Developer: Cybernetic Walrus
Platforms: PC (Reviewed), Xbox Series X|S
Genre: Simulation
Publisher: Oro Interactive
Roadside Research is a quirky simulation game released in early access on PC and Xbox. The core premise of this game is that it blends the mundane workplace with gas station sim tasks with absurd alien deception. You and your other three friends play as extraterrestrials working undercover, while trying to run a human gas station without getting caught by the agents, while secretly collecting intel for an invasion. Roadside Research is developed by Cybernetic Walrus and published by Oro Interactive.
In Roadside Research, you are a part of a squad of aliens that have been deployed to Earth with a very odd mission of observing humans and collecting their data while pretending to be an average gas station worker. Your disguise consists of a simple paper mask and human clothes, with your skin colour being an odd, bright colour, which is all customizable.
The narrative tone of this game is very light-hearted and chaotic, as it’s not story-heavy. It’s simple yet fun while you try to manage inventory, serve customers, upgrade tech, and avoid the government suspicion at all times, which can all be a bit chaotic. You have to maintain all these things while pleasing your customer by changing prices and making sure you clean up the place, especially the goop.
The controls are easy and simple, which can be played with both a controller and a keyboard and mouse. We were given codes to test out the game before its release, and there were a few animation bugs that sometimes made doing certain tasks annoying. This was especially the case when cleaning spots on the ground, the toilet, or even the cash desk. When using the ‘cleaning shoes’, you see bubble animations when scrubbing an area that indicate it is becoming clean, but sometimes it was a bit too clunky. At times, I just left the toilet stinky because the scrubbing would not work in my favour at all.
Roadside Research does not lean on a huge cinematic soundtrack; instead, the sound design supports quirky background tunes, fun customer chatters, and humorous sounds of alien gadgets. Not just that, but you can hear people using the bathroom whilst you are attending to the customers at the cash desk, quite literal farts that at first shocked me. Besides the quirky noises, the ambient sounds are all pleasant, alongside being functional, and cleverly fit the tones in this hilarious atmosphere. An alien is unfazed by the farting noises of humans; more so, they might even be tasked to fart like humans if agents are onto them.
Visually, Roadside Research has embraced a stylised and cartoon aesthetic, which suits the tone and light-hearted feel of the game. The characters are exaggerated and expressive, which leans into their comedic shapes and proportions, even the way they walk around. The gas station itself is bright and welcoming, with its vibrant colours and clear animations that make the mundane task visually engaging rather than boring. The art style truly supports the game’s chaotic and absurd personality.
The gameplay of Roadside Research functions as a simulator with risk management. Its key gameplay elements are stocking shelves, refuelling vehicles, attracting customers, cleaning the place, and ensuring you order the inventory. Along with its alien side of things, such as the alien research tools that you can upgrade and install along the way, such as extracting DNA samples and more. When you start the game, you are given general tasks on what needs to be done, from attending customers at the cashier to pumping gas to ordering stock, etc. Everything in the game is explained perfectly for anyone to understand and grasp it really quickly. Now this is a game that can be played with up to 4 players. At first, we played with two players and found that the game was still fun with just the two of us, but after a certain number of upgrades, attending to the gas pump can keep one person just stuck at the job. The more players, the more you can rotate jobs from cleaning the bathroom to pumping gas, to shelving stock, etc.
Your actions influence how much human suspicion you attract. If there is too much unusual behaviour, government officials will investigate and could shut you down. The levels can be seen on the suspicion bar on the screen. And if you get caught by the agents, they make you do tests to prove that you’re human, such as blinking like a human, breathing like a human and, as mentioned previously, farting like a human. If you miss 3 times, the aliens get shot and killed.
Roadside Research is currently in Early Access, and I do wish that in the future, there are some achievements to come to the game that will make the game more amusing. Honestly, I liked how the game played out because it felt like I was really running a gas station. Playing it in a co-op setting was so much fun. Roadside Research is an easy-to-play game that doesn’t need much attention or hard gameplay, leading to moments of laughter.
We were given multiple codes to play with at a full party. Some of the other players had comments to make of their own. First, Sapphire said the following: “This game is a fun, interesting simulator that puts you in the shoes of aliens who are disgusted by humans running a gas station store. The premise of the game is simple yet continues to build as you unlock upgrades.
First of all, you get to customise your aliens, and what I found the most fun was the ability to draw your own face. As an alien, you wear a paper mask which you can doodle on or choose from a few selections. You can even change the colour of your alien and, most importantly, choose how many toes they have. The essence of every alien customisation! It is a bit dumb how a mere human cannot distinguish an alien from themselves. The paper masks are not really selling it!
The game overall is hilarious, and as someone who is not very fond of simulators because they become a constant repetition of tasks, this game kind of breaks up that routine. You really feel as though you are running an actual gas station store. It’s fun being able to keep an eye on what stock needs to be stocked, to cleaning your own goop so you don’t get sussed. I especially like having the freedom to customise your station by building racks and adding decoration.
In this game, you earn two sets of ‘currency’. Actual money used to buy new stock (this is always exciting to unlock because you can get snacks, bakery goods, sweets, etc., which unlock more types of shelves and racks to spruce up your store). You can also earn research points that can unlock alien upgrades to make you more intellectual. Some of the upgrades are gags for you and your friends to mess around with. When it comes to managing the store. I found this amusing because you can set prices of your stock, run promo signs and even unlock suspicious items that will allow for more purchases by customers. As you manage the store, you will see if customers think items are overpriced, if they think the station is dirty or if they are suspicious of you being an alien.
For the game currently being in Early Access, there is quite a lot for you to do, upgrade and attend. I quite enjoyed this game, and it was even more fun to play it with friends because you could mess around with each other while actually doing your jobs. It’s not easy being an alien disguised as a human when you goop all over the floor every so often.”
The other player, Vroggo, had the following to say, “I haven’t played many simulator games, but I definitely felt like I was managing a store with the cleaning, restocking and selling of items, and doing the gas pumps. The added twist of the alien upgrades just felt like a nice plus, but nothing that felt groundbreaking while playing.
The game is comical. The movement and emotes as aliens were funny, and customising our own masks made for some giggles and laughs.
Multiplayer works well. Did not experience any lag/bugs, or problems with the voice chat/proximity while playing the game. It’s definitely easier to delegate and handle tasks when there’s at least 1 other person playing with you. Otherwise, I can imagine playing the game solo would have its difficulties.
The game did not particularly feel challenging, but mildly overwhelming instead, as the number of customers increased. Except for that one Osu!-like minigame, which I found to be surprisingly fun. It was the only other content I found to be actually stimulating, though. I hope the devs add more minigames like it in the future. In its current state, the game is okay but could use more exciting content to play around with.”
Roadside Research is a blizzard blend of workplace sim and alien absurdity that thrives on its co-op energy. From juggling everyday gas station duties to sneaking around government suspicion, the game constantly keeps you on your toes in an entertaining way. Its colourful cartoon visuals and goofy sounds make carrying out tasks feel fresh. While still in Early Access with room to grow, the core experience is packed with laughs with friends. If you are looking for a simulator that does not take itself too seriously and delivers an immersive experience, then Roadside Research is well worth clocking in for.
Overall: 8/10
This is S & S. We are world game explorers. We play games. We have played over 10,000+ games! We travel, we write reviews AND we play more games!!!!
