just for show and they are released immediately with a share of the spoils.
- The Cavalry: The Brigades show up to rescue Zoe and the Hitchhiker when they’re under arrest in a police van.
- Cave Behind the Falls: Nine miles from the border is a cave obscured behind a waterfall that serves as a rest stop and supply cache for crossers, as well as the start of a trail to the border. Unlike most examples there is dry land between the falls and the cave entrance, but it appears to be unknown to the authorities, at least until the final chapter.
- Checkpoint Charlie: One escape route involves going straight to the border facility and taking an exam for Petrian offshore workers, for which you need a government pass.
- Child Soldiers: Robert, head of the Black Brigades, has a talent for recruiting teenagers and radicalizing them to fight on his behalf.
- Continuity Nod:
- The various people you come across will occasionally mention running into a "cool kid" on their travels, AKA your previous hitchhiker.
- Sometimes interacting with the same character twice as the same hitcher allows unique conversation options regarding the previous encounter.
- After completing a route, Sonya's newscast will report on your escape attempt and one notable sequence from your route, such as Jarod killing a cop or Fanny being attacked.
- Corrupt Cop: Aside from Fanny, the entire Road Patrol force of Petria seems stocked with assholes who will happily abuse their power at the first chance they get, assuming you don't have enough money to bribe them with.
- Crapsack World: From what we see of it, Petria is a godawful mess of a country. The country is littered with burnt out and abandoned cars, dilapidated buildings, and rusty oil pipes and barrels polluting the landscape and waterways. Shelves are empty. Crime is rampant, and the police are too busy rounding up teens and beating up protestors to do anything about it. And to top it off, the country is governed by an increasingly totalitarian oligarchy that lives large off the wealth of petroleum exports that 99% of the country will never see. However, there is still hope, as opponents of Tyrak's regime look out for each other and protest, and the democratic Senator Flores challenges Tyrak in the presidential election and promises reforms.
- Decided by One Vote: The player character is given a deciding vote in one scenario where they're let into a meeting of the Brigades, a resistance group, and they have a vote for or against violent resistance and the group is tied so it's up to the player character. Robert knew the vote would tie, so he brought in the hitcher in an attempt to swing the vote his way. Of course, whether or not it works is up to the player.
- Dialogue Tree: How you communicate with the others.
- Dramatic Thunder: In "Better Be Good to Me", the encounter with Jarod is heralded by thunder, foreshadowing just how threatening this encounter will be.
- Early Game Hell: Early runs will tend to be leaner on energy and cash due to the player not having any of the abilities unlocked. Most notably, stealing a car is essentially impossible as getting the keys would require the lockpick, hacking, or both.
- Electroconvulsive Therapy Is Torture: Implied. Max, the teen who shares a cell with the last hitcher, is taken to receive a new "treatment". When next seen, his head has been shaved and he is almost entirely non-responsive. Another teen claims he was "fried" and thinks he might even be mute now.
- Exact Eavesdropping: When escaping in the back of a truck, the hitchhiker is fortunate enough to overhear the guards telling the driver exactly what the security measures are, and hence what they need to do to evade them.
- Failure Is the Only Option: On the final episode, no matter what, the last hitchhiker will always get caught and arrested by the police at the cave behind the waterfall off Road 96, and be subsequently be imprisoned until Election Day.
- Failure Gambit: It's possible to engage in one when Fanny forces the hitcher to pursue a Brigade car that shot her tires. The player can chase them down in a fairly easy driving mini-game, or the Brigades can escape if the car takes too much damage. In the latter case, the hitcher can pick a dialogue option claiming they failed the pursuit on purpose to sabotage Fanny.
- Fell Asleep Driving: In "Blame it on the Rain", John keeps nodding off while driving his truck, but refuses to pull over as he needs to get to his destination on time with his very important cargo. When the hitcher takes a nap, they wake up to their horror to find that John has done the same and is fast asleep at the wheel. He's so out of it that only the emergency horn can wake him.
- Filler: The few sequences without one of the main characters don't progress any story, simply serving as a stop along the path. Perhaps the most obvious instance is a sequence where you walk up a hill for several minutes, can rob a shed, find a crashed Happy Taxi, and then leave the area. Unlike story sequences these are repeatable, which can become very noticeable in a long run where there are so few story sequences left to see that the fillers will start repeating.
- Fission Mailed: Some of the mini-games can be failed without getting a game over. Wrecking the car while helping Fanny pursue the Brigades causes her to disappointedly give up the chase, and the car is so damaged that the hitcher must continue on foot.
- Flash Forward: At the end of each chapter, there is a flash forward to Election Day on September 9th, showing more of the riots and deadly police violence that will unfold.
- Frame-Up: The collapse of '86 was caused by the government and then blamed on the Black Brigades.
