open/close all folders
The Hitchhiker(s)
You. A teenage runaway trying to escape across the border.
- Always Someone Better: If the player is skilled enough, the hitchhiker can beat other characters at games they claim to be unbeatable in, such as John (soccer and air hockey), Zoe (Connect Four), and Alex (Pwong). Though not pointed out directly, it's possible to steal money in larger amounts than Stan and Mitch ever do, along with carjacking multiple getaway vehicles during each trip.
- Been There, Shaped History: Their role in the story, influencing major events while drifting along the road.
- Disney Villain Death: Should you run out of stamina in the mountain escape, the hitcher will not have enough strength to lift themselves up during the final jump and subsequently fall to their demise.
- Featureless Protagonist: Of a sort. Though you never see the current hitchhiker you're playing as, they all have unique avatar silhouettes that show their different features. They also do have some personal background revealed when calling home, including one having the last name "Tomak", but it never determines the player's choices.
- Heroic Sacrifice: The Hitcher can pull these twice to save Zoe. First, while crossing the border with her Zoe will fall and the player can either escape on their own or go back for her, dying in the process. Similarly, during the finale if the player chooses to join the protest, they are shot instead of Zoe.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Being an altruistic crosser can sometimes backfire. Such as saving the teenager and Fanny from the billboard bomb car crash. Saving both ends with the crosser arrested and thrown in The Iron Pit.
- Non-Action Guy: The runaways are all in their mid to late teens and don't have any skill at fighting. Against the police or other threats such as Jarod, there are no weapons or any other way for you to protect yourself except running away. The closest you get is the option to tackle Stan from behind when a woman starts screaming...for about 3 seconds before he easily throws you off.
- Permadeath: If a hitchhiker is caught, that's it. They're either tossed in jail if caught or even outright die and you must continue on as someone else.
- Rotating Protagonist: By design. You will play as several before the game ends.
- The Runaway: They've run away from home and are trying to flee the country.
- Too Dumb to Live: The character can become this if you make the worst decisions with Jarod, like choosing responses that make him angry, not running away when you have the chance even when the game gives you plenty of time, or alerting him by honking the horn.
- During the off-shore worker exam, the guard asks you if you are or were a member of the Black Brigades. You can answer yes to this, but he'll dismiss it as a sick joke and repeat the question. Not taking the hint and saying yes again will instantly result in you getting arrested.
- Uncertain Doom: Whether an arrested hitcher survives the Pits to be freed in the Elections of Revolution ending is never known.
Main Characters
"Big" John Ursus
- Animal Motifs: Bears. He is physically large and hairy enough to resemble one; his last name comes from "ursine"; his CB handle is "Papa Bear"; he sometimes uses the term "cub" when talking about kids; and his semi is the Mister Grizzly.
- Big Good: John is a high-ranking member of the Black Brigades, the most active opposition to Tyrak's regime, and he's also the one preventing the Brigades from engaging in more violence, such as having Alex build bombs. His truck is carrying the transmitter used to organize resistance, and he's the most helpful of the characters the player meets. John knows exactly what the hitchers are doing and provides food, cash, a place to sleep, and rides when he can.
- Fingore: Lost the ring and middle finger of his right hand during the Bombing in 86. During the soccer mini-game, kicking the ball at his right hand is the key to scoring.
- Formerly Fit: Downplayed. John had developed a gut, and notes how hard it is for him to run. That said, he's still able to keep up with the hitcher for a stretch, and when playing soccer against them, the only way to score is by aiming for his right hand. He only misses the ball because of his missing fingers, and is otherwise an exceptional goalie even while drunk.
- The Lost Lenore: He lost his true love during the bombing in 86, and has never truly gotten over it.
- Klatchian Coffee: Omen Vitality is John's special coffee made using coffee beans, a cucumber, and ginseng. The resulting drink may taste awful and burn on the way down, but it'll keep you awake. After he teaches it to you, you'll unlock two extra stamina bars and gain access to special actions.
- Then Let Me Be Evil: It's eventually revealed that the Black Brigade were made to look like they caused the collapse of '86; with all the negative press on the Black Brigade, Robert has his faction be the villains Tyrak made them out to be.
- My Greatest Failure: The collapse of '86 haunts him, because of the friends and love he lost and the fact that the Brigade's failure to kill Tyrak only gave him more power.
- The Nicknamer: Refers to all the Hitchhikers he meets as "Youngblood".
- Second Love: He is head over heels for Fanny.
