Video Game Review: Death Road to Canada

Take the procedurally generated journey from Florida to safety in this zombie classic.

Death Road to Canada is a zombie survival game released in 2016 by Rocketcat Games. The game follows various survivors in a zombie apocalypse (created by the player) on their journey to escape the infested United States and reach Canada, the last remaining nation on earth. The journey from Florida to Canada is long and challenging. Few survive to tell the tale. But those that do live, they have some great stories to tell.

The core gameplay of Death Road is split between two sections, driving and exploring. While driving, the player has no direct control, instead watching the survivors banter until an event appears. The player then must choose how to deal with said event. For example, a moose might be in the middle of the road, blocking the car. The safe option is to drive past it, saving limited resources like gas and weapons but losing out on the possibility of getting more food. The driver could ram the car full force into the moose, damaging the car and its passengers, but getting that precious moose meat. If the party has guns, they can safely shoot the moose from a distance, but that comes at the cost of ammo. If one survivor is talented in medicine, he or she can notice the moose has an injury and choose to heal it, making a friend at the cost of valuable medical supplies. Or a survivor could be insane enough to wrestle the moose, most likely getting mauled but having a slight chance to get some free moose. There are countless situations and countless more responses to them.

If sitting back and watching the journey play out sounds boring, do not worry. After a few minutes of travelling, the party will stop the car and choose somewhere to search. These locations vary from an old “Yallmart” location to a haunted house to a neighborhood protected by some wannabe Power Rangers. All these stops have one thing in common though; they are infested with the undead. The player has full control to battle the legions of zombies, having to dart between buildings and hordes to scavenge supplies and weapons. The undead may not seem threatening at first, but characters can only take three hits. The only way to heal survivors is with medicine, a rare commodity. Even worse, if all the survivors perish to the horde, that trip to Canada ends. The only option after a failed trip is to start back from the beginning.

Death Road is a game that generates stories. No trip to Canada is the same. The survivors are different, the places they go are different, the weapons they find are different, and how they react to a situation is different. It may sound hard to have to start again over and over, but each journey brings a new story. This game is infinitely replayable. However, it is very niche. The humor is very random, and if you don’t find its style funny, this is not the game for you. But please at least give it a shot. The gameplay is addicting, deep, and (most importantly) fun. I give it an 8/10, it’s not for everyone, but it scratches an itch no other game can. If you want to get in the spooky spirit by fighting the undead, you can buy Death Road to Canada for $15 on all major digital game stores.