Keep Driving Review (tooie)
It's alright. Fun little cozy game that seems to be in the same genre as Darkest Dungeon and games like it. In Keep Driving - your enemies are "threats" during your roadtrip such as road kill, potholes, insect swarms, cyclists, etc. It's fun but it gets pretty played out and you'll encounter the same threats a dozen times over. The last hour of my playthrough had me itching to just cross it off my list of completed games.
In total I played for 4 hours. My first hour was bad. I didn't really understand the game very well but the second time around I beat the game in under 3 hours. No I did not speed run it. You are given a certain amount of days to make it to the festival. I think it was something like "be there by June 28th" and I made it the morning of the 27th. So just barely.
There isn't a ton to do and watching your vehicle auto drive toward 'threats' in the road starts to feel like a slog. There aren't enough food options that provide buffs. You get chewing gum, cigarettes, duct tape, and I think a lottery ticket as glovebox items that you can use as defense against threats. It's pretty limited.
Vehicle upgrades are pretty bare. There aren't like... rare versions of the upgrades so every shop in every town has about the same stuff and they all provide the same bonuses. It becomes a snoozefest and defeats the purpose of even visiting.
I was originally thinking this would play more into hitchhikers but in my first playthrough I ran into one. On my second playthrough I ran into two and their buff-to-debuff ratio isn't really worth bringing anyone along for the ride besides one that I found. I forget her name. It was something silly like The Champion or The Warrior. She leaves trash in your vehicle as her debuff but her bonuses are great. She steals 1 item from every shop that you visit for the first time and you get to pick that item. Then she also has the ability to destroy several threats at once if shes intoxicated or high. I was always high because weed was accessible and the cops don't seem to bother you for it. Alcohol is not worth it. You can get arrested and you can lose your game. You also get a ton of extra debuffs during fights when you are drunk... So it's literally pointless.
Hitchhiker bonuses should far outweigh the downside of having them but then again, finding them is nearly impossible.
Once you make it to your final destination "The Festival", the game ends. I think it should give you the option to keep driving or start over versus it forcing the game credits and making you start over. The benefit here is that when you do finish the game and start over, you get to keep your vehicle and the modifications you put on it. Everything else gets erased.
I judge a game by hours played. I think it should parallel the dollar value. Considering I only got 4 hours out of this game, I don't think its worth $18. I do however think a $10 price tag would be fair because everyone is different and some people may get a little more enjoyment out of it.
But it just wasn't for me. I do think it's unique and I enjoyed the style so I do recommend it for others to try. Just be warned.