- Voice of the Resistance: He handles the pirate broadcast the Black Brigades uses the organize and recruit. *
Alex Campbell
- Berserk Button: Being lied to. Alex hates when people aren't truthful, a complex from Big John and Fanny keeping his bio parents identities a secret.
- Death of a Child: If Alex joins the fight at the border after Fanny kills John and Zoe isn't present, he'll be shot to death along the other nameless teens.
- Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of the Teen Genius. Alex is very intelligent for his age and the master of Hollywood Hacking, able to do many impressive things. But despite his genius, he's still a 14 year old kid who doesn't really think things through and, more importantly, he can easily be manipulated by the wrong people. Without the Hitchhiker's intervention and John's help, Alex will become radicalised by Robert and build a bomb for the Brigades, despite being smart enough to understand how dangerous it is.
- Didn't Think This Through: On two occasions, Alex has a plan that ends with him having to run away screaming when his victims notice him.
- Happily Adopted: Alex and Fanny love each dearly but the reveal that she knew his parents were Brigades and never told him has put a strain on their relationship. While he does at times refer to her as ex-mom and tries to duck her calls, he still loves her.
- Hollywood Hacking: During the bus trip with Alex, he can be seen typing rapidly on his portable computer while hacking into Super Supper to give everyone in Petria a free burger. He succeeds only for his yellow victory icon to suddenly turn red as his trojan is destroyed.
- It Will Never Catch On: Played with. Alex is way ahead of his time on the tech front, believing (Correctly) that smaller computers are the future. But doesn't think the term "Laptop" will ever catch on.
- The Runaway: Unlike other teens who are fleeing the country, Alex ran away to learn more about his bio parents and get some space from Fanny.
- Teen Genius: 14 years old, and a self-taught game programmer/hacker.
- Tell Me About My Father: His road trip isn't about leaving Petria but learning about his parents. John is the best source of info he's found but gets on Alex's bad side by constantly avoiding telling him about them.
- Totally Radical: Expect a lot of "Homeslice" and "Homegirl" from him. He is a 90s teen after all.
- Turn Out Like His Father: John constantly avoids telling Alex about his parents because he's afraid learning they built the bomb in '86 and died in the collapse would radicalize him. His fear is well-founded as without the hitcher's intervention, Robert will radicalize Alex.
Zoe Muller
- Ambiguous Situation: During the first encounter with her, it's unclear if she actually did steal the trailer park owner's money to pay for her night there. Obviously she denies it when accused, but the owner is convinced, and the player can easily do the exact same thing.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Miles 0 reveals that she was present in the Attack of '86, and whenever it's mentioned she shows symptoms of PTSD.
- Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of the Rich Kid Turned Social Activist. Zoe wants to fight against the corruption in Petria's government despite having been born into wealth, and she lacks any fear of what could happen to her. However her fearlessness makes her rash and foolish compared to others from less privileged backgrounds who show more common sense and caution, meaning that despite her best intentions she becomes The Load due to the many mistakes she makes.
- Defector from Decadence: Originally part of Petria's upper class as daughter of the Minister of Oil, when Zoe became aware of the realities of her country's plight she chose to flee after stealing papers showing the truth of the '86 collapse.
- Fearless Fool: In her second story sequence, Zoe begins ranting when the couple accompanying you tries to bribe a cop to ignore the two teens. She even claims he's not going to do anything right before he drags her out of the car and off to the pits.
- Interclass Friendship: Despite being a wealthy resident of White Sands, she's best friends with Kaito who is a worker.
- The Load: Zoe wants to fight the corruption in Petria and is friendly with the other hitchers she meets, but each successive encounter leads to her putting them in increasing danger. The first meeting results in them both being banned from a trailer park, though the player character would've left anyway to keep traveling. The second has her angrily telling off a police officer who was about to accept a bribe, ignoring the player telling her to be quiet, and getting arrested as a result. The third hitcher finds her handcuffed to a van and asking for help, which ends with the hitcher being arrested along with her and would've been sent to the pits if not for the Brigades intervening. If you try refusing to help her, she will threaten to scream and rat you out. The final meeting with her draws the hitcher into her escape plan, which can get the player killed while saving Zoe's life. Should she survive to reach Election Day, Zoe takes part in the protesters breaking through the Wall but will be killed unless the final Hitcher stays and dies in her place.
- The Not-Love Interest: Despite being almost the same age as the playable characters, it is impossible to have a romance with her with any of them. Justified since these are all people she's randomly meeting for the first time for brief moments.
