Keep Driving Review

Platform Played: PC

Developer: YCJY Games

Publisher: YCJY Games
Genre: Adventure
Completion Status (How Long to Beat): Yes (4 hours)

Keep Driving is a turn-based roguelike RPG in which you set off on a road trip with the ultimate destination being a music festival. While the ultimate destination is a music festival, Keep Driving is a game where the journey itself is the true highlight, making the final goal an afterthought. The game starts with a selection of character attributes ranging from difficulty level (represented as the relationship level with your parents), to occupation and what you wish to bring on the trip. As you set off on your journey, you will encounter various road hazards which are turn-based battles where you ward off damage to your car, psyche and wallet using cards. Based on your routing decisions, you will stop at gas stations, food markets, auto body shops, etc. to bolster your car and health. The highlight of the game is picking up hitchhikers on the journey who come with their own backstory and attributes. The hitchhikers will aid you in your battles, but carry their own baggage, whether that be physical or emotional. By the end of the road trip which will likely last a few hours, you will be presented with notes about your trip. I found myself surprised by some of the key moments of the journey I had somehow forgotten, for instance, the first half of the trip where I picked up a young hitchhiker trying to re-unite with her parents, or something as simple as giving a homeless man a dollar. Keep Driving is filled with rewarding moments, emerging narrative, and has fantastic pacing, evoking a classic one-more-turn cadence. However, the hooks weren't quite strong enough to keep me itching to return.

Pros:

• Emerging narrative and rewarding moments along the journey.

• Fantastic pacing, evoking a classic one-more-turn cadence.

• The hitchhiker mechanic adds depth to battles and story.

• Unique character attributes and difficulty scaling.

Cons:

• The hooks weren't strong enough to keep me itching to return.

One More Try Factors:

Two of the biggest signs that I’m really enjoying a game are how hard it is to stop playing and how much I’m itching to jump back in when I’m not playing.

• Difficulty to Stop Playing: 9/10

• Desire to Return: 6/10

Note: These scores reflect my personal engagement with the game and are separate from the overall score, which considers all aspects of the game.

• Overall Score: 7/10