Gone Home devs announce Open Roads, a narrative-driven road trip

Open Roads is Fullbright’s newest title. It is a mother-daughter road trip full of dark family secrets, lost treasures, and fiddling with the radio.

Fullbright, of course, are known for both Gone Home and Tacoma, two excellent narrative adventure games. So we can expect a deep, narrative-driven experience as we drive up to the Canadian border.

In Open Roads, we play through the story of 16-year-old Tess Devine. After she and her mother Opal find a box of old notes and letters stashed away in their attic, they decide to travel to long-abandoned family properties in the hopes of uncovering the truth about a sketchy past. What they uncover suggests a much darker mystery, best left well enough alone.

But of course we aren’t going to leave it alone. Where’s the fun in that?

Open Roads takes place, where else, on the road. And it includes all the classic activities: searching for a decent radio station and chatting with your companions. According to the game’s description, Opal and Tess’s relationship has never been easy, and this road trip will be their chance not only to discover their family’s past but learn more about each other. We’ll expose character flaws, secrets, and buried truths through the game’s interactive dialogue system.

And I have high hopes for all this dialogue. Tess is voiced by Kaitlyn Dever (“Booksmart,” “Unbelievable,” and “Short Term 12”) and Opal by Keri Russell (“The Americans,” “Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker,” and “Antlers”).

The trailer gives us a small taste of Dever’s performance, as she narrates Tess’s inner monologue. We also get to see the game’s gorgeous art style, which should “bring the adventure to life” by melding detailed first-person environments with beautifully hand-animated characters.

Open Roads is set to launch in 20221 on PC and consoles. You can already check out and wishlist the game on Steam.