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Tess and her mother, Opal, have a lot on their plate. In addition to losing their grandmother/mother, they must quickly move out of their now foreclosed home. Tess is graduating high school and is conflicted about whether to go to college or pursue her personal web design business. Opal is angry at her sister August’s refusal to help with the move. He is also seen playing the “bad cop” in the complicated relationship between Tess and her father. And if that wasn’t enough, they also discover a secret surrounding their grandmother that could change everything they thought they knew about their family. Forced to learn more, Tess and Opal embark on a road trip to learn the truth. I was as captivated by the mystery as the characters at first, but this road trip wears thin after a few miles.
The hooks of Open Roads are initially engaging, and strong performances from lead actresses Kaitlyn Dever (Tess) and Keri Russell (Opal) propel the story forward. Open Road’s art direction is also a highlight, with Opal and Tess rendered as hand-drawn 2D characters in 3D environments. It gives an appropriate and distinct look, but the lack of lip-syncing and limited facial animations sometimes detract from the weight of the more emotional line deliveries.
Players control Tess, and despite the premise, sitting in the car and chatting with Opal is only less than half of the adventure. The rest of the game plays out as a first-person adventure more in line with The Open Roads Team’s first title, Gone Home, where you explore a few densely detailed environments to inspect objects for clues. I enjoy the handmade personal touches of these articles (like the team member’s actual writing in the notes) and how I was immersed in Michigan in 2003 without the need for words. Playing on PC, the controller support feels hit and miss, as the camera is sometimes placed at odd angles after inspecting items.
The relaxed atmosphere of Open Roads means that there is no problem beyond finding the right object to advance the plot, searching for keys to open doors or finding alternate routes through areas. I hesitate to say that any obstacle is a true puzzle, since the solutions boil down to collecting everything until you find what you need. Some items prompt Tess to call Opal to talk about it, which can lead to some humorous or serious anecdotes. More often than not, however, an ashtray or mug is just an ashtray or mug.
The story is king here, but its initial intrigue gradually loses steam. The central mystery gives way to an underwhelming revelation, and the resolutions of other threads are largely left up in the air. Even Tess and Opal’s relationship doesn’t evolve much. By design, dialogue options don’t significantly alter the story’s trajectory or Opal’s view of you. You might get a particularly terse answer, but nothing Tess says, not even the big reveals, changes the overall dynamic of their contentious but loving relationship in any significant way. The result is a story with stakes that feel lower and less impactful than I initially expected, and while it has some good moments, it left me wanting more.
With a short runtime of a couple of hours, Open Roads is a respectable story that sometimes feels poised to hit that higher narrative gear before letting off the gas again. Although visually pleasing and well acted, the emotional impact is muted. While I didn’t mind sitting shotgun as Opal and Tess had light-hearted debates about the semantics of trailering and mobile homes and reminiscing about old flames, it’s not a road trip that will stick with me long-term .
Source: gameinformer.com