- Gargle Blaster: In the episode Let's Get Serious, Robert orders the hitchhiker an alcoholic drink called the Martyr. It quickly knocks them on their ass, and they wake up in the bar's back room.Robert: Damn, Chuck, what did you put in that drink?Chuck: The Martyr? Everything.
- Gasoline Dousing: Jarod comes very close to killing a hitchhiker this way. He orders them at gunpoint to douse an abandoned Brigade minivan with gasoline, and before they can exit holds out a match to set it on fire with them inside. Only after some desperate begging for their life does he let them go at the last second.
- Gas Siphoning: One of the ways you can cause a distraction to free Zoe is to siphon gas from the tank of the vehicle she's handcuffed to into a jerrycan, and use it to make a fire. Zoe warns the hitcher to be careful and not swallow any, suggesting that they are using the dangerous oral suction method.
- Generic Graffiti:
- As the game progresses, more and more graffiti will show up reflecting the current swing in the karma meter. The Black Brigades also liberally apply their mark.
- The hitcher can also indulge in graffiti, mainly by defacing political posters. They can also add a message in the cave on Road 96 to encourage either voting, revolution, or escape.
- Good Luck Charm: Sonya will give you a good luck charm while helping her film at the oil well opening. This unlocks special luck rolls, increases your success chance on other rolls, and lets you search garbage for cash or food.
- Gory Discretion Shot: During the sequence in Jarod's motel room, he orders the hitchhiker to tell the motel owner that everything is alright or he'll shoot the teenager, although the hitchhiker can disregard his warnings up to three times and try to beg the owner to save them. Despite the fact that the motel owner knows Jarod is using the room, and now finds a teenager in the room, he won't do a damn thing to help you even though you may beg. Jarod then shoots through the door and kills the owner, with the camera being positioned so that the owner is off-screen when Jarod pulls the trigger.
- The Great Wall: The border crossing looks like something that North Korea or GDR would build, with a massive entrance gate and towered walls blockading the road to what looks like a decently sized city just across the border.
- Heroic Sacrifice:
- When Zoe attempts her border crossing, she falls and the player has the option to save her or escape. Saving Zoe results in the hitcher dying while Zoe escapes with government documents revealing that Tyrak caused the peak collapse of '86.
- When you pay to be smuggled over the border, another teen may accompany you. If you help them over first or if they don't accompany you at all, you have a chance to get shot. If they help you over, you're guaranteed to escape, but they get shot instead.
- The final choice of the game is whether the last hitcher will escape Petria or join the fight at the border wall. The hitcher will die during the battle, but this ensures that Zoe and/or Alex survives (if the latter joins the fight at the wall and Zoe isn't present).
- He's a Friend: Sean, the Brigade member at the border encampment, normally grills hitchhikers that try to pass that way. When Zoe is there, she tells him that they're a friend, and he lets them pass without a fuss, saying that a friend of Zoe's is a friend of his.
- Hollywood Acid: Implied to be to be the kind of "soap" that Jarod uses to dispose of the undercover police officer's corpse. When he opens the bathroom door again the body is completely gone, and Sonya's newscast states that his body was never found.
- Hollywood Hacking: Justified with the Hacking ability. All electronic locks in Petria are seemingly made by the same manufacturer and Alex considers them antiquated. His tool was custom built to hack the locks so it's easy even for the hitcher.
- Hope Sprouts Eternal: Most of Petria is an empty desert, but as the hitcher gets closer to the border there are more plants until they reach Road 96 which is a lush forest.
- I Will Punish Your Friend for Your Failure: Calling home can reveal that the families of teens who make a run for the border are held as equally guilty as their children, being arrested and shipped off to prison.
- Impairment Shot: When the hitchhiker is arrested at the border, they wake up in a cell with their vision swimming. Max explains that the guards beat them, but their vision should return soon.
- Improvised Zipline: In the third pass by Road 96, the hitcher ziplines across the road on a disused overhead oil pipe (or rather the rubber tube hanging under it), using what seems to be a belt as the handle. It works for a while, until it catches on an obstruction and the hitcher falls into the pool below.
- In Spite of a Nail: Several plot points and major decisions don't affect the overall climax of the story. There will always be a riot at the gate on September 9th, the Brigade will always have the incriminating evidence to take Tyrak down, there will always be a bomb that Alex has to defuse (and Fanny will always confront John), and to a lesser extent, Jarod and Sonya's story will conclude in a similar manner with Jarod not killing her and Sonya revealing that Stan and Mitch are her brothers. The only changes that the player makes are whether Zoe is alive, whether it was Alex making the bomb, whether Fanny will gun down John, and whether Stan and Mitch personally arrive to aid Sonya.
- It Only Works Once: Successful or not, each method of sneaking across the border can only be used once. With the exception of the Offshore Worker Quiz, which can be attempted twice, provided that you have both the Cleverness and Government Pass skills.
