Open Roads review: A bittersweet trail of nostalgia, secrets, and memories

Open Roads is about the relationship between two pairs of mother-daughters belonging to the same family. We play as 16-year-old Tess as she and her mother, Opal, clear up the house and prepare to leave it after the death of her grandmother, Helen. One thing leads to another, and soon I found myself on a road trip, tracing my way through Tess' family history and the memories that revolve around it.

I went into Open Roads without much idea about its premise, the people involved, or what the gameplay is like. The only thing I knew of it was an image of Tess and Opal driving through the countryside.

Now that I have completed the game and sat down to pen my thoughts, I must admit that I hesitated about how I would rate this game. To be honest, Open Roads does not re-invent the formula of a narrative game or push the boundaries of the genre it resides in. But not all games have to do that.

What it does is poignantly eke out the troubles and complexities of a relationship between a child and their parent. The dialog and the scenes struck a chord, and the game design and esthetics drove it home. But more on that later; let's dive into the review properly.

Open Roads: A bittersweet story exploring the annals of familial relationships and secrets

Open Roads is driven by Tess (voiced by Kaitlyn Dever) and Opal (voiced by Keri Russell) and their quest to find out about the supposed affair between Tess' recently deceased grandmother and an unknown man who settled in Canada. The actors must be commended for how they bring the characters to life. Without that, I am quite sure the game wouldn't have had the same impact.

"Hey Mom" (Image via Annapurna Interactive)

The gameplay is quite simple and straightforward - a first-person title where you walk around the gamespace and interact with items. Many of these objects will prompt reactions from Tess or allow her to call for Opal who will provide a context or a response. I had trouble a few times with movements and the camera getting clipped but, thankfully, they were not too serious.

The game begins with the player, Tess, tasked to clear up their room. After Helen's death, they were to leave the home. One thing leads to another, and you find Helen's hidden suitcase, learn about the family's summer country home, and convince Opal to take a trip there to find out more about the grandmother.

Following the twists and turns of familial stories

Open Roads utilizes the secrets that lie between family members to tease out the underlying emotions and memories. While the central drive of the entire plot throughout the two-hour-long game is to figure out the mysterious man with whom Helen seems to have an affair, the mystery takes more of a backseat.

Instead, you are thrust headfirst into Tess' free-spirited tendencies and wish to go against her mother's set rules, Opal's urge to do things herself and make sure her daughter doesn't go wayward, and the conflicts and frictions that come out of this situation.

An imaginary friend (Image via Annapurna Interactive)

Through ruminations, letters, texts, and dialogs, you learn about the strained relationship between Opal and her ex, Tess' father, Opal's sister's difficult childhood and an imaginary friend, Helen's secret correspondence with the man, a slew of burglaries in town, a possible hidden bootleg treasure, and Tess' wish to visit her father the next month.

On the way to the family's country home, we see Tess' fondness towards her father through the texts she sends him, but it is not quite reciprocated (sending "I love you" to the father doesn't get you a similar response). We soon learn that Opal isn't quite fond of this, and it's clear that she has kept much of why they parted or the truth about her ex a secret from Tess.

Open Roads is all about uncovering these pertinent secrets against the backdrop of the mysterious affair. The more we learn about the truths of these people from their perspectives, the more we can notice the growth in Tess and Opal over the course of this journey. By the end of the game, they are more mature versions of who they were in the beginning.

Swimming in the memories (Image via Annapurna Interactive)

A few roadbumps

The shortcoming of Open Roads lies in the fact that you won't really remember it once the game is over and the warm glow it leaves you with has dissipated. The story, while soulful, didn't really feel unique. While the game managed to hide the twist that arrives at the end quite well, you can guess it if you were paying attention to the letters and postcards throughout the game.

In conclusion

During my playthrough of Open Roads, I found a personal connection with the game early on. The very act of sifting through Helen's belongings and getting reminded of certain things (like the steps in the bathtub) got me truly nostalgic for my own grandma who I lost in 2023.

The memories of those gone by (Image via Annapurna Interactive)

The commendable voice performances, the warm design aesthetic, and the photorealistic graphics all drive this feeling of familiarity home. After all, does not every parent-child relationship have secrets and unspoken words? Does not memory cling on to objects long after those who have used them have passed?

Open Roads may not go down as a shining example of a narrative-driven mystery game. Yet, it is an experience that will undoubtedly leave players with a warm feeling inside, longing for things that have past and wondering if they could have taken roads different from what they already took.