Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Road 96: Mile 0 asks you to spend time with a friendship before it breaks under pressure. You alternate between Zoe and Kaito as they explore White Sands, the condominium where Petria’s elite live, and the shift in perspective is more than a simple character swap. Zoe’s government-connected, wealthy life and Kaito’s less privileged background give their conversations an immediate fault line.

The standout interactive stretches are the musical rides. Rather than treating music as background, the game drops you into Zoe and Kaito’s inner worlds, asking you to ride through them, dodge hazards, and make choices along the way. That setup has real emotional potential because it lets an argument or private fear become something you move through instead of merely hearing explained.

The catch is that this is a focused narrative adventure, not a broad sequel built around the larger road-trip concept. If you want more time in Petria and a closer look at two characters whose friendship is under strain, the tighter scope works. If you mainly want the freewheeling uncertainty associated with Road 96, Mile 0 may feel more confined.

Graphics

White Sands provides a useful contrast to the troubled country around it: it is a luxurious condominium reserved for Petria’s elite, giving Zoe’s side of the story a markedly insulated place to inhabit. The musical sequences head in the opposite direction, using beautiful psychedelic trips to externalize the teens’ feelings rather than keeping every scene grounded in everyday locations.

Story

This is a prequel-minded story with a direct emotional question at its center: can friendship survive when two people discover that their beliefs are not just different, but shaped by radically different lives? Zoe and Kaito begin as good friends, so the conflict has more weight than a standard political disagreement between strangers.

Zoe’s position on the rich side of the city, along with her father’s government work, gives the story a personal connection to Petria’s power structure. Kaito comes from the less privileged side, and that contrast lets the game explore inequality through a relationship instead of reducing the country to background lore.

It also has a clear place for returning Road 96 fans. Mile 0 explains the events that led Zoe to flee home and brings back colorful figures from the wider world of Petria. Newcomers can follow the friendship story, but players who already care about Zoe will have the stronger reason to see it through.

Overall Experience

Mile 0 is at its best when it commits to its two leads. The political divide matters because it keeps landing between Zoe and Kaito, and the musical rides give their feelings a more unusual outlet than another long conversation would. That combination makes the game more intimate than its premise initially suggests.

Still, this is a companion story with a specific audience. Its focused setting and character-centered structure are easier to appreciate when you want a closer chapter in Petria rather than a larger repeat of Road 96’s format. The 6.9-level result feels fair: there are strong ideas here, but the blend is not consistently as compelling as the setup.

Give it a chance if Zoe’s past, Kaito’s perspective, and the fracture in their friendship sound more interesting than a sprawling adventure. For more official details on the game, the Road 96: Mile 0 publisher page is a useful starting point.

Retro Replay Score

6.9/10