- It Will Never Catch On: When Alex declares that one day everyone will have a small portable computer like his, the hitcher can suggest calling it a "laptop". Alex just laughs at the obvious non-starter of a name.
- Karma Meter:
- The player can make choices at various points that add to a tracker for three karmic traits which define the game's ending:
- Revolution: Support violent protests, the overthrow of the government, and backing the Black Brigades.
- Elections: Speak in favor of voting, promote Flores as a candidate, and speak against the more violent actions of the Black Brigades.
- Escape: Act solely in self-interest to escape the country, never committing yourself to any political dispute.
- There is also a more traditional karma meter based on whether the player performs selfless or selfish actions, which show up with a blue or red flash by the character icon respectively. Better karma improves your chances in luck rolls.
- The player can make choices at various points that add to a tracker for three karmic traits which define the game's ending:
- La Résistance: The Black Brigades actively try to undermine Tyrak's rule, whether by helping the oppressed, attacking the oppressors, or simply broadcasting messages to the people inciting them to rise up.
- Lured into a Trap: In "Something in the Way", Fanny (who has picked up the hitchhiker and another crosser) follows what seems to be the signal of the Brigades transmitter. Unbeknownst to her, it's a trap. John frantically tries to warn her away, but it's too late: a billboard explodes and falls on the car, nearly killing her and the two passengers. You only have the chance to pull one person out.
M-Z
- Macrogame: Unlocking a special ability on one route will permanently unlock this for all subsequent hitchers, even on New Game Plus.
- Maybe Ever After: If Fanny doesn’t shoot John and Alex doesn’t join the fight, they embrace each other in the finale, and the credits show a photo of the three of them together in a van, seemingly starting out as a family.
- Meaningful Name: Petria is a country with petroleum exploration and export at the heart of its economy, with pipes and oil wells all over the landscape and a Minister of Oil second in power only to the President himself. In other words, it's a classic petrostate. Like a typical petrostate, it also has massive inequality and an authoritarian oligarchy monopolising the oil wealth.
- Mercy Rewarded: In "Short Circuit", Alex rigs up a switch to electrocute two Tyrak supporters who stop at the abandoned gas station, and invites the hitchhiker to shock them. It is immensely satisfying to do, but results in them spotting Alex and the hitchhiker, forcing you to split up and flee. If you don’t shock them, or only shock one of them, they leave without noticing you. Alex compliments the hitchhiker on their maturity, saying he wouldn’t have done the same, and gives them some money before returning to arming/disarming the bomb.
- Minor with Fake I.D.: In "Police Academy", when the hitchhiker is stopped by Fanny for speeding in a stolen car, they can show the licence and registration in the car's glove compartment. She is not even remotely convinced that the teenage hitchhiker is Elaine Winterbottom/Bartholomew Vanderbilt, 42 years old.
- Missing Child: Teenagers are disappearing in ever-increasing numbers to the point that they serve as a major element of local news broadcasts. Everyone knows that those who try to escape Petria are being sent to the "pits", but anyone who speaks out is marginalized or shipped off to one of the pits themselves.
- Mood Whiplash: Almost all encounters with Jarod are these compared to the rest of the game. In a story that's otherwise rather lighthearted and heartwarming with a cast of characters who are at worst misguided, Jarod stands out as a genuinely frightening, unhinged Serial Killer. His scenes flat out veer into being
Realism-Induced Horror, especially when one considers that the player character is merely a teenager. Only two encounters with him don't include the possibility of being murdered. - Money to Throw Away: A chase sequence with Stan and Mitch has the hitcher tossing the duo's stolen bank loot at the pursuing cop until he stops to collect his newfound riches.
- Multiple Endings: There are three main endings based on which karmic route the player chooses.
- Revolutions: A violent revolution starts on Election Day which successfully overthrows Tyrak. While many die in the process, Flores becomes the next president and the country has hope for the future.
- Elections: Flores wins the election with a landslide. Tyrak and his cronies are arrested and tried for their crimes while Petria moves toward the future. This also has two subvariations:
- Flores wins the election and enacts reforms, but they're not as good as the Black Brigades were hoping for.
- Flores wins the election and enacts major reforms.
- Escape: Without solid opposition, Tyrak wins the vote and becomes President for Life by repealing the limit on presidential terms, turning Petria into an ever more oppressive country.
- Mushroom Samba: In "You're the Inspiration", turning on a trippy techno song somehow causes the hitcher and Sonya to experience a simultaneous hallucinatory trip.
- Nail 'Em: To avoid having the player characters use firearms, nail guns stand in. You can even use them to shoot open locks.
- New Game Plus: This becomes available after completing a game, allowing the player to carry over their collectibles and unlocked skills. While the scenario pool is reset, the tracking for completing all scenarios with characters also carries over.
