Hitchhiker is quite the surreal adventure and one that took me completely by surprise. It’s the sort of rare game that not only manages to suck you into its esoteric narrative but stick with you long after you finish playing. It asks a lot of interesting questions and the process in which the overall experience is presented is engrossing manner that will have you questioning everything from the very beginning of the game right until the very end. The entire adventure in Hitchhiker takes place from the point of view of a guy with no memory of who he is or where he is going, slowly uncovering some deep personal issues as you travel down long and empty roads.
A lot of people are calling Hitchhiker a walking simulator, and I understand why they would, but in reality it is more a listening adventure. You are just mostly along for the ride with small interactive sections along the way. Think of it more along the lines of visual novel except in a fully 3D world that’s fully voiced and without the icky stories those games love to push. What you need to know is that Hitchhiker is all about the story and how the narrative unfolds. This makes the game hard to review traditionally as anything I talk about could spoil larger narratives presented in the game. Essentially, you hear parts of the story and click on things inside the car you are riding in (and in a diner at one point) that the game requires.
Usually, this comes from the driver asking a question or telling you to find something and you doing just that. It’s like a point-and-click adventure game that has you locked inside a car. That sort of idea is enough to turn a lot of people away but it’s the sort of thing that grabs at me. I love the idea of a game being able to draw me fully into its world in what many would consider a more casual way. No running, gunning, explosions, or knives in backs here. All you get is a game that lives and dies by its story and its ability to pull you in and continue to ask questions. Question what is going on, what your place in the adventure is, and is whatever you are doing the right thing to be doing. Few games can pull that sort of thing off but Hitchhiker manages it, for the most part.
The game is broken up by a number of drivers who pick you up on a mysterious journey across America’s backroads and cities. It starts off like a normal hitchhiking adventure, but you will quickly find out the world you are in is very different from the reality you are used to. There are glitches in the system, bugs in the code of life that have you questioning everything and everyone. This all comes through the games use of conversation, all of which is fully voiced. You sit and listen as your drivers ask questions, answering them the best you can. You do this across five very distinct drivers and locations as you search for answers.
You look for answers though conversations about who you are and quickly find out that you are on this adventure in search of your missing significant other. Are these drivers helping you find answers or are they keeping you away from the truth? Can you trust these people, or are they somehow working with the mysterious unseen enemy that is always just out of sight, but whose influence is everywhere. The story dips and dives, takes wild banks and turns, all while you slowly learn about the overall adventure. It is quite an artistic take and Hitchhiker throws a lot of curve balls in its relatively short adventure. It’s less a video game and more a solid episode of something like The Twilight Zone.
What works here is that you understand the world, or at least the basics of it. You can connect with these people and their ideas but there is this unease as if the world they inhabit is like ours only slightly off and broken. If the writing was poor then this would be a non-starter as it is almost entirely narrative based gameplay. Thankfully, the writing is lovely and has you looking inward quite a bit. The real standout section are the unique visuals that each driver has during their specific cutscenes. Each driver feels like their own unique world and learning about each is just as rewarding as learning about who you are.
The graphics fit the overall vibe with a sort of PS2-style look and cartoony feel. This helps the experience as the cartoon world allows for more strange visuals quirks and turns during the game that a realistic look would simply not allow for. Pair this up with the solid voice acting and the musical choices and you have something really special. But it isn’t a perfect experience and some things do hurt the experience, especially in the late game sections. Visuals are good but there is a lot of clipping and tearing, something even in a few of the character models. Using objects like a phone at one point is strange as it simply floats to your ear, your arms laid flat on your lap.
Those aren’t the worst and I never found any game-breaking bug or issue, but I did have an issue with the games ending. The last ride you take feels completely rushed, heavy-handed, and really short compared to the others. Up until that point you’ve been in the realistic world with a clear mission to find your lost love and then you are suddenly in some future world with VR headsets coming out of peoples ears. It contrasts poorly with everything that came before and takes away from the tense ending you have been building to. Then the ending simply hits you like a ton of bricks and leaves you wondering “was that it?” and not answering even the most basic of questions.
That’s not how you want to end a weird game like Hitchhiker. You want answers to the question being asked from the start. Look, I’m not expecting every question being answered in full like I have some checklist or something, but answering the simple “what” and “why” of the game should be a priority. Instead, the game simply ends without any answers, leaving it up to the player to pull their own meaning from the ending like some David Lynch film. That works in movies but this isn’t a movie and the developers aren’t David Lynch. You don’t even get the answer to why you are hitchhiking, if you found who you are looking for, or even if you are the good guy or bad guy of the story. I don’t mind games with open endings but Hitchhiker left us with lots of vague ideas instead of clear answers.
Still, I think the overall experience is engaging and fun enough to warrant a recommendation. I only wish the developers had more time to end the game as strongly as it began. Maybe it is all a dream, maybe you are dying on a gurney, maybe it’s purgatory, or maybe you are just crazy from some rotten raisins. It really could be any of those and that’s without knowing thing one about the underlying relationship issues the game plays with. Was there ever a kidnaping? Was there ever an accident? Did you even do anything wrong or right in all of it? I couldn’t tell ya, and so I’m left with a great game that blows it right before the finish line like some guy celebrating way too early before crossing that paper banner.
PROS:
+ Interesting Story
+ Solid Voice Work
+ Loads of Style
CONS:
– One And Done Experience
– Cheap Ending
Final Score:
Hitchhiker
Steam (PC)
Developer: Mad About Pandas
Publisher: Versus Evil
Genre: Adventure
Release: Apr. 15, 2021
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