The combat, the music, the design of Night City. Those are all great, but for me the best parts of Cyberpunk 2077 are when you’re just cruising along, chatting with Johnny or Panam, and breathing in the mood. A new RPG, one that’s just landed on Steam after years in development, takes that feeling and turns it into an entire game. Combined with turn-based battles that capture the close-quarters tension of FTL, and a focus on maintaining your car like in survival hit Pacific Drive, this is Keep Driving, and it’s the best game of 2025 so far.
It’s the early ‘00s. It’s summer. You’re still young and you’ve just gotten your driver’s license. There’s a music festival next month and you want to be there – but it’s hundreds of miles away. Bad traffic, harsh weather, and bumpy country roads stand in your way. This is the setup for Keep Driving, a car-based RPG (car-PG?) by YCJY Games.
You check the map and pick where you want to drive to next. Played from a 2D perspective, every time you’re on the road, you’re periodically met by ‘Road Threats.’ These are Keep Driving’s equivalent of turn-based battles. Between your fuel, the condition of your car, and your own energy, you have three ‘HP gauges,’ and each Road Threat can knock them down. Let’s say you’re zipping along and you meet some potholes. On their ‘turn’ they will inflict physical damage to your vehicle. When it’s your go, you can use abilities or items to ‘fight’ back – that is, steer around them and continue on your way.
One of my favorite examples: if you get a bee in your car, it will slowly sap your energy as you try to wave it off and send it out the window. Mechanically, the battle system in Keep Driving is extremely simple – you just drag and drop your abilities to counter the Road Event’s own ‘attacks.’ But it’s also very detailed. You can upgrade your skills, find new passive traits, and use items to bolster your health. If you’re stuck in traffic, for example, and your energy is waning due to frustration, pull a cigarette from the glove compartment and chill out.
Like any self-respecting RPG, you also have a party in the form of hitchhikers that you can choose to pick up. They have their own abilities, and also their own stories and sidequests. Right now, my car companion is a young woman who calls herself Hurricane. As a side mission, she wants to find a convenience store, get a case of beer, and watch me try to drive drunk.
This is the main achievement of Keep Driving. It takes everyday, grounded, normal human experiences and expresses them through mechanics. There’s nothing supernatural. There’s no fantasy. It’s all based on the personal experiences of YCJY. But it’s still extremely playable and in-depth. One of the best moments is what happens if you run out of gas or break down. I won’t spoil it here, but I haven’t played a new PC game for a long time that made me feel the way this did.
And that’s not to mention the music and the gorgeous lo-fi visuals. We’re only in February and there’s a long way to go, but Keep Driving is already a contender for one of the best PC games of 2025. Out now, you can get Keep Driving on Steam for $17.99 / £15.00. Just go here.
Otherwise, look ahead to the rest of 2025 with the best upcoming games, or maybe try some of the best survival games on PC.
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