- Non-Indicative Name: "Mitch's Ultimate Bank Robbin' Quiz", which specifically recommends against robbing banks in favor of fast food restaurants.
- No Points for Neutrality: The game practically beats you over the head that Tyrak is an oppressive president and needs to be taken down one way or the other. Whether you decide to encourage violence or voting, the end result will be the same, with Tyrak overthrown. Should you remain neutral and exclusively focus on crossing the border, not only will far less people show up for the Election Day protest (certain camera shots not withstanding), Tyrak will remain in power and repeal the presidential term limits. Zoe will also pointedly call the player out by basically saying that it wouldn't have happened if more people committed themselves to change.
- No Such Agency: The "pits" are a series of government-controlled iron mines where teens are forced to work as what amounts to slave labor under brutal conditions. The official party line is that they don't actually exist and the teens there are just "missing", but most people in Petria know about them.
- Once per Episode: Assuming no failures along the way, a single playthrough will consist of six routes. Each route will contain a pre-determined story sequence and a chance to escape at the border.
- "Open!" Says Me: Omen Vitality opens extra options to simply break some of the locks in-game.
- Opponent Answers the Phone: Some hitchhikers will phone home and find the new tenant on the other end, gloating that their parents have been arrested, and suggesting that they turn themselves in to get them out; or a police officer threatening the same unless they return home.
- The Password Is Always "Swordfish":
- Played for drama in the finale. The disarm code for the bomb is 4482: 4th April 1982–Alex’s birthday. The same code his parents used for the bomb in ‘86.
- Sheds owned by the Brigades can be opened with the code 1986 if you don’t have the hacking ability.
- Peek-a-Boo Corpse: During the sequence in Jarod's motel room, the player hides in a wardrobe when the motel owner knocks on the door, fearing that it might be a cop knocking. After a brief moment, the hitcher looks to the left and comes face-to-face with the corpse of a cop which promptly falls over on them.
- Point That Somewhere Else: During the game's prologue, Stan and Mitch hold up a fast food joint at gunpoint and demand all their darn money. As Stan, wielding the shotgun, makes this demand, he turns to Mitch, also inadvertently turning the shotgun to point at him. Mitch promptly swats it away.
- Police Brutality:
- While filming with Sonya at an oil well opening, an officer can be filmed beating a defenseless protestor to the horror of the nearby crowd before she cuts you off.
- When teens are arrested and placed in a holding cell, they can spends months there in brutal conditions being periodically beaten before getting transferred to the Pits.
- Polluted Wasteland: Petria is heading this way, as much of the land is covered in oil wells and pipelines while oil barrels can be found scattered and half-buried around the maps. Even the beautiful waterfall on Road 96 is littered with trash.
- Prisoner's Work: Teens caught trying to cross the border are sent to the "pits", iron mines where they are forced to work under hellish conditions.
- Private Conversation on Open Line: Kaito and Zoe use their walkie talkies to listen in to Adam’s conversation with security guard Steve, where he asks the latter how best to profess his love for Sonya.
- Propaganda Machine: GNN only reports news that supports Tyrak, either misreporting or omitting key details. The most obvious example is when Sonya reports the current polling and in every case is openly dismissive of Flores and equates voting for her as supporting violence.
- Putting on the Reich: Petria's propaganda posters and visual arts bear a strong resemblance to the Socialist Realism style that one would find in North Korea or the Soviet Union.
- Qurac: Petria, an oil-rich desert country ruled by a tinpot dictator. Interestingly enough, it seems to be based on the United States, of all things.
- Random Events Plot: Each trip consists of a series of sequences randomly selected from the available pool, which can result in some wild swings in tone and plot. The only consistent points across the trips will be a single story sequence and the actual arrival at Road 96.
- Returning the Wedding Ring: How the two young lovers in "More than Words" formally ended their relationship. After realising that they were different people to who they were when they fell in love, they returned to the tree where they proposed, buried their rings, and hugged one last time before going their separate ways.
- The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: The Black Brigades are on the verge of becoming outright terrorists, with Robert advocating for violence while John pushes back. Even if the hitcher keeps the organization as a whole from escalating, Robert still arranges bombings and drive-by shootings of cops and attempts to bomb the ten year commemoration at the wall.
- Road Trip Plot: The game has you travelling for over fifteen hundred miles across Petria via a number of means while meeting interesting characters and falling into various situations as you ultimately try to get to the border and maybe help overthrow the oppresive regime of the country.
- Room Full of Crazy: The player doesn't get a close look at it, but Jarod's office contains one centered around murdering Sonya. Stan and Mitch get into the office with the player's help, and are freaked out by how obsessed Jarod is.
- Run for the Border: The game's main premise, you play as a teen trying to escape an oppressive regime and being branded a criminal for the very act.
