izigame.me

opening disclaimer: i don't really recommend for or against this game, it's decent but not great or terrible, i have to pick one for a steam review, i also might sound angry, mean or upset but that's just me all the time, i like this game lol.
this game is very curious, it is a good classic racing game, it's a pretty nothing roguelike, it's a somewhat lacking visual novel and it's got some really nice visual art, as well as music, but the story is nothing special, the plot devices are extremely literal; how you're running away from your fear, racing against (totally not yourself) someone in the same car, that no one knows anything about except that they're really fast, which is .... suspiciously similar to the main character you'll be thinking the first time you see it, then the second and the third it becomes a bit grating, why have the game play out the same 3 times, to the MC's absolute non-reaction, (atleast in other timeloop games like for example alan wake's american nightmare alan is very clearly somewhat irritated and confused by it) until the MC realises the obvious loophole in the contract that i personally already figured out by that point, it's a fun experience with likeable characters (other than the player character which is literally a character you select your exact experiences to fill in, which again is neither great nor awful) haven't finished part 4 yet but if they actually make the player character a woman no matter your choices then bonus points for having some amount of rigidity and commonality to any player's story which i think all games should have SOME of, i don't like the blank slate protag concept in these extremes where it makes the character feel too generic and like a vessel even though they aren't explicitly supposed to represent an empty vessel for the player in a meta sense, if they have a past of being a famous racer why do they have no personality or deeper history? this to me feels like a weird and largely non cohesive character design, i feel that although it's an interesting choice to do this it would be better in a more silent hill 3 or until dawn way, or even fallout NV where you answer generic, psychological profiling questions in a more medical environment where it's an in universe thing rather than basically a settings menu selecting whether you had a good relationship with your family, i mean it's nice that the things the villain taunts you for are personal and actually targeted, more specific words are often stronger and more emotional than generalised things of course so i see what the idea was but it seems somehow wrong or forced that the game explicitly asks for them at the start of every act just to then immediately try to make you shocked when it told you it wanted to use them to make you feel something or whatever, this could be slightly alleviated even just by having the questionnaire be a big blank file you fill in ALL at the start before you play, it could even be the villain's contract that the MC has signed, there are ways this aspect of the story could have felt less forced and corny and more like creating your characters backstory, which in games like fallout is part of the appeal (though that is an RPG, you don't need this in a visual novel or racing game) i feel like the customisation of a character almost entirely was misunderstood, it exists for a reason in games it exists in, and when it doesn't, which we can see in games like.... idk the EA WRC games or something it feels hollow and pointless and like a waste of time, point being that it's a clear risk not very worth taking in this project and therefore confuses me, it feels like the idea guy was also the development guy, which is fine and i still think it's a good game but maybe there should've been a 'we're not trying to reinvent the wheel' guy there too because i do like the minor characterisations we get in roadside events where you have 2-4 options for a given situation, which of course then have pre written responses and actions that i think are a charismatic, well written character for the tiny ammount they give us.
this game also has some actual problem problems, there is a bug where sound is attenuated as if someone is talking, so the car and the radio are quiet to let you hear them but it's bugged for the whole stage and no one is talking anymore and infact all future voicelines in the stage won't work, also the UI doesn't show everything you may need to know, like for example i lost a run because i made the mistake of not selecting to pause the fear because i thought i would make it to the end, since it said it was a few hours behind me, but seconds later it overtook the end, there is no indication of when it will do that other than guessing and the way fear works on the map is slightly confusing so it's hard to know. another problem is that the driving physics feel like an oldschool racing game, like outrun or something, this is a problem. because as important as those games were, they kinda suck, it feels bad to drive a car that is unresponsive and weightless, i'm driving a muscle car that weighs probably close to two tons, why does it feel like it weighs 20 lbs and simultaneously 4 tons, it also suffers from the classic racing game issue of ''useless-brake syndrome'' brakes do not slow the car down at all and you drift the car by letting off the gas, not letting off the brake, it will, confusingly, not really drift while accelerating, which doesn't make any sense, not just in terms of realism because this game is clearly stylised and arcadey, but it doesn't make sense to play, think of the driving in grid 2, this game should feel like grid 2 or burnout, those games atleast to me feel a lot better and more intuitive to play, arcade racing games done right, or at least, in my opinion, better, another problem is that once i crashed and got reset onto the road automatically but i was unable to accelerate quickly enough to evade police capture and they stunlocked me twice, i got reset from crashing once and then instantly lost my entire run on the final road because i was physically unable to escape the police cars the game reset me directly into TWICE, please atleast add a buffer for resetting and not getting instantly arrested or make police move away slightly when you respawn, also sometimes you will hit small wooden gates/fences at 150 miles an hour and spin out uncontrollably, i can't believe i am saying this but that is not in fact how multiple tons of metal would react upon hitting a small piece of wood and this is a very irritating quirk that screwed me over several times, please make it so that the car is not as sensitive to small collisions with fragile objects you have, intentionally, no other choice but to hit like gates and wooden barriers in police roadblocks, atleast if the brakes aren't going to slow you to a speed where you can control the spin.
