If you play just one game in February, choose this car management RPG.

      If you're a fan of RPGs, you're likely overwhelmed by the options available right now. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Avowed, and Monster Hunter Wilds have all recently been released, each requiring a substantial time commitment. While managing those three games might be a challenge, there's another RPG you should consider adding to your roster: Keep Driving.

      Launched earlier this month before the influx of big-budget titles, Keep Driving is an "atmospheric management RPG" now available on PC. Players take on the role of a young adult embarking on a cross-country road trip, with the objective of reaching a music festival in a month. This pixel art adventure seeks to embody the freedom of the open road alongside the difficulties of a wanderer's lifestyle. If you enjoy innovative games that blend genres to create something fresh, Keep Driving is a must-play from February.

      As my journey begins, I must make several crucial choices. Do I have a job? What type of car am I driving? What is my relationship with my parents? These questions are significant, as they affect how much storage space I have in my vehicle for items, the gear I will take, and the chances of my parents assisting me in tough situations. Once these factors are established, I automatically start driving along a 2D road, accompanied by a grungy garage rock soundtrack. Eventually, I arrive in a town where I can refuel, purchase snacks, customize my vehicle, and more. Upon preparing to depart, I select another route from my map and continue driving to the next location.

      While it may sound straightforward, Keep Driving is a surprisingly complex RPG filled with systems, all packed into a compact indie game that can be completed in just a few hours. First, I need to learn how to take care of my car, constantly monitoring its durability and fuel level. Managing these elements comes with a cost—money, a limited resource I need to figure out how to earn as a traveler. I can earn some cash through odd jobs in towns, but those will consume both my time and energy, another resource that can leave me stranded if depleted. Additionally, I can make money by accepting random delivery gigs, which may involve detours to deliver beer or locate a lost cat. This will take time, as I have only a limited number of days to reach my destination (and I need to allocate time for sleep to recharge my energy).

      It took me several in-game days to truly grasp the mechanics, but Keep Driving captivated me as an inventive car management simulator once I figured it out. It's not far removed from Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector, where I had to balance stress, money, and fuel while navigating between space towns. The key difference is that my resources comprise bags of Doritos and cigarettes. Its extensive range of items incorporates various complexities I must master. For instance, I can consume a soda to regain energy quickly, but this will result in a long-term "tired" status effect. It's a series of delicate balancing acts as I strive to stay alert and keep my vehicle running.

      Numerous obstacles lie in the way of my freedom. During the driving segments, I encounter a variety of random events. Everything from traffic jams to cars tailing me closely is represented as turn-based RPG encounters. In each turn, I need to counter "attacks" by resolving them with learned skills and items from my glove box. If a gas icon appears on the screen, I’ll lose fuel on my opponent’s turn unless I can use a skill that has a gas icon. It’s more intricate than matching images, as certain skills may cost me energy or money. I can acquire new skills over time, but I can also pick up hitchhikers who provide access to more skills (as well as negative passive effects).

      This barely scratches the surface of Keep Driving’s mechanics, but everything becomes second nature after a few drives. What stands out more is the emergent storytelling that develops during each run as these systems intertwine. One of my favorite stories unfolded when I picked up a six-year-old hitchhiker alone in a town. She asked for a ride home, and I agreed to have her travel with me and some crust punks I had picked up. What I didn’t realize was that my good deed came with a caveat: she would need to stop periodically on the road for bathroom breaks, leading to short battles requiring me to resolve energy attacks. The quickest way to manage this was by smoking a cigarette from my glovebox. I kept doing it until I developed an addiction, resulting in a new trait that caused me to smoke two cigarettes each time I lit one. Frustrated by this and her constant chatter, I eventually left her behind in a small town. Not the kindest decision, I admit, but I was role-playing as a dirtbag, after all!

      It’s moments like these that differentiate Keep Driving, even though its main gameplay can become repetitive