- Pinball Protagonist: What she ultimately is. She's one of the main characters of the game and the main protagonist of Miles 0, but in addition to being The Load she has very little impact on the overall narrative as it's the Brigades, Tyrak and Kaito who cause events that she simply reacts to. In Road 96 she's essentially forced into different scenarios as the police capture her in her second encounter, is then saved by the Brigades, and will die trying to cross unless a hitchhiker saves her. Even if she does die, her main purpose in giving the information to the Brigades is already completed meaning someone else takes her place in attacking the border wall. While more useful in Miles 0 and key in getting the evidence Kaito wants, it's still his plan to get it and it turns out that if she hadn't gone after him the Brigades would have gotten the evidence sooner. This means that her biggest impact on the narrative was keeping the evidence from the Brigades for a few months.
- Promoted to Playable: While she's already a main character in Road 96, she becomes playable in the prequel alongside Kaito.
- Rich Kid Turned Social Activist: She comes from a wealthy background, with her father having always told her she should be grateful that she's able to got to a good school and live a peaceful life. She however rejected all of it to become a runaway and eventually joins the Black Brigades.
- Riches to Rags: She's the daughter of the Minister Of Oil, and mentions attending private school and living in a giant house. Now she's a broke runaway like all the other crossers. She's not too broken up over it, though.
- Rollerblade Good: In the bonus stages in the prequel, while Kaito rides a skateboard, Zoe rides on roller skates. In the Dueling Player Characters moment in the ending, she also fights on them.
- The Runaway: Like many others. She's running away from her Tyrak crony father.
- Saved by Canon: As Zoe is alive and well in the first game, she cannot die in the prequel.
Stan and Mitch
- Affably Evil: Very cordial for a couple of criminals.
- Beware the Silly Ones: While they may be a couple of dimwits, they're dimwits with some serious firepower and aren't hesitant in using force if necessary. Just ask the screaming lady in the fast-food restaurant (which they knock out with a crowbar to the head if her plan isn't acted upon) or the hitcher with a vehicle (which the duo knock out, rob, and leave on the side of the road if the hitcher gets too many wrong answers.) Notably Jarod, a much more cold and serious criminal, starts sweating when he realizes they're on his tail.
- Futhrermore, if Jarod attempts to assassinate Sonya but hesitates due to hearing her remorse about Lola, the duo manage to incapacitate him in short order.
- Brains and Brawn: Stan and Mitch respectively.
- Big Brother Instinct: When not robbing, they're on the hunt for Jarod, knowing he's going after their sister, Sonya Sanchez.
- Cool Bike: They ride on a chopper that'd make Harley Davidson give a thumbs-up.
- Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of Affably Evil Stupid Crooks. They might be polite and friendly to some of the hitchhikers they meet while their bickering and inability to successfully rob anything makes them amusing, but they are still at their core hardened criminals with seemingly few morals. While some encounters have them befriend a hitchhiker, others have them as antagonists willing to beat up and threaten a child which shows that they aren't actually good people.
- Fashion-Victim Villain: In-Universe their spiked yellow galoshes over a black body stocking are considered ridiculous, with frequent references to S&M outfits. The two do debate losing the outfits at times but feel it's part of their robber identity.
- Horrible Judge of Character: In one scenario, Mitch catches up to Jarod and talks to him, but lets him go because he seemed too nice to be Sonya's potential killer.
- Hostile Hitchhiker: One scene has them get picked up by the hitcher, holding them at gunpoint, then possibly knocking them out, robbing them, and leaving them on the side of the road.
- Idiot Houdini: Despite being dumb as rocks and quite possibly the worst criminals ever, the two frequently manage to escape to cause more havoc. With the help of hitchers they can also identify Jarod and work out both the time and location of his planned attack on her.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Even though they're still dangerous criminals, the duo are more often than not ready to help the Hitchhikers.
- Master of Unlocking: Stan and Mitch teach the hitcher how to pick locks, which is the only way to get past many locked doors and other obstacles in the game.
- Punny Name: Stan and Mitch can be abbreviated to S&M, the same sort of style they're often associated with dressing up as.
- Say My Name: They have a habit of screaming "STAN AND MITCH".
- Spikes of Villainy: Their boots and shoulder straps have steel spikes.
- Stupid Crooks: Completely. The two can't even hold up a laundromat without botching it.