at this point i don't think i would choose to spend £16 on this game, 8-10 is definitely a more realistic price point for me
cliff notes: don't try so many things that no one has done, there's a reason no one made a visual novel that's a racing game that's also a roguelike, it doesn't add much really.
don't be afraid for your character to have a character.
take the aesthetic/feeling of oldschool racing games and leave the physics, outrun feels weird to play, this doesn't have to.
likes are the writing, characters are charismatic and funny, the woodstock '69 bit really got a good laugh out of me.
also the music is somehow mostly period accurate for the 70s and somehow good, which is already shocking, but it's very inetersting how the music is so varied and yet all of similar quality, it's very good.
and the sound design, non protag characters and the car choice are all stand out, good, quality parts of the game
also i'm by no means a game designer so these are probably all stupid criticisms in ways i don't understand.

Heading Out has to be one of the best releases this year that I've been able to play, And I didn't expect to see myself writing this review or wanting to care this much about a game i picked up for only $20
Starting out I didn't really know what to expect from this game; I hadn't followed the game's development and looking through the screenshots, game play trailer and earlier reviews my initial understanding for what the game would be like was a narrative based driving simulator with the ability to decide parts of your characters story. I loved the sound of that, purchased the game and spent the first bit of it falling in love with the visuals and aesthetic of it all, the almost comic style of the colors and flashy visuals paired with the 70's setting made the game feel lively all throughout for me even to the end.
Game play wise it isn't anything spectacular, well from a normal persons point of view I'm guessing. To me the driving felt much different than anything I've played in a racing game before. I didn't go into the game believing I'd be able to drive completely all over the USA like in 'The Crew' with how cheap the game was or even expecting complex driving mechanics comparative to most racing games of this era, Instead what I got with 'Heading Out' was loving the game driving for not how it felt to drive but for how it made me feel when driving. The setting is perfect for me, spending countless minutes managing cash and your drivers energy make you feel the rush of being on the run, ducking in and out of cover as a cop nears your location along one of the maps many roads before speeding off to the next blip in front of you; whether that be a brand new story for your character to flesh out their ongoing journey, Road Races that keep you on the edge of your seat to get into first place hearing the cars pass by exclaiming "There he is! The Interstate Jackalope!" letting you know just how widely known and important your characters actions are to the people around you as you gain infamy and reputation. Cash from the races always doesn't seem like a lot but enough to keep yourself moving even just a bit further on your path and running through traffic or escaping police chases combined with those races shows you leaving a trail of increased wanted levels all over the map in your wake, just you and your car managing to escape anything in your path or even behind it as your characters fear follows you slowly filling up the roads you drive and leave behind. You always get to keep the feeling of being on the run, whether it be from the aforementioned police officers wanting to tear you off the road, the fear of your past lingering right behind your tread tire marks or as the game eventually makes you realize, even yourself.
That's where the narrative really comes into play. You start off deciding your characters backstory, or well as much as you can in a game where the mystery really carries the story. From that point on, whenever you enter a new chapter you get to continue building that character and the history they have or traits you want them to have. This was one of my favorite parts of the game, even though the driving felt so rewarding; the feeling of building this driver and making the traits as relatable to myself as i could made certain pieces of the game stick with me more then they maybe should have.
Before I forget to mention this; Jesus Christ this game's score is wonderful. Serious Sim really did do such a great job with everything on the OST, From the games main track of "Same Old Road" to "Aint No Hero" even "Disco Gal" is such a banger for me. No matter what your taste of music is, the songs that were chosen for this title really put you in the place the developer wanted you to feel you were in; listening to some western track or hard rock while I'm gunning down a California interstate anticipating a turn, there's not a single way i could think of being able to make someone feel like a road ruling street racer outlaw then the way it was displayed in this game.
