Northbound is an atmospheric narrative driven first person adventure about taking a road trip with some old childhood friends.
In Northbound you take on the role of a young(ish) man who has graduated from university but is lacking direction and purpose in his life. Your fondest memories are of your childhood, when life was simple and fun, so to try and rekindle the feeling you decide to go on a road trip with your old friends up to a lake you used to hang out at.
The majority of the narrative of Northbound plays out via individual scenes in an old VW campervan, as you investigate various items you find and talk to the rest of the passengers. There’s a nice attention to detail in the campervan and lots of objects you can interact with from changing channels on the radio to taking pics with a polaroid camera or playing a retro video game.
It takes around thirty minutes to play through Northbound and it’s a very well crafted narrative experience. The visuals are excellent and it manages to squeeze a lot of story and personality out of the environment and the conversations you have with your friends. Along the way you learn that a lot has changed since you were kids and much like your road trip, you can’t go back, you can’t change what’s happened, you just have to accept things and keep moving forwards. Highly recommended.
Check Out a Gameplay Video Here
Download Northbound Here (Windows & Mac)