‘Darso Roads’ Does Discomforting Things to Come in First

Darso Roads follows a driver that is ready to do whatever it takes to win, taking that sentiment in a dark direction.

The story behind the game is that it’s an unreleased racing game for the original PlayStation. It was apparently never released due to its similarities to a real-world event where one of the competitors disappeared. But don’t let that interrupt your racing fun as you take the wheel as Edison Almeida, a retired cab driver who is going to do anything they can to come out on top because “losing is not an option.” I feel like I’ve heard that line in all sorts of competitive sports games/media, but in this game, Edison may mean it a bit more aggressively and frighteningly than most.

The racing is fairly straightforward. Hurry your way down the track to get through the checkpoints before your time expires. If you make it in time, you get thirty seconds back on the clock and you can continue to push to beat the other racers. Most of the competition isn’t super stiff, so if you can keep up the speed and control your car (which takes a bit of getting used to but I adapted quickly), you should get a decent place. Except…decent isn’t good enough, remember? You want to win. And you won’t accept anything less.

Winning may take you (literally) off the beaten path in Darso Roads. That said, exploring what Edison is willing to do doesn’t lead to any positive discoveries. Still, you’ll get your first place! But at the same time, you might awaken something within this game once you’re the “winner.” It does a solid job of creating a creepy atmosphere within its racing mechanics, drifting from exciting racing to something far darker.

Darso Roads is available now (for whatever you wish to pay for it) on itch.io.

About The Author

Joel Couture

Joel has been covering indie games for various sites including IndieGames.com, Siliconera, Gamasutra, Warp Door, CG Magazine, and more over the past seven years, and has written book-length studies on Undertale and P.T.. Joel is constantly on the lookout for digital experiences that push the boundaries of what games can be, and seeks to delve into the creative process, meanings, and emotion labor that goes into the work of artists worldwide.