Recent reviews by [CCG] Gmod4ever

I don't write reviews. Been on Steam since 2004, never have. For Road 96 and Mile 0, I make an exception.

Road 96 is absolutely one of my favorite games I have played in recent memory. It's not flawless or the objectively best by any metric, obviously. But it strikes all the right emotional chords for me, such that I praise the game to high heavens to any of my friends whom I think have even the slightest chance to enjoy the game. After finishing Road 96 some years back, I searched hell and high water looking for more games like it, to mixed results. When Digixart first announced a prequel in Mile 0, I patiently waited with excitement. I grabbed it the day it dropped.

I'm sure by now you've seen others' first impressions of the game. I'm sure you've seen comments asserting that the game is short, and that the game lost a lot of identity in the wake of implementing a Subway Surfer gameplay mechanic.

Both of these are true - but only at a very surface level.

My playthrough of Mile 0 took just shy of 6 hours. Unlike Road 96 proper, it is a very focused narrative. The writing within that narrative, in my opinion, very much holds up to the standard set by Road 96. And in my opinion, that is absolutely fine - I'd almost even say ideal. Road 96 did the legwork of selling us this world, and not only introducing us to its wide cast of characters, put endearing them to us. At least for me, I came out of Road 96 loving or hating every character it introduces. And I came out of it wanting to know more about them, to explore their lives both within and without Petria, and how their stories are interwoven.

Mile 0 is exactly that, an exploration of Zoe's radicalization, counterbalanced by a decidedly more radicalized friend who pulls her down the path we find her on in Road 96. Along the way, you meet a handful of characters from Road 96, but it is predominantly focused on Zoe. And with that in mind, I think the game's 6-hour runtime is perfectly suited for the story it tells.

So is the game short? Objectively, yes. Subjectively, in my opinion, it is exactly the length it should be.

Onto the subject of the Subway Surfer gameplay, and the idea that it subsumed a lot of the more unique gameplay mechanics of Road 96. This is, in my opinion, a half-truth. Many of those unique gameplay mechanics are still here in Mile 0, but the Subway Surfer mechanic is recurrent, coming up 10 times total. However, each Subway Surfer game has a unique aesthetic flair fitting the theme of the story at the moment, and is beautifully absurdist and surreal, overflowing with style. Even if you don't like the Subway Surfer gameplay itself - I'm certainly no fan of it, and found myself just exhaling deeply and going "really?" quite often due to the gameplay's sluggish controls and surprisingly tight timing requirements - I can't help but be impressed and just vibe with the visual storytelling that goes on in them.

And if worse comes to worst and you DESPISE the Subway Surfer gameplay, after wiping out 5 or so times the game offers to let you just skip it. The impact on the story for skipping the segments is negligible, as all of the pertinent storytelling is given as character dialogue overtop the gameplay.

But where this game really shines is in its third act. I expected the game to end on a Subway Surfer puzzle. You do the puzzle, credits roll. But that isn't the case. Not at all. Indeed, when you finish the final Subway Surfer puzzle, you still have almost 20% of the game's story left.

And in that last hour, I almost felt my heart ache as the Road 96 I fell in love with came back in full force. It combines beautifully with the new mechanic of swapping your point-of-view character, and it all comes together in a powerful climax that made all my skepticism of the changes made to the game wash away.

Many games flounder on the third act. Mile 0 does not. Mile 0 doesn't even stick the landing - it ends up in an entirely different plane of reality with its third act. Everything up to that point is building up to the climax, and at least to me, it is worth every minute of that build-up. Even if you hate the Subway Surfer segments.

All in all, I am extremely pleased with Mile 0. My first 5 or so hours of it I was enjoying it. But my last hour, that third act, made me fall in love with it. I fell in love with Petria all over again. And I'm now fighting the urge to play through Road 96 a third time, that love is coming back so strong.

That's a lot of talk. I wanted to make my case. Now, for my recommendation:

If you bounced off Road 96 and are considering Mile 0 as a "maybe I'll like it this time?", then I'd honestly consider passing. If you didn't like Road 96, you probably won't like Mile 0 - while the gameplay changes, it's not fundamental, and the major aspects of Road 96, its character-driven emphasis on writing, is very much the same here as it is in Road 96.

If you liked Road 96 and want to see more of Petria and its characters, but you are like I was and skeptical of bringing in this hitherto-unknown character in Kaito and even moreso of the Subway Surfer gameplay? I would absolutely recommend it. Even if the Subway Surfer gameplay is a thud for you, like it was for me, the visuals and music are absolutely stellar and I think justify the inconvenience of having to deal with it.

And if you liked Road 96 but actively despise Subway Surfer gameplay? Honestly, I would still recommend it. Maybe not for full price, but if you can get it on sale for $6 USD or so (so about half off), then I think even the most vehement opponents of Subway Surfer gameplay would be hard-pressed to find their money not well-spent after intentionally wiping each puzzle so you can skip it and just focus on the story.

In the end, it really boils down: do you want to learn more about the characters of Road 96, specifically Zoe? My answer to that question is the same answer to the question of "should I play Mile 0?".