Summary
Nothing says ‘exhausting but fun vacation’ quite like a 10-year-old car that’s just a tad too small for everyone to fit, a small gas station’s worth of snacks, and a CD that nobody remembers buying but has presumably been in the car’s CD player for as long as the car has existed.
Books and movies are no strangers to stories about these meandering adventures, but when it comes to video games specifically, finding a good road trip can be just as rare as experiencing a good road trip in real life. That said, therearegood road trip games out there, and to prove it, we hunted down the best video game road trips the medium has to offer.
When thezombie apocalypse inevitably breaks outacross the United States, Death Road To Canada understands that the only logical place to go for safety against the undead hoard is someplace north of the Canadian border.
As such, you (and a friend if you choose to play the fantastic couch co-op mode) must embark on a zombie-smashing, occasionally car-crashing adventure to the safety of Canada, knowing all the while that if you don’t play your cards right, this could be the last road trip you ever take.
9The Long Drive
Every Driver’s Worst Nightmare
The Long Drive is a game that seeks to replicate the feeling of being hopelessly lost, looking up and down the map, and eventually just giving up and driving because, well, the road has to lead somewhere, right?
It does this by randomizing everything and making pretty much every attempt at progressing a complete nightmare. We love this. The Long Drive is, after all, just fun to play,and its chaotic premise is precisely why we find ourselves coming back again and again, just to see what happens next.
8The Oregon Trail
You Have Died Of Dysentery
The Oregon Trailis as road trip as it gets, even if it never once has you stepping foot into the rusted shambles of a 1975 AMC Pacer. Together with a family of your own creation, you’ll hobble through a series of troubling status ailments, and occasionally get to play a fun hunting game, too.
In all seriousness, we love The Oregon Trail. It’s one of the most important games ever made, and it is the definition of a classic road trip adventure.
7Final Fantasy 15
Fantasy Epic Meets Rubber Tires
Yes, as odd as it may seem, Final Fantasy 15, a core entry in one of the fantasy genre’s most iconic franchises, is, when all is said and done, ultimately about taking a nice car and driving it across the country until it inevitably breaks down.
For as many issues as the game has with pacing, we like to think that these only serve to enhance the feeling of being on a long-winded road trip that Final Fantasy 15 gleefully transforms intoan epic RPGwith titanic boss fights, fancy cars, and wedding politics.
6Heading Out
Heading Out is an intriguing mixture ofracing gameandvisual novel, with sprinkles of the roguelike genre placed on top just for good measure.
With a presentation style that screams passion and excitement and a heavy basis on classic road trip and driving movies, Heading Out is a fantastic adventure that’s worth replaying over and over again. After all, you never know what exactly you’ll end up finding out there on the open road.
5Jalopy
Jalo-What Now?
If you’ve never heard the term before, a jalopy is defined as “an old car in dilapidated condition”, and trust us, that’s a great title for a game all about taking a beat up hunk of dysfunctional tin and attempting to drive it from Berlin to Turkey with your uncle.
This is a game that understands the anxiety ofdriving something that really should not be on the road, and at every turn requires you to think about what needs to be replaced in your beat-up old lemon, and how to get the money for repairs in an engaging gameplay loop.
4Talking To My Dad
Just Talk, And Maybe Listen
One of the most crucial aspects of the road trip archetype in storytelling is unfortunately also its real world equivalent’s most painful; at some point, you have to have a conversation, and it’s going to have to get personal. Them’s the breaks.
Talking To My Dad boils the trip itself down into just that one, painfully awkward conversation, and as a result, feels very real, focused, and personal. For that reason, we get the feeling that this free indie browser game isn’t going to be for everybody, but if it’s for you, it’sreallyfor you.
An Open World Racing RPG
Also known as Everywhere Road Trip, this cultclassic racing adventuregame will have you racing across the globe in order to become the president. No, we’re not kidding, that is actually the plot of this game.
The game defies its otherwise particularly forgettable name with some wild surprises and captivating gameplay, combining open world, racing, and adventure elements into one of gaming’s most overlooked masterpieces. Seriously, if you can, hunt downthis PS2 classicand give it a try. We promise, you’ll be hooked.
2Pacific Drive
Where You’re Going…Yeah, You’ll Still Need Roads
In choosing to combine a solitary road trip through northern California with an interdimensional threat, Pacific Drive manages to present you with tried and true ideas that still come across well enough to convince you that its developers have re-invented the wheel in the best way possible.
Pacific Drive feels unique, complicated, slick, and above all else, mysterious. It keeps you guessing and engaged all the way through, ironically making it leagues more interesting than any real world road trip we’ve ever taken, all while keeping the road trip aesthetic intact.
1The Last Of Us
Argue all you like, but when you get right down to it, The Last Of Us is a road trip, and a pretty darn good one at that. Two misfit characters journey across the country in the aftermath of a terrifyingly realistic fungal disease which transforms everyone into a monster, infected or not.
With its outstanding character writing, tense atmosphere, and heart wrenching conclusion, The Last Of Us is an all-time great, and may forever be remembered as gaming’s most beloved road trip, regardless of how you feel about the controversial sequel.