The way the topic of self hatred and running from your issues were approached really hit home for me as well; the way that fear speaks to you through the radio preying on your vulnerabilities and problems you've been through mocking you for the issues you have and belittling you is so reminiscent of what it's like to have depression. No matter what you do sometimes you cant help but doubt and be the one person beating yourself down in any given situation. The one voice you know so well in your head telling you the same things over and over and you just have to deal with that, to keep pushing it off.
The struggle of maintaining that mental escape while trying to distinguish what the good things are around you whether that be the people you meet along your way, the accomplishments you make or even the situations you can decide to aid or hurt. Every single one of these things i experienced in this game made me understand how I could relate to the character I was building and the struggles they faced along their own journey in their own life.
Every step of the way we have so many different voices in our ear; from the doubt and cynicism our fear speaks, Riley giving us adoration and pressing her own problems down, JC venting about his regrets and past decisions, Joy dealing with the pain she had from her ex husband, and even Steve Landry beating us down for anything we decide to do. All of these characters have their own unique and distinct personality, and even if we don't see eye to eye with any of these people about everything they believe certain radio snippets show the relations of problems that our character and these troubled people can all sympathize with. At the end of the day, opinions are opinions. We all will spout and spew what we think and what we believe, shouting into an endless void believing our thoughts will matter more than someone else but our hearts will always empathize with feelings we can relate to. That's what being human is all about.
Even just thinking about the things we go through as people; the things we lose, the people we hurt, the ways we get hurt, there's so much i felt hit home for me in this game in so little time. The feelings i got from this game will not be the same or maybe even close to what you felt, but feeling every single part of the things I was able to describe and even the things i wasn't able to put into words made me adore this little narrative rogue-lite so much. The ending was amazing, your character pushing from day to day reliving the same stuff over and over, very obviously so tired of it but never giving up as he pushes towards his goal. One of the scenes i experienced having low focus and driving over one of the conversation blips showed my version of Jackie so tired, so stressed and so emotional behind the wheel. He pulls over in the rain and he just cant go anymore. It was the one scene in the game i feel that i have felt a million times over in my day to day life. Making the choice between screaming and crying and then being forced to just go back to it, like nothing happened. Being able to let a bit of that pain out before you are forced to do what you have to do.
This game is beautiful, from the driving to the narrative we are able to build and experience to the ending where you finally get to realize that running from your issues only perpetuates the cycle of never escaping them and the only real way to handle the things that we try to escape is by turning around, and facing them. That's the only real way you can get through to that light on the other side.
To every other "Interstate Jackalope" that played this game I hope you enjoyed it more if not as much as I did.
Whenever you hit your lowest of the low, you cant go anymore and you feel terrible about yourself, remember the person you are the things you're capable of and get yourself back on that road to defeat the "greatest driver alive", your doubts!<3

Let me get this out of the way first. If you are using a Linux based system (that includes the Steam Deck) DO NOT BUY THIS GAME! I have had countless crashed and twice it locked up my computer completely. Otherwise let me get into the actual review.
So Heading Out appears to be a comic like The Crew game on the store page. Well its not... Yes you will be going across America but, in the context of a map and not actually driving. The driving sections don't exceed more than 4 minutes in length per session and are rather short. They aren't very in-depth but, its...fine. The car handles either like the twitchy model out of Gmod or like a brick in molasses. The handling lacks consistency and often times causes you to take turns incorrectly. Bump's can often times be a 50/50 gamble of weather you'll be fine... or darting off the road. But, I'll save me thoughts about this later. I want give a breakdown so, that I can give people a proper decision. The very bottom will be a TLDR of my overall thoughts of the game.
So... what did I like:
- First off I wanna give props for having a dyslexia mode. As someone who suffers from dyslexia a great deal. And often times has to just cope with the fact of re-reading the same line 5 or more times till I get the real context... this was awesome. Sure it makes the game look off but, if it allows me to follow along with the story... I'm cool with it.
- The art style is awesome! I love the cell-shaded comic book like theme going on here. A nice mix of Initial D meets The Fast and The Furious.
- Car section is nice. I will give a small breakdown. (Note you unlock a new car every act upon completion. You need to use the left analog stick to oddly wack your way over to the section to make a choice.) The cars (year not withstanding) are as follows.
1973 Dodge Challenger (You will have this by default)
1952 Chevrolet Bel Air with Blower (1st Act Finished)
1964 Ferrari GTO 250 (2nd Act Finished)
1970 Nissan Skyline GT-R (3rd Act Finished)
Now while I think some of the choice of cars are a bit odd (The GTO and GT-R due to one only ever having 34 made and the other never being sold in America) I like the selection. Naturally they don't go by the licensed names but, that's not a strike against them.
