Broken Roads review: It’s not just the roads that are broken in this RPG that wants to be Fallout down under, writes PETER HOSKIN

Broken Roads (PlayStation, Xbox, PC, £32.99)

Verdict: A difficult journey ahead

Judgement:

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. A nuclear war has turned the Earth into an irradiated wasteland. You, as one of the survivors, have to scrape your bread from the dust. To do this, you can choose to use your mind or, in extreme cases, your gun hand…

Actually, I’ll stop myself. We’ve all heard this one before: It’s the premise of the decades-old Fallout games, which was recently adapted into one of the most popular TV shows of 2024.

It’s also the premise of Broken Roads, a new RPG that can best be described as an attempt to recreate one of the earlier Fallouts, except this time it’s in Australia.

Derivativity is the least of Broken Road’s problems. Here’s a list of my own: Boring battles; thinly drawn out companions; often repetitive and unsatisfying quests. Oh, and insects. Lots of game hindering bugs

Almost immediately after its release last week, the developers issued an apology of sorts for several issues with the game, along with a promise to try to fix them

I recommend that you just wait before playing, rather than not playing at all. Wait until the developers have had time to make good on their promise – as long as the apocalypse doesn’t reach us first

Unfortunately, it turns out that distraction is the least of Broken Road’s problems. Almost immediately after its release last week, the developers issued an apology of sorts for several issues with the game, along with a promise to try to fix them.

Here’s an incomplete list of my own: boring fights; thinly drawn out companions; often repetitive and unsatisfying quests. Oh, and insects. Lots of game hindering bugs. And yet it’s not as bad as everything it makes it sound. There’s a lot of character in Broken Roads in everything from the painterly style to the biting sense of humor. There’s also a lot of heart in exploring Australia’s indigenous past.

Moreover, the versatile morality system, which helps you develop your character beyond good and evil, has something special about it.

So I recommend that you just wait before playing, rather than not playing at all. Wait until the developers have had time to make good on their promise – as long as the apocalypse doesn’t reach us first.