Keep Driving Review – Road Tripping Into Digital Diabetes

Keep Driving? Keep Writing, more like! I’ve been covering so many titles this month, you’d think I actually like playing video games! Fair cop, you got me. I do like playing video games, and I also like writing about them, too.

I played it way back in 2024, when you could drive without contemplating that fuel could be as costly as a student loan. You should be stopping for snacks to raise your risk of diabetes, playing Alanis Morissette tracks on repeat and steering clear of any routes leading to the Cahulawassee River.

That’s kind of what Keep Driving is. A naive, carefree RPG where you hit the open road and more or less do as you please. No, not GTA pedestrian-mounting, but going off on a whim along forked roads, picking up strangers, and enjoying freedom.

That sentiment should resonate with the unemployed and students, and that’s exactly how this starts. Pick your status, declare whether you have a good relationship with your parents or not, and commit yourself to driving a Volvo. Want to know a secret? These are disguised modifiers and difficulty levels.

Freedom, Fuel, and Almost 90s Vibes

Set in the early 2000s, but feeling more like the 90s, you’re effectively free to follow the path of your choosing. Starting with a main objective of joining friends at a festival, it felt very relatable, but do you think I could make it on time?

There are a number of factors affecting your journey in YCJY Games’ Keep Driving. Like high fuel prices. Damn you, 2026. Depending on your vehicle, there’s allocated space in the trunk for supplies and room for passengers. Or, you can fold down the seats and make more storage space.

Supplies range from essentials such as jerry cans, food and drink, as well as car parts and ‘luxury items’ such as booze and ciggies. There are consequences to what you do; more notably, drinking a beer while driving is not good in the slightest. But you can.

Consumables replenish lost energy and potentially fix any debuffs like tiredness and hunger pains, as well as add them. While customisations and car improvements are great, the essentials to have handy are those stored in the glovebox for encounters.

Traits, Debuffs, and Leprosy (Thankfully Not)

The encounters in Keep Driving can be anything from potholes and nervous drivers to tractors and arguments with hitchhikers you pick up. These are turn-based and target your stats: the vehicle’s durability, fuel, money, and energy levels, which will put an immediate halt to progress.

To counter this, you use skills which are charms hanging from your dash, plus the items in your glovebox. If you match these with incoming ‘attacks’, you can sometimes score a perfect, allowing another turn. Skills are limited, though you can lean into your passengers.

You start your Keep Driving trip solo, though along the way are options to pick up hitchhikers. They come equipped with their own skill, as well as a debuff should you fall asleep or deal with a debilitating illness such as leprosy. That doesn’t feature in the game, fortunately.

Passengers, like you, level up with encounters and develop new traits and skills to dangle. Complete a side quest and drop them off somewhere, or open a beer with a runaway bride, and you earn some XP. Alternatively, you can ditch them at any opportunity.

The 50/50 Gamble with Your Folks

However, there are costs involved, and aside from selling off all your CDs and Wii games, you need money. There are shops and garages, clearings to explore, and job opportunities. Some are quick and give money for nothing, while others might be beer runs for a hefty payout. Noticing a theme?

Keep Driving is challenging, though surprising how long you can last. Just as you’re about to crash (due to exhaustion), you can get some shuteye on the roadside and make it to the next motel, or sell a few items you were saving to stock back on energy lost in encounters.

The wild card? If you break down, you can chance it and call your parents. There’s a 50/50 chance your trip could end there and then. Fortunately, I have a good relationship with my parents, and not only did they arrange for my car to be towed, but they gave me some money for beer and ciggies!

And do you know what? I played this entirely on my new Retroid Nova via GameNative. Keep Driving is very much pick-up-and-play. It’s not an arcade game, but there’s something very entertaining about this low-key pixel art road trip with a good variety, and a game I would take on a road trip. If I wasn’t always the designated driver.