Ultimately, Road to Guangdong is an inconsistent game, but its heart shines through its writing and visual design. It does feel like a personal story and I do respect how the game so honestly captures the values and emotions behind family reunions in Chinese culture. I wonder what more budget could have meant though – whether it is more dialogue to flesh out Guu Ma or to background the long stretches of driving – but what is here is already valuable, and I’m glad I got to spend time in this loving recreation of 90’s China.

If you’re looking for a sophisticated car sim, you won’t find it in Road to Guangdong. What will keep you going over its short duration however is a wonderfully authentic exploration of Chinese/Cantonese culture through two very universal subjects: family and food.

Road to Guangdong is a simple effort but it does most of its job right: providing a relaxing, contemplative experience, where the player comes into contact with the plot through text and makes dialogue choices that make the story advance. A number of puzzles also makes part of the experience, as does a series of actions that are part and parcel of driving a car. While the game does well when it comes to relaxing the player, its controls become a hassle when handling the car parts, and that can cause some harm to the experience.

The Road to Guangdong is paved with good intentions, but ultimately it’s much more of a bumpy and boring ride with a few pleasant stops along the way. Had the focus been less on the driving and maintenance of the family car and more on the family and their relationships, the handful of hours it takes to see the story to completion would be much more of a pleasure cruise. If you’re willing to overlook the time spent behind the wheel of Sandy, there’s a worthwhile and unique narrative to uncover here, but Road to Guangdong is a difficult recommendation nevertheless.

Road to Guangdong is a tough one to score, because what it does right – the character interaction and small-scale personal dramas – are engaging enough to be worth praise. It's just that the mechanical glue holding it all together is close to disastrous at times. As a result, we can't give it a recommendation without enough caveats to make it sound like a warning. You might like Road to Guangdong, but even if you do, you'll like it despite it doing its level best to push you away.