THE ROAD TRIP

THE ROAD TRIP

- Sharon…
The gorgeous sunset basked the road ahead in amber light. A poetic end of their second day – as well as their last day in Florida. Perhaps forever.
- Hey, Sharon…
The words fall on deaf ears. Sharon was focused on the road ahead – her foot pressed on the gas pedal, her athletic hands gripped the steering wheel. Hobart’s eyes were more focused on the woman. There was… something about her, something unique. Could it be the faint outline of muscles beneath her shirt? The ponytail, poking from beneath her baseball cap? Or maybe…
- Sharon, for heaven’s sake. What is wrong with your skin?
- I don’t wanna talk about it, Hobs. Could you shut up for a second? – her voice showed a mix of despair and focus. – I can see a gas station nearby.
Hobart almost didn’t recognize the woman in the driver's seat. Sharon’s skin was nothing like it used to be mere hours ago. It was gray, resembling a rock. Even worse – she was dead quiet. Ever since they’ve first met, Sharon was not the type of person to stifle her internal thoughts. Whenever there was a reason to complain – she did. No matter the reason – bad training partner? Expired fruit? Taxi driver being late? You know she would throw a temper tantrum at any given chance.
But now she’s quiet. Dead quiet.

It's been a while since my last visit to Canada. Six years, according to Steam. Six years since I last drove my car from the southern, zombie-infested Florida to the safe Canadian lands. In other words - I haven't played "Death Road to Canada" in quite a while, and upon revisiting - it's still amazing!

Zombie games are nowadays a dime a dozen. Do you like playing with other people? DayZ has you covered. More into solo gameplay? Dead Island is waiting! Parkour? Hop on Dying Light. Maybe you prefer Project Zomboid's extreme realism, or Unturned's blocky aesthetics... There's something for everyone. Therefore it's a shame that DR2C has disappeared somewhere in this noise.

Okay, but what even is the game about? Naturally, it's a game about trying to survive. Canada is known to be a safe haven, free from the undead... so you (and your friend, if you so desire) hop into a car and go north, in search of peace. But that's quite a road ahead, full of zombies, infested cities, crazy people (and dogs!)... quite frankly, your chances are slim to none. Therefore you need to plan - gather resources and weapons, treat your car well, and pick the right choices on your way.

Hobart couldn’t take it any longer. He grabbed her arm – her cold skin was almost rock solid beneath his fingertips. The car swerved to the left as Sharon tried to free herself from his grip.
- What the fuck is wrong with you, Hobs? Let me GO! – She finally screamed, steading the car. They approached the gas station – a chance for them to take their mind off of the last few hours. – Just shut up and help me get some more gas.
The duo gets out of the car. The station still had its lights on – whoever evacuated last couldn’t care less about electricity bills. As if there is anyone out there who’s gonna care about any more bills.
Hobart examines the nozzles. A bit rusty, but overall – they seem to work just fine. Sharon tossed a bunch of empty jerry cans, and the two filled enough to last for a few more days.
- Sixty litres. Should be enough for now. – Hobart said as he closed the trunk door. Sharon’s gray eyes watched as the red containers disappear in the shadows, somewhere between their small reservoir of canned food and the emergency flashlights. They can’t bash any heads in, but in the darkness – you need them to find something that can.

CAROLYN EXPECTED THIS

Before you embark on your journey, you need characters. You can either create your own in a very robust editor, or generate random ones - each with a different personality trait and perk which subtly (or not) dictate your strengths and weaknesses. Maybe you want a level-headed surgeon, skilled in treating their injuries? Or a paranoid gunsmith, expecting the worst of every scenario? How about a katana-wielding anime fan? The choices are nearly endless, and each of them has their use.

Once you're done, you take your wacko(s) into their car and drive off. Your vehicle is your ticket to safety - take care of it! If it runs out of gas, or breaks down in the middle of nowhere - you'll be left walking on foot, where you're more prone for accidents and bandit attacks. Thankfully running cars are a dime a dozen, and you're bound to find one sooner or later.

Naturally food is another extremely important aspect of your survival. While I'm not sure if you can die of hunger, you certainly can take a morale hit from a poor meal! However, overabundance of canned goodness can be exchanged in occasional trader camps. Maybe that silenced rifle is worth six days of your supplies? If you're low on food, don't fret - some traders buy things like ammo and medicine. Some even might give you some free swag out of pity!

There's also medicine, necessary to keep you in decent enough shape, and ammo - self-explanatory zombie-killing death pellets. It's not a lot, especially compared to other titles, but still - every supply counts, if you want to reach Canada.

Two miles later, their car stops on a parking lot. The sun has set completely – starless sky was bound above their heads as the duo prepared a small camping spot.
- I swear to all that’s mighty, if something comes up to us in the middle of the night, and bites me in the… - Sharon’s whining was a sign. Hobs sighed in peace hearing his friend coming back to her usual self. Still, her skin was something they needed to discuss.
- Yeah, about that… Sharon, you need to be honest with me here. What happened down in Alachua?
Sharon’s eyes widened. Only four or so hours ago they bolted out of the city, not looking back... And that’s where it happened. As they were sieged by the undead, Hobart was searching through the shelves of Fud-2-Go, while Sharon looked through the restroom. She was not showing any signs of distress before going in there, so…
- Sharon. You need to be honest with me here. Were you bitten? – Hobs was stenrn. Unusually stern. – There’s no other way you could’ve turned this… grey. If these dead folks even touched you-
- No. It wasn’t the zombies. – She finally spoke up. Her eyes focused on Hobs’ cap. – When I went to that bathroom… You know how people hide cash in public bathrooms? You know, for drugs, bails, ransoms, the like. Well, I hoped someone did.
- And? – Hobart looked at Sharon’s arm in search of any bite marks.
- And… there was a genie. A FUCKING GENIE! Hobs, I’m not kidding – some blue ghost came out of the toilet, like a crappy Alladin story!
A genie. She could’ve given any other reasoning – drugs, fear, even just getting dirty. Anything would be more believable than a genie. Still, Hobart needed answers.
- Okay, a genie… Right. – He tried to sound convinced. – And… what did you ask him for?
- Immortality. – Sharon looked her friend deep in his eyes. – I wanted to make sure I – no, that we reach Canada safely. That we reach Canada alive. And bastard turned me into stone, I think. – She tapped her arm, feeling the hardness of her newfound, gray skin.

TOO SWOLE TO CONTROL

Above all, though - DR2C is a rouge-like. Every city, every building, every encounter is randomized. You never know who you'll meet on your way. Maybe you find a soldier barricaded in the bunker? Or two dogs in a trench coat? There's a plethora of rare characters, each with their different, ridiculous personalities.

If you haven't picked it up from my descriptions - the game doesn't take itself seriously. It's pretty openly poking fun at the zombie genre, while also being full of comic moments between all the chaos. Still, it can create fantastic stories! The one above was my recent playthrough. The toilet genie gave me "immortality", which increases your vitality - and turns your gray. Sadly it didn't work as well as I expected - as Sharon got eaten alive the very next day...

All in all - I think Death Road to Canada is fantastic! I haven't played it in a long time, so coming back to it recently was a breath of fresh air. There's still a lot I've got to experience - more gamemodes, more characters, heck - I still have to play multiplayer someday!

Hopefully I've gotten some of you at least slightly interested. If so - maybe consider picking it up? It's on Steam, Android, iOS and consoles - basically any modern(ish) platform you can imagine. In my opinion - it's well worth checking out!