- The Faceless: Their faces are never seen except for the eyes. Even in an old family photo with Sonya, they're still wearing their same outfits.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: Stan and Mitch manage to successfully rob a bank in one sequence but are soon pursued by cops. With nothing else to deter the cop, the hitcher ends up throwing the stolen money until the cop stops so he can gather the cash. By the time this happens, the loot bag is completely empty aside from a scratch card.
Fanny Campbell
- Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of the Token Good Cop. Fanny is a good person who deeply loves her son and, despite being pretty conservative politically, doesn't agree with a lot of what her country is doing and is willing to ignore teen runaways when she can. However, despite setting herself up as the Reasonable Authority Figure, her few good actions doesn't change that she's part of an incredibly corrupt system than supports unjust laws. While she can let the player go, she's still shown in some encounters to be arresting teens and it's pretty clear that she lives in denial about how bad things truly are, especially when it comes to things like the pits. And while she can be reasonable when in a good mood, when it comes down to it she can often fall into Fury-Fueled Foolishness and when pressured react pretty aggressively. In short, regardless of how good she tries to be, the fact she's still a cop means she still follows immoral orders that oppress innocent people and she still chooses to represent a tyrannically government, despite being the mother of a teenage runaway herself.
- Fury-Fueled Foolishness: In Fanny's stolen car sequence, a drive-by shooting by a group of Brigades causes Fanny to angrily demand the hitcher chase them down. After the chase ends, Fanny panics on realizing she involved a kid in a life-or-death chase due to her anger and tells them to run.
- I'm Taking Him Home with Me!: Quite literally. She found Alex in the rubble of the '86 bombing, and took him home with her.
- My Country, Right or Wrong: Fanny continues to serve Petria despite hating what Tyrak is doing to teens.
- Non-Answer: She gives one of these to just about any question about her political views, never confirming which candidate she supports or why, and usually only notes how the question tells her the hitcher's views.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Seemingly the sole good cop in all of Petria, though it's heavily deconstructed.
- Selective Obliviousness: Fanny consistently claims the stories about the pits are just Black Brigades lies, ignoring the fact that she knows teens brought into the stations never wind up home. In the endings where she is talked down, Fanny admits that she knows about the pits and hates her job but kept working to support Alex.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: She's in a CB relationship with Big John, the very Brigade member she's hunting down.
- Token Good Cop: She appears to be the only officer in Petria's police force that isn't corrupt or abusive of her authority.
- Unfortunate Names: "Fanny" is another word for butt in North America, and something else in Britain.
Sonya Sanchez
- Born Lucky: Her Lucky Star gift boosts the player's random chances in all future events.
- Deep South: Her real accent is a nasally, drawn out southern twang. She hides it on air to seem smarter.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Even at her best, she's still an Immoral Journalist supporting President Tyrak at the end of the day. However, she absolutely adores her big brothers Stan and Mitch. When Sonya receives a sketch of them to show on air after one of their encounters with the hitcher, she claims she's unable to show it due to technical issues.
- Hidden Depths: At first glance she's an idiot who's more focused on enjoying herself and keeping her job, just repeating the party line with no awareness of the damage GNN causes. However she also suffers significant guilt of the death of Lola and is perfectly aware that she's propping up a totalitarian regime because it's been good to her.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: While Sonya is a snobby, stuck-up toady for the Tyrak regime, she's not without a redeeming factor or two. Namely her regret over failing to save a little girl during the Bombing of 86 and falling out of contact with her brothers.
- Immoral Journalist: Sonya doesn't care that her reporting is purposefully slanted to support Tyrak because that's what made her rich in the first place. The one scenario where she actually does some investigative journalism of her own, she shows no worry for Adam when her plan puts him in a life-or-death situation, being far more focused on getting her shot.
- Insistent Terminology: Sonya always refers to the large remote control in her limo as a "Normal-Sized Remote" with "Normal-Sized Buttons".
- My Greatest Failure: During the Bombing of 86, she tried to save a little girl from the falling rocks. But there were simply too many to get to her.
- Never My Fault:
- One scene has the player pick her up after her limo crashes, and she yells at Adam for causing it. If you ask what Adam did, it turns out he let Sonya drive.
- If the player chooses to allow Robert to attempt to kill Adam, she will comment on how cold the player is even after she encouraged them to let it happen and considers it the right choice over losing her camera. When Adam shows up injured but alive, she pins the blame entirely on the hitcher.
- Personal Effects Reveal: During the late stages of the game, she produces a family photo, revealing her to be the little sister of Stan and Mitch.
- Rags to Riches: All her wealth was obtained under Tyrak's regime, and when she was younger she was implied to have been a petty criminal with her brothers, Stan and Mitch.
