Before talking about the game, a look in the retro is necessary. When Open Roads is announced by Annapurna Interactive in November 2020, the game only gives off good vibes with its desire to explore a mother – daughter relationship as part of a road trip in the footsteps of their family secrets. The game is the latest from Fullbright, a studio well known to fans of sensitive narrative games with Gone Home and Tacoma. Except that in August 2021, an investigation by the Polygon site paints an edifying portrait of creative director and author Steve Gaynor, portrayed as a leader with “ toxic and unhealthy » to the point of being the cause of the departure of around fifteen employees, including ten women, between 2019 and 2020.
Following this investigation, Steve Gaynor announced his resignation from his position as creative director. Last spring, the divorce between Steve Gaynor and the rest of the team was even fully pronounced: as explained by the site PC Gamer, the creative director continues his solo journey by keeping the Fullbright name, while the rest of the The team has finished its work on Open Roads under the name Open Roads Team, still in partnership with Annapurna Interactive, which will therefore release the game on February 22, 2024 on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, PC and in the Game Pass subscription.
Open roads for closed hearts
All this being said, it is time to take another look at the game itself, with this new trailer presented by Keri Russell, who plays the character of Opal (the mother) and plays the role of Kaitlyn Dever in the role of Tess (the girl). Maintaining a delicate relationship, the tandem will nevertheless embark on a journey to the past after the discovery of a packet of old notes and letters well hidden in their attic. These evoke family secrets, burglaries dating back several decades and a treasure lost on the Canadian border.
Beyond the search for the truth, this road trip will obviously be a way for mother and daughter to learn to better discover each other. The narrative is presented in a mix of first-person environments and hand-drawn characters. The game also promises “ a unique and attractive dialogue system, which advances the narrative by gradually revealing the characters’ flaws, their secrets and buried truths ”, we are told. Always good to note in a narrative game, the French texts will be there.