- Scaling the Summit: One of the escape methods is to scale and cross over Mount National, the highest point in the country. It’s a tiring and perilous journey, but the views are spectacular. At one point the hitchhiker seems to take a walk onto the very snow-tipped peak of the mountain in the middle of the night.
- Scenery Porn: Despite being being mostly desert and increasingly polluted, Petria boasts some beautiful scenery, from wide desertscapes to mountain vistas to lush forests. The waterfall and the Mount National trail deserve special mention.Zoe: Despite everything that’s wrong here… there’s still so much beauty.
- Schmuck Bait:
- During the offshore worker exam, one of the questions the examiner asks you is whether you are or have been a member of the Black Brigades. As in, a group that two posters behind the examiner make abundantly clear are terrorists. You can answer yes to this, but the examiner will think that you're joking and repeats the question to you. Say no and you can go on to pass the test like nothing happened if you pick the right answers. Or you can answer yes again. Unsurprisingly, picking the latter will instantly get you arrested.
- In one of Jarod's encounters, he'll mention that he doesn't want to think about Lola or he'll get very angry. A little while later, if you decide to play one of the VCRs, he'll ask you which one you watched. Responding with Lola will fill his entire anger bar and end with you getting shot.
- Shout-Out: Many of the encounters are named after songs, from "Livin' La Vida Loca", "More Than Words", "You're The Inspiration" and several others.
- "Shut Up!" Gunshot: Jarod does this twice in Take Your Time (Do It Right) when the hitchhiker answers back. Both times he fires into the air, and the second time he hits and kills a bird flying overhead.
- Sneaky Departure: Zoe leaves the hitchhiker early in the morning from the campfire, before they wake up. She leaves a note explaining that she doesn’t want to put the hitchhiker at risk.
- Songs in the Key of Panic: "A Dark Place" plays in sequences where the hitcher is in danger of being arrested or killed. "Election Day" is a tense piece of ominous music which plays during the final sequence.
- Stock Desert Interstate: The whole of the journey takes place on highways through the vast Petrian desert landscape, with occasional stops at run down diners, motels, gas stations and other locations along the way.
- Story Breadcrumbs: While the main story is told in pre-determined sequences, most of the background history on both Petria and the various characters is scattered across multiple sequences. Learning everything requires reading various articles, talking with everyone, and will likely require multiple playthroughs to see sequences missed on the first go-around.
- Tap on the Head: In the diner robbery, Mitch will whack the screaming woman on the back of the head with his crowbar, knocking her unconscious, unless the hitchhiker fulfils their part of her plan by jumping on Stan. The duo leave with the hitchhiker as a hostage straight afterwards, so we don’t see how badly she was hurt. Stan’s intention was that she take a “nap”.
- The Taxi: Phone booths can be used to call the local taxi company and arrange a pick-up if one is available. The company also employs Jarod, and the hitchhiker can raid the taxi company's offices with Stan and Mitch to learn more about his plans.
- This Way to Certain Death: The mountain trail’s danger is evidenced by the remains of those who attempted it. Near the start is the leg of someone buried beneath rocks. Towards the end there is the backpack of a previous crosser caught on a tree branch on a cliff edge right by where the hitcher lands after a jump — seemingly having plummeted to their death after making the same jump.
- Too Desperate to Be Picky: The player will often need to resort to disgusting methods to acquire money and stamina, such as picking through trash cans and eating rotten food.
- Trash Landing: How Adam survives being thrown from the roof of a five-storey building if the hitchhiker doesn't throw camera out of the window in "I've Seen That Face Before".
- Trashy Trailer Home: Zoe invokes this trope at the Night Skies Campground, where you first meet her. Though the insides of the trailers for rent are never seen, the campground itself is strewn with junk, like everywhere in Petria.Zoe: Welcome to the Night Skies Campground. If you like crappy trailers, this place is the best.
- Tunnel Network: One of the escape routes is a disused network of underground tunnels, one of which leads to the other side of the border and freedom. It was scheduled for demolition, which is completed after one of the player characters uses it.
- Turn Off the Camera: When filming the Minister of Oil’s address at a new pump for Sonya, the hitchhiker can turn the camera to film the protesters being beaten up by the cops. When she notices this, Sonya strides in front of the camera with her hand out and says that they do not film things like that.
- Unwinnable: It is possible for a journey to be doomed from the start. If the hitchhiker starts on three or fewer blocks of stamina, and the first encounter is one where there is no opportunity to regain stamina and they are forced to flee on foot, then they will collapse from exhaustion at the next location. If it's the first time that this happens to a player, the police catch them and it's off to the pits with the unlucky teen. That said, if this happens you simply start a new chapter with another runaway.
