Putting the 'role' back in role-playing games since 2002.
Donate to Codex
Good Old Games
  • Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.

    "This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.

Game News Broken Roads is an upcoming turn-based isometric RPG set in post-apocalyptic Australia

Infinitron

I post news
Staff Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2011
Messages
97,228
Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Tags: Broken Roads; Drop Bear Bytes

Pretty much every post-apocalyptic video game in existence owes some inspiration to the Australian film franchise Mad Max. With that in mind, some might find it odd that there's never been a post-apocalyptic RPG that's actually set in Australia. Now an Australian studio by the name of Drop Bear Bytes has decided to do something about that. Introducing Broken Roads, an upcoming isometric RPG set in post-apocalyptic Western Australia. It's got turn-based combat and a unique "moral compass"-based morality system. Here's the announcement trailer and accompanying press release:



Torquay, Australia, October 1, 2019 – Broken Roads™ is the upcoming debut title from Australian indie studio Drop Bear Bytes. Blending together established as well as all-new role-playing elements into a traditional isometric RPG, Broken Roads will see players traveling through authentic Australian locations in a desolated future.

The game tells the story of a group of companions as they make their way across Western Australia, encountering new friends, overcoming terrible enemies, and uncovering a mystery behind ever-stranger happenings in the Never Never.

Broken Roads’ real-time exploration and turn-based combat is beautifully illustrated with hand-drawn artwork throughout, with the goal of offering an experience of playing in concept art – 3D characters, VFX, 2D environments and props all follow this painterly style.

“As a fan of computer RPGs since the 80s, it’s been amazing getting Broken Roads to this point,” said Craig Ritchie, Founder & Game Director at Drop Bear Bytes. “Being able to put our own spin on the post-apoc genre and get experimental with philosophy and morality has been a lot of fun. It’s been a busy year getting us to this point and I’m incredibly proud of what the team have done.”

The game also presents players with an original morality system: the Moral Compass. This novel design sees dialogue options and questing decisions influence, and be influenced by, a character's philosophical leaning. Player decisions will shift a character’s philosophical leaning and alter their future choices, as well as open up Moral Traits which can help or hinder.

Broken Roads will be shown off for the first time at PAX Australia between October 11-13, and is scheduled for release in 2021. Drop Bear Bytes is comprised of industry veterans and talented newcomers, with alums from the likes of CCP Games, Riot, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts and Torus Games. The environments and props are being produced by Mighty Vertex, the art studio behind the isometric graphics in Harebrained Schemes' Shadowrun series of RPGs.

Features:
  • All-new post-apocalyptic setting
  • Unique morality system influencing dialogue, quests and character development
  • Authentic Australian locations and environments
  • Blend of traditional and original RPG mechanics
  • Up to 6 party members
  • Turn-based tactical combat
  • Hand-drawn artwork
  • A content-rich and densely-crafted world

Broken Roads doesn't have a Steam page yet, but there are some more details about the game on its official website, including a closer look at the moral compass system. As the press release states, we'll be seeing more of the game at PAX Australia later this month. It's scheduled for release in 2021.
 

luj1

You're all shills
Vatnik
Joined
Jan 2, 2016
Messages
12,869
Location
Eastern block
As far as RPGs go, postapoc is the new generic high fantasy. It just screams "I have no imagination and I must shovelware".

Pretty much. Overall, there looks to be nothing original at all about this game. I don't know what the devs were thinking, but I'm expecting neither financial nor cult success.

The moral compass seems like an interesting and far less retarded variation of the tides from numanuma.

While the morality system was the only thing to catch my attention (because everything else is a sea of nothingness), on closer inspection it looks ultra basic

zKg12Ba.jpg

Compare that to similar systems in Stygian or Disco Elysium and their only selling point (at least for me) fades.
 

MicoSelva

backlog digger
Patron
Joined
Sep 10, 2010
Messages
7,480
Location
Vigil's Keep
Codex 2012 Codex 2013 Codex 2014 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Insert Title Here RPG Wokedex Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming! Enjoy the Revolution! Another revolution around the sun that is. Serpent in the Staglands Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Divinity: Original Sin 2 Bubbles In Memoria A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath I helped put crap in Monomyth
Looks... okay...? I am glad for the abundance of indie RPGs these days, but most of them will probably pass relatively unnoticed.
 

Falksi

Arcane
Joined
Feb 14, 2017
Messages
10,538
Location
Nottingham
We need more post-apocalyptic games.

This, but unironically. Love me some post apoc.

As far as RPGs go, postapoc is the new generic high fantasy. It just screams "I have no imagination and I must shovelware".

Hell a good game is a good game. I love DA:O, but it's generic as fuck. But that doesn't matter to me coz it's done, IMO, really well.

Same will go for this. If it's shit hot, the repetitive nature of the setting won't matter.

But, with that said, I'd still sooner see a good game with a fresh & original setting, than a good game with a generic one which has been done to death. It would be nice if both geneeric fantasy & post-apoc took a backseat to some fresher ideas for a while.
 

AwesomeButton

Proud owner of BG 3: Day of Swen's Tentacle
Patron
Joined
Nov 23, 2014
Messages
16,153
Location
At large
PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Insert Title Here RPG Wokedex Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath
I've never thought there would be an RPG that would benefit from being fully voiced, but here it is.

EDIT: I saw camels in the art. Does the story involve an Arab invasion? Oh, it appears there are camels in Australia. Learned something new today.
 

Kev Inkline

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Nov 17, 2015
Messages
5,072
A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Moral Compass, ok I guess. But what about Quest Compass?!1 Jus' askin....:positive:

Also the characters are gliding rather than running on the ground, but I take it this isn't a finished product yet.
 
Joined
Jun 6, 2010
Messages
2,260
Location
Milan, Italy
Have to say I'm loving the fact that the "tactical turn-based RPG" genre used to be so starved that basically anything counted as a default "Incline" out of desperation, while now I can even afford to be a picky bastard about it.
 

Cross

Arcane
Joined
Oct 14, 2017
Messages
2,983
The fact that they just walked away after that battle without bothering to loot the corpses triggered my autism hard.
 

As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top Bottom