Take your anticipated oddness. Double it. Swirl in boldness in a 1:1 ratio. I usually take my tea and coffee black, but I'll make an exception for you, Hitchhiker.

The no-pun road.

It's certainly odd to think of that Humble Bundle Original from 2018 - the 'First Ride Prototype' - and how it's grown into this mini-epic vehicle for storytelling. One that sees you planted firmly in that passenger seat, expected to listen.

At its heart it's a binary dialogue point-and-click adventure game. Mostly the former with some light puzzling. And it may all sound strangely limited. Five rides for which to simply lean back and set your brain to 'info assimilation mode.' Surely there must be more?

Stay for the Toy Story clouds.

But it honestly feels bold for it. Narrative set loose, free of the anxiety to compromise its mode of delivery and interactivity, Hitchhiker is quite interesting in its expectations of the player. Literal vehicles for storytelling with delivery straight to your earholes.

Of course, it's more than that. There's the inspiration of Thirty Flights of Loving and Virginia here in creative use of camera angles. Interactive segments can be thoughtful and make you consider the greater meaning, like the simple act of tuning into someone's language on the radio.

Hitchhiker is at its absolute best when it suddenly slips/phases in its weirdness. Listening to someone monologue at length will naturally precondition you to acceptance, nodding away until you realise your driver just said he once slipped through the cracks of an escalator. Are objects doubling up around me? It's that preternatural undercurrent to proceedings that really makes Hitchhiker's philosophical proddings shine. Stories based on Franz Kafka, historical Gulag events, and refugee experiences are all almost hypnotically absorbing.

The oddest car in the game.

Excellent writing is bolstered by excellent performances. Having to move on to the next driver inherently makes you suspicious after you've just become attached to your current one, but on and on you find a new favourite. Their unique voices, both literally and in their perspectives and stories are all simply ace.

Slightly less interesting is the overarching mystery. I for one actually appreciate that it concluded subtly. Better than being heavy-handed with earth-shattering revelations that then fall flat after all. Still, it's very clearly not the highlight here and every time little titbits are teased throughout I was annoyed at the distraction. Too much teasing leads to a fifth and final ride which can only disappoint.

Hitchhiker is also certainly not a technical knockout. Style? Sure. I think its excellent smudged, dreamy oil painting visuals work best when not in motion. It all feels decidedly creaky with its animations, awkward cuts between voice lines abound, etc. Some of the art for the side stories on the other hand leap off the screen with their quality.

The definition of Kafkaesque is pencil drawings.

Hitchhiker's brief, but compelling ride in its storytelling vehicles is as bold as it is gloriously odd. Simple acts of sitting, listening, and observing are memorable, if not its overarching plot and technical presentation to nearly the same extent. Niche it might well be, but consider me hitched rather than taking a hike.