There is a sentence in Kafka's "Mistakenly Entering the World": "Although there is a purpose, there is no way to follow; what we call the road is nothing more than hesitation."
In recent years, with the rise of self-driving tours and idyllic life videos, the concept of "escaping from the city" has once again entered the public eye. However, due to the various shackles of reality, we can't leave a resignation application like Teacher Gu that "the world is so big, I want to see it" and walk towards the Splendid River and Mountain.
In a virtual world that breaks free from the shackles of reality, we may not be able to get what we want. This alternative way of "escaping" the oppressive life of the city can be to step into the mysterious racing world of Horizon 5 and simply enjoy the visual feast brought by picturesque Mexico. It can also be a matter of calming down, choosing to travel in a road game and feel the warmth between people.
What is a road game?
Before talking about road games, let's talk about road movies, which are often referred to as road movies.
For road movies, most people's cognition is "a type of movie that reflects life with a road". It is often set against the backdrop of a journey in which the protagonists embark on this journey for a variety of reasons, solving problems that could not be solved in the original environment on the way, and reflecting certain changes with the scenery and stories along the way. These changes may be virtual or real changes, or the growth and change of the characters, or the quiet transformation of the relationships of the characters.
The inspiration for the road movie genre can be traced back to ancient epics such as the Odyssey and the Aeneids, but its real birthplace was in the United States, which had just ended World War II. At that time, the prosperity of the American automobile industry after the war set off a boom in road travel for young people in the United States, and automobile culture and road travel also made it to the big screen, and gradually formed a film genre in the late 1960s.
The Runaway Rider (1969) and The Hermaphrodite (1967) are widely regarded as the source of road cinema.
To be honest, road movies do not have obvious "boundaries" like romance films, disaster movies and other film genres, it can be either films with criminal elements such as "No Man's Land" and "Born to Kill Maniacs", or comedy movies such as "Green Book" and "Kikujiro's Summer".
The same is true of road games, which do not have a black-and-white "definition" like categories such as routelike and soullike. If you really want to give a circle to road games, it is only a vague definition of "games with a strong road movie style".
Because of this, road games often have obvious traces of road movies in the narrative mode, and most road games cannot escape the classic mode of "travel, encounter, acquaintance, parting, and starting the next journey". And behind these travel stories, there are often hidden certain changes.
In The Last of Us, players witness not only what Joel and Ellie saw and heard from Boston to Salt Lake City, but also the distance between the two of them was invisibly narrowed by this long journey. What touches the player's heart even more is that this journey makes the closed inner Ellie finally open her heart and rekindle the hope of survival. Although the edifice of human civilization has long since collapsed, and everywhere is full of the ugliness of human nature and the infectors of corruption, the world is still so beautiful.
This scene in Giraffe Park has made countless players unforgettable for a long time
With a decade-long development history, Kentucky Route Zero focuses on reality, showing the changes in the entire game industry in the past decade under the simple story of a truck driver looking for a home.
A variety of road games
Although road movies and road games are very different in terms of form, there are many things in common in some aspects.
First of all, both road movies and games show a strong sense of "inclusivity." As mentioned above, there are no clear "boundaries" for road movies, and since its inception they have been doped with elements of many Hollywood movies — horror, racing, crime, comedy, and more.
The same is true of road games, which can be role-playing games like Final Fantasy XIV, text adventures like The Walking Dead, or action games like The Last of Us.
Secondly, both take the "road" as the carrier and the narrative as the main body, outlining the story of "travel". Under these stories, developers often give meaning to the journey, expressing a certain idea to the player and arousing people's empathy.
For example, the importance of human-to-human connections expressed in "Death Stranding" on the way to "mail" again and again is even more precious in today's volatile environment of the epidemic. "Route 96" borrows the story of a group of young people fleeing the journey, throwing out the pursuit of freedom and what freedom is.
Similarly, the same is true of the domestic game released this year, "The Land of the Wind". It uses a post-apocalyptic adventure between Uncle and Lori to once again illustrate the nostalgic romantic theme of "love can overcome everything".
Although the theme of the game is already clichéd, what impresses many players on this apocalyptic journey is the journey of following John and Shan on the Charon train all the way east, admiring the exquisite and eye-catching pixel scenery while meeting a variety of characters.
It is also these strange characters living in the world that make the last days that should be dilapidated not gray, but full of vitality and vitality.
Regardless of the theme and feelings, the core of the road game is still a "game". Since it is a game, the importance of its gameplay is self-evident.
Also taking "The Land of the Wind" as an example, the design of the game's dual protagonist adds depth to the gameplay for 2D Zelda-style exploration and decryption and various styles of combat, so that players have more room to study and are more interesting when exploring. For example, in the scene decryption of Dabei City Lake, the player needs to control two people separately and cooperate with each other. Solve the puzzle while using John against enemies and taking advantage of the ability of Shan Energy Bubble to return when it misses an object.
At the same time, the music directed by Joel Corelitz is also a highlight of "The Land of the Wind". The melodious soundtrack that complements the game's content makes it easier to substitute for the journey.
In addition, some of the small games in this game not only adjust the rhythm of the game, but also add a lot of fun to the game. One of the most iconic is "Children of the Earth", this retro turn-based RPG not only has a complete story flow, combat and character development system, which makes many players addicted. And the game plot also corresponds to "The Land of the Wind", where players can also find some ontological plot clues.
In the latest version 1.1.0, after a week of clearance, "Children of the Earth" can be launched directly on the main interface of the game, and the "Children of the Earth Launcher" that players have ridiculed has become a reality. In addition, the game has also added a series of optimization functions such as main interface chapter selection, map transmission, screen mode switching and so on in this update.
The game currently has a limited-time 10% discount during the Steam "Winter Sale" period (December 23 to January 6), so if you also have a strong interest in road games or story games, you may wish to take advantage of this.
Did I make a mistake in traveling in the game?
Nowadays, "going out" has become a way of life that many people aspire to, but life has never been a walk-and-go trip, and the constraints of reality have forced most people to turn to the virtual world to find comfort. It just so happens that the advent of road games has provided many players with an alternative way to travel.
This way is born out of reality and fed back to reality. When the player embarks on the journey, they unconsciously feel the philosophy of life and the attitude towards life contained in the game.
As Kikujiro's Summer puts it: "Life is like a journey, along the way there will be all kinds of scenery, but we all have to return in the end." ”
Yes, life itself is a journey full of unknowns, and after experiencing a life journey in the game, the journey outside the game must also continue.