Overview
Keep Driving is a game about taking a road trip. You will meet hitchhikers along the way as well as plenty of threats. Let’s take a look at what this game has to offer and answer the question. Should You Play?
Released on February 6, 2025
Developed & Published YCJY Games
Available on:
Steam
Let’s take a look at the game
You start of this game choosing what your portrait will be. As well as your background which includes. Your relationship with parents matters. A good relationship will help you out in a pinch. I don’t know what this is. I could not get this to trigger. You will also get to choose your occupation this will give you a starting trait. You get to choose what starting items you take with you. Lastly you get to pick your car. There are 3 in the game 1 available at start the others you unlock as you play.
A really interesting feature is when you start a new game. You can use the upgrades you have installed into the car from your last playthrough.
The game is random every new game to an extent. The hitchhiker locations are randomized and the job boards and the areas you can explore are randomized.
There are 9 ending in the game which gives this game a good amount of replay value. After you finish the game once you will be able to see what the other ending are. Making it easier to get all the endings.
The main thing in this game you will be doing is dealing with threats. Threats are events that happen on the road. There are many types of threats. They range from swarms of bugs to being stuck behind a tractor. You could even get pulled over by the police.
The way to deal with threats is to use skills. You get skills by using skill points to unlock new ones or use the skills that hitchhikers have. Each skill deals with a different type of threat. Some skills can remove any threat. Most skills can only be used a set number of times. Skills can cost you to use this could be gas, durability, money or energy. As you deal with threats the hitchhikers will get experience and get new skills as they level up. As you play you will unlock new skill trees these are permanent unlocks. They will be available from the start of new playthroughs.
You can also use items to deal with threats. Items can only be used a set number of times as well. You only can use the items that are in your glove box during a threat. Items can be super useful and taking ones that deal with threats your skills don’t is smart. You can find items or buy them even get them from quests.
The number of threats each threat has is random and can be lowered by skill and items. For example, if you have a flashlight and you’re dealing with a threat at night. The flashlight will remove one threat at the start. If you fail to address a threat that will attack, it will deal its type to you. The different types of threats are durability, gas, money, or energy. Sometimes threats can hit you with a debuff.
During your turn if you deal with threats perfectly. Meaning you hit the threats that match the skill without missing or hitting a different threat. You get an extra turn you can only get one extra turn each turn.
You can also step on the gas pedal and run away from the threat. If you do this each threat remaining will damage you.
Hitchhikers are also a big part of this game. Hitchhikers appear randomly as you drive along the roads. You can take them along if you have space for them and their things. Some hitchhikers have items you must take with you or even a dog that takes a seat in your vehicle. Each hitchhiker has their own skills and passives. Some of these are great others not so much. For example, the child needs to pee a lot.
Some hitchhikers have a destination for you to take them to. Others have a quest but once finished they will travel with you for as long as you want them to. In my playthroughs I have seen the child have two different quest. You need to find her dad in both quests. During my first playthrough, you found a note on a billboard. It was for a missing child and gave you the exact location needed to go to. On my second playthrough you needed to drive her to each town and hope you find her dad. I did not get to a billboard. Therefore, I could not see if there was a missing person note on my second playthrough.
You can kick out any hitchhiker you want to at anytime. Some hitchhikers are annoying to have around. They can also be bad passives that make things more difficult than they need to be.
As you enter towns and cities, you may find gas stations, stores, hotels, and garages. There are also places to explore or places to get quests. You can also find places to work for money.
Gas stations are straightforward. You get gas for your vehicle. You can put as much as you want or fill up your tank. Unfortunately, you cannot as of writing this fill up the Jerry cans. I really hope they fix this in a future update. It would be so nice not having to sell the empty can and hope to find more to buy. There are some people online that say they have gotten the Jerry cans to fill up at gas stations. I cannot get it to work at all.
You can by all kinds of different items at the stores like food. There are different types of food some cure hunger and some cure starving. There are also drinks that cure tired and restore energy. You can also find car upgrades at stores you find more if the store is a car part store. You can also find items to clean yourself or cure your headache and deal with threats.
Hotels restore your energy and most debuffs you have like dirty or hunger even stress. Hotels do cost money to use.
Garages have car parts for sale. Garages can also repair your vehicle you can repair it fully or on a budget. You can also install car parts you can only install one of each type of part. For example, if it’s an interior upgrade you can only have one installed at a time. Car parts have great benefits like a heater so you can never get cold. Or a roof rack for more storage. Some car parts give you more durability.
There are two different places to get money. You can find a work office where you spend energy and time to make money. You can also find a Cafe/Pub to get quest. Quest can be for money or skill points. Some quests are timed, and some might have you deliver cargo to a location.
A really fun part of this game is the explorations you can do. The ones in towns have you explore woods and the ones in the cities have you explore alleyways. As you explore, you will find items. You must make it back to the start to keep the items. If you give up, you lose all items. You do not get to see the items as you explore you find out what they are after. You can get berry’s or scarp even adult magazines. There is even a chance you find illegal items. The exploration plays like an old school dungeon explorer. When I first explored, I thought of the game Etrian Odyssey.
As you explore you will find a bush or rock even a cave. In order to get passed them you will need items in your vehicle. Like a flashlight to lite up the cave. Or a knife to get through the bush or a rope to climb over the rock.
Talking to people you find and give you hints or even new music to listen to on the road.
You also gain traits from using items so many times or sleeping in hotels. There are also more ways to get traits for you to explore.
Should You Play?
YES this game is so much fun. I love the way this game plays dealing with the threats in a turn-based style is great. There is so much to do in this game with 9 ending to get. One of the endings involves racing I can’t wait to do this one. I really did enjoy the item management. It involves only keeping what you need. Getting items with great passives also makes for a great time.
There are somethings I am interested in seeing what happens. For example, if you have illegal items on you and you get pulled over by the cops what happens. Things like that help out the replay value.
Picking up hitchhikers is interesting. Never knowing if the passives they get while leveling up are going to hurt you or help you was fun. Some hitchhikers are just not great, and you want them out. However, you never know if their quest rewards are good. This makes it a difficult choice if you want to keep them.
The art style of this game is great as well. I noticed something interesting. If you let your vehicle durability get low, you will see your vehicle being held together by duct tape.
Overall, this game is not expensive $18 not on sale and it’s worth it. Great replay value. The amount the game is randomized each playthrough is great.
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