- Finishing a chapter is great to see. It shows you your choices and events performed. Like a highlight reel!
- Music may not be the best. But, I have heard way worse.
And that's all the likes I have to say... So lets get into my gripes that are not game crashing issues. Now mind you these comments are coming from someone who was playing on "Balanced." They may not reflect other difficult levels.
- About the driving... Beyond the lack of feel it has it can be boring... Often times you are left unchallenged. Detours feel like a no-brainier instead of a risk/reward situation. Get fame in a Burnout like style is often touchy at best (You could dive a few inches from a car and get a near miss one moment. The the next time nothing happens.) And the car really likes throwing a hissy fit with the slightest of bumps.
- The Cops... or the lack there of... For the most part the cops (apart from being the bad guys for the most part but, we will get into that later) are terrible. If you end up in a chase with them it is often Speed + Detour + Something Else + Repeat = Win. Seriously they are so bad at posing a threat it makes the cops in NFSMW 2005 look like they are cheating. Better yet if you get arrested instead of it being a failure condition its a reset. No drawbacks, no getting held up, no needing to panic about fear, and defiantly no major issues. Just... drive.
- FEAR... Well more like fear... It's meant to be the games way of making you move forward and be a fail state but... I never once had an issue with fear. Sure it would shut me out of a city once or twice but, whats the big deal? Didn't stop my run and overall just felt like some pointless fail condition to keep me from thinking about going somewhere else... speaking of which...
- The East Coast! Or better yet the lack their of. The roads exist on the map but, you can not go to any of the states that line the Atlantic Ocean. They don't even have the abbreviation on the map! Why do you hate the East Coast Serious Sim? WHY?! (Mind you I come from Texas that is in the game... But, the point stands.)
- Game length is a bit short. Wanna do another run? Too bad... start from the beginning! Sure you don't really need to worry about unlocks as this is more of a rouge-lite than a rouge-like. But, I wanna be able to use the other cars still!
- It's re-playable! Or not... Look once you've done one run thought the entire game. It's highly unlikely you will want to come back. Perhaps that's an issue with the game wanting to have a story but, I doubt it.
So... without further ado... lets take about the one major opinion I have that makes me not want to recommend this game to someone else.
So I hear you like politics..? Let me set a president I was more interested to get into the muck of the mess of the 1970's America but... one big issue. You only get to do what the developer thinks the good side is. I don't need to tell you the America in the 70's wasn't a nice place to be if you were a minority or at the very least not white. Sure it may have came after the Civil Rights Act was passed but, that only meant civil liberties were protected. It had no control on how people had to behave personally.
But, here's the rub. The developer doesn't let you do remotely anything right of Stalin as a good thing. Or at least it feels that way. People have pointed out that Disco Elysium does a better job of letting you see the pros and cons of political ideologies over this game (Mind you that DE was made by actual Communists) and I will have to agree. Personally I will most likely never play DE as it's just not my game (but, kudos to the guys and gals who made it.) I wanna give a breakdown of this games outlook in the 70's. And if you wish to skip to the TLDR by all means go right ahead!
-So... the game wants you to focus on 4 radio stations. I will not really name the people manning them beyond one (as the name of the person is also the station but, not?) And is somewhat important to the story... Somewhat. At the base level they will comment about the world and some of your actions. Good or bad and the spin they have on them. I wanted to comment on each one in depth but, I hit the text limit. XD
In a nutshell all of them have the vaguest of political views minus two. One who is very left wing (even for the time) and one who is basically Alex Jones without the aliens and the waters that turn the frogs gay. The other two stations; while meant to have differing political views from the two extremes, really spend the time for the most part taking the piss out of Steve Landry. Even the game wants you to know that Steve Landry is a douche-bag. It's a tip actually... The issue is... I actually like Steve. How did you succeed in making the person whose meant to a douche into the one I am glad to hear from? Well mostly by having a horribly set up world. The politics of the 2020's in the 1970's. Look I'll keep it short. I wanted a bit of historical accuracy but, you won't find that hear beyond the style. So my advice. just take it for what it is and assume this world takes place with a really progressive society. For god sake they called the Iron Cross for a Nazi marking. And they don't let you deal with him nicely. I could go into a rant but, I'll pass.
TLDR: Game fine, story bad, choice do not matter, right wing bad.
STEVE LANDRY FOR PRESIDENT 1974!
I can't refund it so I'll just enjoy what I can.
Edit to fix errors. Again Dyslexic.