- Velvet Revolution: The Elections ending ends the game with Tyrak being voted out in a landslide after the September 9th protests spread to all of Petria, ensuring a fair election. Though the police used lethal violence at the border, the revolution succeeded without spiralling into further bloodshed.
- Video Game Caring Potential: There are opportunities to seriously help out other crossers along the way.
- In the cave behind the waterfall there is a rock, under which you may find money left by previous crossers. You can take any money that's there, or add to the stash yourself, losing and gaining karma respectively. In the second episode on which a hitchhiker reaches the cave, there is a thank you note from another crosser, thanking whoever left money behind for helping them on their path to freedom.
- Two teens at the border are on the point of giving up and going home, as they don't have enough money to pay a coyote. The hitchhiker can give them cash, for which they will be very grateful and the hitchhiker nets some positive karma.
- Video Game Cruelty Punishment: While the game normally doesn't really punish you for being selfish or doing criminal actions like stealing aside from losing karma, it can really bite you in the ass during the smuggler escape. Should you not have enough money for the smuggler to continue escorting you, you get the option to bring the other teen with you for free. If you don't do this, not only will the teen call you out for leaving him there, your chances at climbing the wall will become significantly lower (albeit still possible.)
- Waking Up Elsewhere: Resting in one scenario results in you waking up inside an unfamiliar motel room, having been carried there by Jarod. Cue the hitcher panicking while Jarod forces them to help "clean up a mess".
- The Wall Around the World: The only way out of Petria is the mountain pass on Road 96. Ten years ago, a wall was built across the pass, and the flow of everything to and from the outside world is tightly controlled by that wall and the government.
- Wanderlust Song: The OST songs "On the Road" by Cocoon and "Far from Home" by Daniel Gadd have lyrics telling of the joy of being on the road, meeting people, and seeing incredible places.
- We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties: Sonya uses this line when GNN’s field reporter takes the mic away from their interviewee for contradicting the line that the Brigades killed the hitchhiker or Zoe when they made their run for the border.
- We Need a Distraction: The Brigades crash a truck into the border wall early in the morning, causing a distraction so that Zoe and the hitcher can make a run through the facility and to the border gate.
- World of Bad Cops: Pretty much every cop in Petria other than Fannynote is at best corrupt, and at worst a violent, power-tripping bully. All of them are a threat, authorised to arrest teens they even suspect of trying to flee the country and send them to the iron pits.
- Would Hurt a Child:
- Tyrak and the cops under his command have captured large numbers of teens trying to flee the country and jail them to be first beaten and then thrown into forced labor camps. Come Election Day, he orders the police to fire at a group of protesters, which includes various teens that potentially have Zoe or Alex among them.
- Jarod will kill multiple hitchers if the player is not careful, and they can sometimes be as young as fourteen.
- Robert Winters, the head of the Black Brigades, has a history of recruiting and radicalizing teenagers to use as expendable pawns against Tyrak. He got his start with this when he was a high school teacher and radicalized his own students.
- Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: The Black Brigades are highly polarising in Petria. Sonya, Jarod and Fanny see them simply as terrorists, causing nothing but harm to the people of Petria and corrupting teenagers to do their dirty work for them. Zoe and Alex see them more sympathetically as fighting for freedom, and disbelieve the story that they cause the peak collapse. John, a founding member of the Brigades, straddles the two sides, insisting that they didn’t do everything the government says, but also saying that things are getting too radical.
Road 96: Mile 0 contains examples of:
- All Love Is Unrequited: The player has the option of having Kaito imply that he does have more romantic feelings for Zoe, but this doesn't have any impact on the story.
- Anti-Frustration Features: If you wipe out a few times in a row during the skating segments, the game offers you the choice to skip past the point you’re at.
- Ascended Extra: Adam was just an extra in Sonya's chapters in the original game, but here he gets some focus as the game explains how he started working as Sonya's bodyguard. President Tyrak and Zoe's father also have much larger appearances than in the original game.
- Bait-and-Switch Gunshot: In the two endings where Zoe didn't call the cops, an enraged Robert points his gun at either Kaito or his parents. The scene cuts to an aerial shot as Robert fires, making it unclear what he hit.
- If Kaito joined the Brigades, Robert points his gun at Kaito. The next shot reveals that he actually shot out the tyre of the Lins' car, deflating it so that they cannot pursue him as he takes Kaito with him in his own.
- If Kaito refused to join the Brigades, Robert points the gun at Kaito's parents. The next shot reveals that he fired the two bullets into the ground at their feet. He makes a final threatening gesture at them before walking away.
- Burning the Flag: When making her escape, Zoe can launch fireworks at the Petrian flag and a portrait of Tyrak, setting them ablaze. Both increase her Doubt.
- Call-Forward: A subtle one is that when Zoe meets Alex, they have marshmallows at a campfire. When the Hitchhiker first meets Zoe in the original game, she asks if the player has any marshmallows.
