I hate that the Slow Roads demo didn’t work with gamepad, even though gamepad is available. I’ve never used a keyboard to drive, so my driving was erratic and dangerous for the beautiful roads. But I managed to recognize some of its beauty beneath my frustration and cramping hands.
Slow Roads is about getting in and driving. I like that the music was locked in the demo. I could hear all the sounds. One of my favorite car sounds is hearing the rushing wind fill the cabin while going at high speeds. As a child, the roar from the air blowing through our rolled down windows put me to sleep. I had to focus on driving in this game, but I felt that same aural pleasure as I pushed absurd speeds through the twisty hills.
Everything is procedurally generated—no AI. Choose what kind of road you want to drive on (slow or fast), how wide you want the lane, how twisty do you want it, and what kind of surface do you want to drive on. The game takes its seeds and randomly generates something for you.
The hills I drove through were vast and wide. Greens, yellows, and blues flew by. I drove through forests, next to lakes, through valleys, and around high altitude bends. It felt like driving through real locations. Having a real life reference made driving much more relaxing. When it was night time, I remembered actually driving through a tunnel of trees and coming out the other side seeing a cascade of stars fill the sky. It’s beautiful. And it’s beautiful in Slow Roads. In fact, driving through those forests at night could be scary in real life, but the developer did a good job of recognizing that and making it feel magical by adding white-petaled flowers that almost sparkled as my headlights lit them up.
You’re able to change the weather and time of day as you please. Tired of the bright sun? You can drive in overcast weather. Or dusk. Or dawn. All these subtle options are exactly what makes driving fun, when you’re not doing it because you have to. Even the sound of the car is relaxing. It’s not a gas-guzzling, loud supercar. It’s an electric vehicle. Its soft and happy hum as it reaches greater speeds feels warm and inviting.
I only wish that driving fast wasn’t so easy. I had to keep managing my speed which took me out of the joy of seeing everything. My natural inclination while playing was to stay around 45-55 MPH. It’s a good speed to be able to catch my surroundings. There is an autodrive feature, and I probably should have used it to give my hands a break, but I wanted to steer the wheel.
What’s interesting is that it doesn’t feel like the tires are touching the road. The car doesn’t feel weightless, but I don’t feel like my tires are gripping the road. But I like that in Slow Roads. It goes with the casual, relaxed feel. It’s a game that’s supposed to simulate the emotional feel of driving, not the physics. And so there are a few concessions made in the physics, which is likely why the car feels less weightier than what you’d find in a Forza or Gran Turismo.
I was just watching some of my footage—no sound—and it’s pleasurable to watch without steering. I’m just watching the road snake in and out (despite my erratic driving). No matter how you play this, it’s all so relaxing and pleasant. And this is just the demo. The full game must feel amazing.