Broken Roads July 2023 Update

The months are flying by as we get closer to launch (no, no release date to be announced yet, but it is coming soon™) and the team wrap up the final bits and pieces, level/environment polish, new character textures, updates to the UI, and work on controller support (we’re going to have Xbox controller and Steamdeck support from the get-go).

The Broken Roads demo is still live on Steam and we’re still receiving a lot of valuable feedback via the webform or through the feedback/bug reporting channels on our official Discord server – if you’ve not visited yet, please come and say g’day!

We added “Caravan” from the Broken Roads OST to YouTube, and it’s already become the most viewed music track from the game after only 24 hours. This is more great work from our Composer & Audio Lead Tim Sunderland, and the track was also featured on Meena Shamaly’s ABC Classic radio show. You can listen to that episode here, or enjoy “Caravan” in the vid below:

Last month we were on the cover of PC Gamer in the UK, and last week the US edition dropped, again with Broken Roads as the cover feature. We’re so proud of this moment because, hey, cover of PC Gamer magazine (!), and that’s such an achievement for a small Australian indie working on our debut title.

Thanks to everyone who has supported us along the way and for all the congratulations and well-wishes for the demo and for landing this cover.

If you’ve not been able to find the mag on the shelves, or if you’re interested in getting a digital copy, you can get it online here.

Our team have also been working on getting the level up screen to match the new character creation screen. What you may not know is we did a complete UI overhaul over the last 9 months or so and are putting the finishing touches on and then adding in controller support for all of these screens, which can be a lot bigger task than it sounds.

Not committing to exactly when, but as soon as the controllers are working throughout the game, we’re keen to get the demo updated for this as well.

We’ve also posted the intro video from our playable demo on YouTube (it is still available to download on Steam). Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples should be aware that this video and game may contain the names and voices of people who have passed away.

“Our painterly style and gestural brush strokes is always a lot of fun to use when expressing dirt and tattered clothing,” says Sara Laubscher, Lead Environment Artist. “Dead Ringer is certainly a character where we could really push that aspect of our visual language”. You can meet Dead Ringer in the demo once you reach Brookton, and how you deal with him – or not – is up to you.

Thanks for reading, and we will have more to show next month. We’re prepping some intros to our team members, a blog about the Moral Compass/moral quadrants, and a look at some of the game features once the technical and UI work is out the way.

– The Drop Bear Bytes team

We hope you’re excited for Broken Road’s full release later this year! As always, if you have any content to share or questions for the team, please feel free to reach out. You can stay in touch with me and the rest of the Versus Evil team by joining our Discord and following us on our various social media channels.

~ VS Trippi