- The Cameo: Many characters from Road 96 reappear in this game:
- John appears offering Kaito and his parents a way out of the country in return for a file that proves the Brigades didn't cause the attack in '86.
- Jarod can be seen twice, first in the distance seemingly about to kill someone and finally in his taxi while Zoe is chased by Adam.
- Fanny briefly appears when Kaito is being interrogated by cops.
- Alex appears at Biggy's Diner, having a conversation with Zoe after getting his van working.
- Stan and Mitch appear on the cover of a magazine.
- Robert makes an appearance at the end of the game, where he demands that Kaito gives him the file while also offering the teenager a chance to join the Brigades.
- Conny, John's girlfriend, can be briefly seen in the flashback of the attack in '86.
- Canned Orders over Loudspeaker: Loudspeakers are ubiquitous in White Sands. They can often be heard instructing workers to do tasks for residents, announcing the playing of the national anthem, or threatening punishments for acts such as graffiti or digging through trash.
- Canon Welding: It turns out that Lost in Harmony, or at least Kaito's story in the game, exists in the same universe as Road 96. Kaito explains that he believes that his friend Aya got got sick from the drilling and pollution in Petria, though this isn't confirmed.
- Chekhov's Gun: The ramp Kaito was building at the hideout is used by him to escape the walls of White Sands. He lampshades this in his message to Zoe, saying “Guess now you know what the ramp was for.”
- Crapsaccharine World: Unlike the rest of Petria, the gated community of White Sands is clean, green, prosperous and safe. However, beneath the surface it is built on massive inequality and overbearing rules. The conflict between Zoe and Kaito is driven by which side they see.
- The residents, who own property in the city, live in luxurious dwellings in areas like Oasis Villas, which have reliable water even in the middle of a desert. This is the side of White Sands that Zoe sees, and she has trouble believing that the rest of Petria isn't like this.
- The workers, who perform most of the actual labor in the city, live in dirty and cramped tenement buildings off Tyrak Square, and are the first to lose water during droughts. They are poorly paid and disrespected by the residents, and subject to stringent rules. This is the side that Kaito sees, and he has trouble convincing Zoe that the rest of Petria is even worse.
- Crossover: Between Road 96 and Lost in Harmony.
- Deadly Dust Storm: A huge sandstorm named Sandstorm Sonya by the news anchor of the same name is headed towards White Sands, and eventually it hits. Luckily the city has plenty of warning and there are no apparent casualties, but it causes a lot of property and infrastructure damage. It also provides cover for Zoe to escape White Sands.
- Demoted to Extra: Many of the main characters from the original game, such as Fanny and Jarod, are reduced to brief cameos.
- Disney Acid Sequence: The skating runs are abstract illustrations of the events going on in the story set to music, designed to convey the protagonists’ feelings towards them.
- Dream Intro: The game opens on the first ride, which takes place in Kaito's dream involving Aya and Zoe.
- Dueling Player Characters: The finale has Zoe and Kaito fighting over the documents (and their destroyed friendship) in a grand animesque fight sequence. The player can select either of the two to play as, and the fight plays as a mash-up of fighting and rhythm game.
- Episode Zero: The Beginning: A prequel with zero in the title. "Mile 0", as in the zeroth mile of Zoe’s journey from privileged elite daughter to runaway hitchhiker to revolutionary catalyst.
- Foregone Conclusion: No matter what happens, Zoe will end up a runaway at the Night Skies Campground. And she will have the file exposing that Tyrak is responsible for the deaths in '86, either through beating Kaito in their fight or Kaito being so horrified that he hurt her that he lets her leave with the file.
- Heist Episode: One of the later rides is a heist in Tyrak's palace to steal classified documents. Kaito and Zoe plan the heist using a paper architect's model of the palace that she got years ago. Much of the level seems to take place inside this model, making it visually reminiscent of the opening credits of Money Heist.
- Karma Meter: Both player characters have a meter pertaining to their outlook on White Sands and Petria, which is moved by dialogue options and actions. For Zoe it's Certainty (loyalty and trust in the government) versus Doubt (questioning the government). For Kaito, it's Revolutionary (sympathy for the Black Brigades) vs Doubt (questioning the Black Brigades).
- Laser Hallway: Tyrak’s palace is full of these, which Kaito and Zoe have to avoid on their skating run.
- Mood Whiplash: While there are serious moments, the first act of the game where Zoe is the player character is quite light-hearted, focusing on her and Kaito's friendship and fun times in White Sands. After Kaito reveals that he and his parents are working for the Brigades and the player character shifts to him, the tone becomes a lot more heavy, with grimmer story events and NPCs treating Kaito much more harshly than Zoe.
