We’re all mourning the loss of Baldur’s Gate 3 DLC since Larian Studios cancelled its planned expansion. It’s all for the better, though, as we’ll eventually get something new. In the meantime, there’s a new game on the horizon called Broken Roads that might just fill the void.
Set in the post-apocalyptic Australian Outback, it has more in common with Fallout and Wasteland than our favourite fantasy RPG. Its focus is on guns and maintaining resources rather than spells and the roll of dice. That said, it’s not too far removed from Baldur’s Gate, as its party system is more than a bit familiar.
With up to five in a group, it goes beyond the simple companions you get in other role-playing games. They join your gang only if your character is philosophically and morally aligned. That isn’t easy when the game presents you with options akin to Sophie’s Choice. As you might expect from this genre, all your decisions have consequences. Unique dialogue options only appear when you’ve met certain criteria.
One thing I appreciate is that the Broken Roads doesn’t hide the Moral Compass system. You can access the graph at any time to see where your choices land you. This means you’re playing less of a dialogue option lottery and can truly embrace the type of character you want to be. It also recognises that political alignment is a spectrum, and you may land somewhere in between two camps. It seems to take inspiration from Disco Elysium specifically, which is a huge boon, given how well it works in that game.
For better or worse, there’s no class system. On one hand, that means you don’t need to restart the game or visit a certain NPC to find the right playstyle for you. On the other, I question how each character will stand out. Developer Drop Bear Bytes says this offers “nearly unlimited character development options,” though, so I can’t judge before I’ve played it myself.
Broken Roads is a first for the studio but taking cues from the best RPGs like “Pillars of Eternity, Disco Elysium, Fallout, Wasteland, Tyranny, Pathfinder, and Baldur’s Gate” puts it on the right path. The game launches on Steam on April 10, and you’ll be able to purchase the soundtrack separately.
