A well crafted transition into handheld for the Arkham series that provides some of the old school simplicity and intriguing puzzles that were a cornerstone of 2D Batman games of the past.

The graphical presentation works well, even if the environments are relentlessly similar and not at all a departure from the sites of interest seen in the more high profile 3D games.

Overall the gameplay is a touch too simple to remain engaging throughout the entire playthrough but I cannot deny I enjoyed what was here whilst it lasted.

Open Roads is desperately safe and as a result it is also relatively dull. Whilst these kinds of adventure/walking simulators often appeal to me very little about the characters, plot, or script leapt from this particular page - nonetheless I wanted to give it a chance. Unfortunately my instincts were correct.

There’s no challenge or intrigue to speak of. The ‘mystery’ is little more than a telegraphed twist - and once that twist is delivered, the game ends. I’m not sure how long Open Roads is but it felt like it was under 3 hours, and I am someone who generally investigates everything. Lucky it was on Game Pass because I doubt I would have been happy paying more than £5 for it. I know there were development issues with the game and I wonder if as a result they curtailed the plot.

This is the third Annapurna published game I have played now that provided enticing hype only to turn out to be very uncreative.

Our main character Tess is not really a teenager in any realistic way and her attempts to be witty are rather vacant. I had much more time for the mother, Opal, who at least wears some of the flesh of an imperfect human. In fact I often felt like the interest came from Opal’s relationship with her mother and sister - yet we only encountered this through the wavering concerns of Tess. An odd narrative approach altogether and one that lets all the relatively interesting sub plots simply die on the vine.

This is further exacerbated by the disjointed style of introducing dialogue which comes from cut aways in which you ask your mother about this or that object. Nearly every answer is predictable and flat. For example, at one point you discover clear evidence of a large burglary and both characters sound like they are contemplating what to have for breakfast. Is this really the great breakthrough in videogame acting the developers liked to claim? Absolutely not. The ending is even more frustrating in this same sense, their reaction to events is simply illogical.

Open Roads has a pleasant art style with an accurate and detailed world to explore (limited as it is). I particularly enjoyed the attention to creating objects and literature of the time. I was a similar age to Tess at the time the game is set and it certainly rang true for the most part.

Technically the game works well. I saw one instance of textures overlapping and my cursor occasionally failed to read the item I was trying to select, but these were relatively minor issues.

With more intrigue, a sharper script, and greater flexibility in your approach to the hurdles available this could be a promising adventure. As it is, it’s just a lot of nothingness.