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The Fallout franchise has undeniably left its mark on the RPG genre and popular culture. Its vision of a post-apocalyptic America, forever trapped in a 1950s aesthetic, has shaped the post-apocalyptic RPG landscape for three decades. The desolate landscapes, savage raiders, and resilient communities clinging to survival amidst the ruins have become iconic imagery, particularly in West Coast Fallout titles like Fallout 1, 2, New Vegas, and the recent Amazon series.

Interestingly, Fallout’s scorched Californian plains and the harsh Mojave Desert owe a debt to another post-apocalyptic franchise: Mad Max. The vast, desolate Australian landscapes, populated by bizarre creatures and deranged inhabitants, along with Mad Max’s gritty aesthetic, heavily influenced Fallout’s most striking imagery and the post-apocalyptic RPG genre as a whole.

Yet, Australia itself has remained largely unexplored in video games, despite the post-apocalyptic genre spanning settings from Eastern Europe and Japan to North America. Indie developer Drop Bear Bytes seeks to rectify this with Broken Roads, their take on an “Australian Fallout,” realizing a setting many post-apocalyptic RPG fans have long dreamt of.

But can the savage Australian outback of Broken Roads compare to the likes of Wasteland or Fallout? Let’s grab our boomerangs and some kangaroo jerky and delve into this review to find out.

A Visual Masterpiece

alt text describing an in game screenshot showing the australian landscape

Anyone who has experienced the Australian wilderness can attest to its unique beauty. Drop Bear Bytes masterfully captures this essence in Broken Roads. Savannas interspersed with distinctly Australian flora like eucalyptus trees, mimosa flowers, and grass trees create a rich and diverse landscape. The game employs a 120-degree top-down perspective reminiscent of classic Fallout titles and recent CRPGs like Pillars of Eternity and Tyranny. However, Broken Roads introduces a dynamism in character models and environmental arrangements, creating a more pronounced 3D feel.

Coupled with stunning, meticulously crafted cel-shading, the post-apocalyptic Australian setting truly shines. Each frame resembles a detailed painting, becoming more vibrant and alive as the player interacts with it. From rusting corrugated iron roofs and decaying shipwrecks to red-dirt deserts shaded by eucalyptus trees, all the signature Australian aesthetics are recreated with unique flair and meticulous attention to detail.

alt text describing the dilapidated buildings in a post apocalyptic australian town

The locations in Broken Roads also offer welcome variety, moving beyond the vast desert expanses. Scattered throughout the game are rustic towns with dilapidated infrastructure and abandoned or atom-bomb ravaged cities.

The game’s greatest strength lies in its dynamic and diverse visuals. Drop Bear Bytes has successfully imbued Broken Roads with the spirit of Australia by skillfully blending existing techniques to create a distinct visual identity.

Broken Roads’ greatest strength is its dynamic and diverse visuals, capturing the spirit of Australia.

alt text describing a group of characters standing in a desolate landscape

This Australian spirit extends beyond the visuals to the audio as well. From the whistling wind and the rustling sand underfoot to the distinctly Australian accents and slang, Broken Roads is steeped in Australian vernacular. The game even includes a glossary to explain unfamiliar slang and uniquely Australian jokes like “Drop Bear” and “Ripper.”

alt text describing a close up of a character's face during dialogue

The dialogue is impressively voice-acted, with authentic Australian accents so thick that some conversations can be difficult to understand. This meticulous approach to visuals, audio, and dialogue makes the post-apocalyptic Australia of Broken Roads incredibly immersive and vibrant.

Gameplay and Narrative Shortcomings

alt text describing a character exploring a ruined building

Unfortunately, while the Australian setting is brilliantly realized, the game falters in two crucial areas: narrative and gameplay. The combat system is rudimentary and lacks key features, making even basic actions like targeting enemies difficult when they are obscured by terrain, clustered together, or too close to the player’s party. The equipment and skill interfaces are equally simplistic, making actions like quickly switching gear or checking equipment cumbersome.

The enemy design further compounds the lackluster combat. While there is a decent variety of enemies, from mutated creatures and bandits to mages, they all employ the same mindless and predictable attack pattern: chasing the player relentlessly.

alt text showing combat in the game Broken Roads

The game’s narrative and storytelling are equally underwhelming. Broken Roads boasts an intriguing morality system based on four philosophical schools: Machiavellianism, Utilitarianism, Nihilism, and Humanism. Players are initially assigned a moral alignment based on a questionnaire and can shift their alignment throughout the game through dialogue choices and actions. However, this system feels restrictive and superficial. The complex philosophical concepts are applied superficially through simplistic moral choices. While the game attempts to emulate Disco Elysium’s exploration of abstract concepts, it falls short of truly integrating them into the narrative, unlike Disco Elysium’s success in visualizing complex cognitive concepts and branching storylines.

alt text describing a character talking to an NPC

The main storyline is thin and lacks weight. The player arrives in the small town of Brockton, which is subsequently attacked and burned to the ground. The player then embarks on a quest for revenge and to uncover the conspiracy behind the attack. While this premise is familiar to post-apocalyptic fans, Broken Roads fails to provide a compelling motivation for the protagonist. Why should the player care about avenging a town they just arrived in? The supporting characters, fellow Brockton residents who have lost everything, are equally underdeveloped, lacking any meaningful dialogue after leaving Brockton.

While there are interesting environments and side quests, such as battling mutated kangaroos and infiltrating a society of philosophers, they are too few and far between to compensate for the overall thin and forgettable narrative. They also pale in comparison to the truly compelling quests found in franchises like Fallout and Wasteland. Ultimately, Broken Roads presents a stunningly realized Australian wasteland let down by a lackluster gameplay and narrative experience.