- Multiple Endings: There are four endings, depending on what choices you have made and how that affects Zoe and Kaito (her "confident vs doubt" and his "revolutionary vs moderate" scales). However the endings only affect Kaito, as for obvious reasons Zoe will always end up at Night Skies Campground.
- If Zoe has high confidence and Kaito has high revolutionary. Zoe calls the cops and tells them where to find the Brigades that Kaito is meeting with, while also taking the file from the car Kaito's parents were given when they left. Kaito agrees to join the Brigades and goes to get the file, leading to an argument and a fight between him and Zoe. Regardless of who wins, Zoe leaves with the file. While Zoe leaves on a journey to the trailer park where the protagonist meets her in the first game and learns the truth after reading the file, Kaito is confronted by Robert just when the police arrived. Kaito takes Robert's gun, who flees immediately afterwards, but despite his best efforts the police end up killing his parents. Kaito surrenders while Zoe futilely attempts to contact him through their radios.
- If Kaito has high moderate, then he refuses to join the Brigades. After the fight with Zoe, an angry Robert tries to kill Kaito's parents but is stopped when Kaito punches him just when the police arrive, with Robert being able to escape while Kaito's parents surrender in order to hide Kaito. The game ends with Zoe trying to contact him while Kaito sadly walks down Road 96, seemingly with the goal of crossing the border.
- If Zoe has high doubt she doesn't call the police. After their fight Robert angrily shoots tire of the car given to Kaito's parents and leaves in his own, with Kaito going with him despite the protests of his parents. The game ends with Zoe trying to contact him after reading the file, while Kaito notices her bag and trumpet on a bench as Robert drives them to an unknown destination. Despite at first being excited, he hesitates and says nothing to Robert, preventing him from finding Zoe and getting the file.
- The Golden Ending is when Zoe has high doubt while Kaito has high moderate, meaning she doesn't call the cops while he doesn't join the Brigades. After their fight, Robert threatens to kill Kaito's parents, but changes his mind and allows the family to leave. The game ends with a more optimistic Zoe narrating that she knows Kaito will find a way to cross and hopes that one day they will see each other again, while Kaito and his parents drive down Road 96.
- National Anthem: Petria gets a stirring national anthem, which is played daily in White Sands and can be found as a tape. The line "Glory to Petria" is used as a jingle on the PA system.
- No Points for Neutrality: Inverted. Keeping Kaito and Zoe in the midpoint between Revolutionary/Doubt and Certainty/Doubt respectively gives you more choice over the ending: you can choose whether Zoe calls the cops or not, and whether Kaito accepts the gun from Robert or not. If you go too far in either direction one of the choices is taken away.
- Platonic Life-Partners: Zoe and Kaito are this, though when discussing Adam's crush on Sonya the player has the option to have Kaito either confidently or reluctantly agree with Zoe's statement about them just being friends. However this doesn't have any impact on the story.
- Prequel: To the original game, being set a few months before it, though it's also a sequel to Lost in Harmony, being set two years after Aya's death.
- Private Conversation on Open Line: Kaito and Zoe use their walkie talkies to listen in to Adam’s conversation with security guard Steve, where he asks the latter how best to profess his love for Sonya.
- Retcon: In the original game Zoe states that her father thinks she is on a road trip and doesn't know that she has no intention of going back, but this game reveals she ran away without even speaking to him.
- Revision: The context of how Zoe found proof that Tyrak is responsible for the attack in '86 is slightly different here, as the original game implied she simply found it instead of breaking into Tyrak's house with help from her friend.
- Sitting on the Roof: Kaito invites Zoe to the rooftop of his apartment building at the end of the first act. It’s where he likes to go to think (or to not think), and he had kept it secret even from Zoe. He invites her there to tell her about him and his parents working for the Brigades.
- Switching P.O.V.: The player character switches from Zoe to Kaito ans back throughout the story. The head-hopping variety happens between Kaito and Zoe outside the Big Bear truck stop, as the POV switches rapidly between them as they’re talking.
- Taking the Bullet: Parodied. During the sandstorm a dustbin goes flying towards Sonya, which Adam dramatically jumps in front of to protect her. He’s unharmed, but Sonya is impressed enough to offer him a job as her new driver and bodyguard.
- This Is Unforgivable!: Zoe is furious at Kaito for using her to steal the documents and then just abandoning her as he and his parents leave White Sands. It completely destroys their friendship, and nothing Kaito says can make her forgive him. By the time she does, they have already gone their separate ways.
- Trash Landing: In a game of truth-or-dare one of Kaito's dares to Zoe is to jump from the first floor of the construction site into a skip. Zoe is hesitant, and Kaito offers her to back out gracefully, but if she does she lands safely, albeit in the midst of some rather unpleasant smelling garbage.
- "Freedom. Nothing is more important. But there are many people in Petria still looking for it. And their journeys have only just begun."
