- Swedish Indie Studio’s Road Trip RPG Expands to Consoles
- Steam cumulative sales surpass 300,000 copies… User ratings ‘Very Positive’
Y/CJ/Y, an indie game studio based in Gothenburg, Sweden, released the road trip management RPG ‘Keep Driving’ on Nintendo Switch, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S on September 28. This marks the expansion to console platforms approximately 1 year and 7 months after its initial release on PC (Steam) in February 2025.
‘Keep Driving’ is a management RPG set in a procedurally generated pixel art open world. Players pick up hitchhikers, repair their car, and head to their destination by resolving various situations that occur on the road in a turn-based manner.
Along with the console release, the developer also updated the PC Steam version with official mod support via the Steam Workshop.
The summer I bought my first car, a journey to a festival on the other side of the country
The game is set in the early 2000s. The player takes on the role of a protagonist who has just purchased their first car and hears news of a festival being held on the other side of the country. After setting a route on the map and setting off, it is up to the player’s choices whether they can reach their destination and which path to take.
During your journey, you can pick up hitchhikers, earn money through part-time jobs, and repair or modify your car. The gameplay involves overcoming road challenges by utilizing skills, items, and vehicle upgrades.
Once you complete a journey and return to the starting point, you can also check the results of taking a different path. The ending branches out in multiple directions, and according to the developer, the playtime is approximately 1 to 4 hours per session.
Even getting stuck behind a tractor is resolved through turn-based ‘combat’.
The turn-based ‘combat’ in ‘Keep Driving’ is different from combat where you exchange weapons with enemies. You solve everyday problems encountered on the road, such as getting stuck behind a tractor, by utilizing the protagonist’s skills and items inside the car.
The hitchhikers encountered on the road each possess unique personalities and backstories. The developers introduced them as “eccentric people, lost souls.”
The game was inspired by ‘Oregon Trail II’, ‘FTL’, ‘Two Lane Blacktop’, ‘Paris, Texas’, ‘Jalopy’, ‘Gloomhaven’, ‘The 7th Continent’, and the developers’ real-life experiences.
Pixel art roads and a Swedish indie band’s soundtrack
The roads and scenery in the game are rendered in pixel art and are procedurally generated according to the journey. You can experience the analog vibe of the early 2000s as you travel between highways, unpaved roads, and quiet country lanes.
The soundtrack features music by a local Swedish indie band. The developer explained that players can enjoy the songs collected in the game like a mix CD composed of music by the Swedish indie band.
A live-action trailer was also released to commemorate the console launch. It is a video that reinterprets the game’s world, which has traditionally been depicted in pixel art, through live-action footage.
Y/CJ/Y, created by the ‘Post Void’ production team
Y/CJ/Y is an indie studio based in Gothenburg, Sweden. It is run by two people, Josef Martinovsky and Christopher Andreasson.
Previous works include ‘The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human’, ‘Sea Salt’, and ‘POST VOID’. YCJY Games and Kepler Ghost are listed as publishers on the Steam page.
‘Very Positive’ Steam rating, expands to consoles after selling 300,000 copies
Steam user ratings are ‘very positive’. Of the approximately 3,200 English reviews, 93% are positive, and 88% of the 129 reviews from the past 30 days are positive. The developer stated that it has sold over 300,000 copies on Steam. The Metacritic critic score is 84.
Some reviews suggested that there is room for improvement in convenience features, such as the map zoom-out function and quest management. User reviews also noted that events within the game feel repetitive.
Following the PC release, an update was released that included support for 9 additional languages, a new ending, gamepad support for the Steam Deck, and new road events and exploration areas. These features will be available on the console versions starting with the release of this update. Steam Workshop mode support is available only on the PC version.
Information regarding ‘Keep Driving’
| item | detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Y/CJ/Y (Steam notation YCJY Games) |
| Publisher | YCJY Games, Kepler Ghost (Steam version only, console version not confirmed) |
| Genre | Management RPG, Adventure, Simulation |
| platform | PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X|S |
| Release date | PC February 6, 2025 / Switch · PS5 · Xbox Series X|S September 28, 2026 |
| price | Steam $17.99 (Console version unconfirmed) |
| Reactions/Evaluations | Steam ‘Very Positive’ (93% positive of 3,226 English reviews), Metacritic Metascore 84 |
| Steam Page | Shortcut |
