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Broken Roads, the post-apocalyptic Aussie RPG, launches in November

Broken Roads has nabbed an official launch date – and it's much sooner than expected.
broken roads drop bear bytes

Broken Roads, the upcoming Australian-made post-apocalyptic adventure simulator inspired by Fallout and other classic RPGs, has officially locked in a release date. After years in development, and countless excellent showings at trade shows like PAX, Broken Roads will release for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on 14 November 2023.

The news was shared on Twitter, where developer Drop Bear Bytes also revealed the game will arrive on other platforms in future.

Broken Roads is a distinctly Australian game, behind the scenes – and on screen. Beyond spotlighting Australian icons like Uncle Jack Charles, the game’s world has also been heavily inspired by the dusty, sweeping scenery of the Western Australian desert.

With shades of Mad Max, the adventure explores a post-apocalyptic Australia ravaged by time and climate disaster, as loose bands of travellers attempt to survive a harsh world. Like its fellows in the RPG genre, Broken Roads aims to lean heavily into choice, as players will need to exercise their morals (Humanist, Utilitarian, Machiavellian, and Nihilist) as they chart a course across wild plains.

Read: The Philosophy of Achievement Design in Australian Games

Per the game’s official description, Broken Roads was born of a “love for traditional isometric computer role-playing” – with this feeding into its narrative systems and depictions of the post-apocalypse, and its morality system. With up to five party members able to join your crew, and many more waiting against a backdrop of hardship, you’ll need to make careful choices as you travel.

With every decision, your future will be altered – as once your moral compass is set, certain decisions will be locked off, or made harder to achieve.

“We believe this will enhance the game’s roleplaying realism – you can not take an evil option and then immediately follow up with the most noble option,” Drop Bear Bytes explained of this system. “Decisions will not be clear cut good and bad – we want to present real moral dilemmas that players will have to carefully consider.”

Players will be able to dive into these moral quandaries for themselves when Broken Roads launches on 14 November 2023. A demo for the upcoming game is now available on Steam.

Leah J. Williams is a gaming and entertainment journalist who's spent years writing about the games industry, her love for The Sims 2 on Nintendo DS and every piece of weird history she knows. You can find her tweeting @legenette most days.