- Rich Bitch: Very rich, and a complete cow.
- Survivor Guilt: She bemoans during a late stage cutscene that she wishes the little girl she failed to save would have lived, and she'd have died instead. This winds up saving her life when Jarod overhears her, causing him to abort his assassination attempt.
- Third-Person Person: Refers to herself this way a few times, and it's obnoxious enough that it even gets her Extreme Doormat bodyguard Adam to mock her for it.
Jarod
- The Alcoholic: Frequents a bar so often he has a drink named after him there.
- Alone with the Psycho: Most encounters with him play out like this.
- Berserk Button:
- While Jarod hates Sonya, he hates the Black Brigade. During the car ride sequence, suggesting he was a member will enrage him and fill half of his Cold Anger bar.
- Similarly in another encounter, merely mentioning Lola after he warns you about doing so will fill his entire Cold Anger bar, no matter how low it was, and earn you a bullet to the face.
- Conspicuous Gloves: Jarod always wears a pair of gloves, which stands out given the hot climate. In the credits he can be seen on a beach in appropriate vacation attire except for the still present gloves.
- Creepy Monotone: While calm, Jarod speaks in a flat monotone. While angry, Jarod also usually speaks in a flat monotone. It's only when he's really angry that he starts Suddenly Shouting.
- Deadly Euphemism: Jarod recruits the hitcher to help clean up a "mess" he made - by giving a dead cop a "hot bath" with "soap".
- Deranged Taxi Driver: A serial killer using his job as a cab driver to hide his activities, riding with him is actually fairly safe so long as you don't do anything too stupid or see something you shouldn't.
- Establishing Character Moment: It's obviously a bit different for any given playthrough, given the game's semi-randomized nature, but the moment the "Jarod's Cold Anger" bar first pops up, the player realizes that they've fallen in close with a very, very dangerous man, and help is so very far away.
- He Knows Too Much: In the encounter where he has Robert Winters in the back of his trunk and beating him senseless after he warns the hitcher, waiting out the generous timer or honking the horn instead of running away will have Jarod kill them.
- Hostile Hitchhiker: In one scenario where the hitcher is driving a stolen car, they pick up Jarod on a rainy night. When the hitcher gets unnerved enough to try and kick him out, Jarod pulls out a gun and will kill the hitcher if they anger him too much.
- It's Personal: His hatred of Sonya comes from blaming her for his daughter Lola's death. He also hates the Black Brigades in general, but has a special hatred for Robert, who personally recruited Lola and whom Jarod is planning to kill last. Jarod lets go of his anger at Sonya when it's revealed she tried to save Lola, but he does kill Robert in the end.
- Jump Scare: Jarod is really good at appearing instantly behind the player, complete with jarring Scare Chord.
- Karma Houdini: Gets away with his killing spree no matter the ending.
- Kindness Button: He has quite the dinosaur collection thanks to her daughter's love for them. Should he get angry and decide to kill a hitchhiker during a rainy night, forcing them to say that they want to die, having the Cleverness ability from previous brushes with him will have them switch out the word die with dinosaur. This throws him for a bit of a loop and he opts to spare you instead. Similarly, in the same event, talking with him about why he hates Sonya so much and helping him grieve just a little for his lost daughter gets him to decide to let the player live, and while he steals their stolen car, he offers to drives them a ways up the road first.
- Knight of Cerebus: The game's premise can feel pretty bleak, fleeing an authoritarian country under threat of being sent to the Pits, but there's usually a good amount of levity. When Jarod shows up, things get dark and humorless, with him threatening to kill the hitcher and people around them, then possibly making good on those threats if you make the wrong choices. It's noteworthy that during the conflict between the police and the Brigades, Jarod's killed at least one cop and eventually has the radical Brigade leader Robert Winters trapped in his cab trunk.
- Lazy Alias: While calling into the Sonya Show, he doesn't seem to have thought about an alias beforehand and gives the name "Gerald".
- Mood-Swinger: Tends to swing from cold, Hannibal Lecter like to calm to barely comprehensible rage at the drop of a hat.
- Obviously Evil: It's pretty obvious just by his appearance and scary voice that there is something wrong with him.
- Outside-Context Problem: For everyone. Aside from Stan and Mitch, and one mention by Alex, none of the other characters are aware of the threat he poses.
- For the hitcher, he's unconnected to the political situation they're escaping from, and he's probably the most dangerous obstacle. Most of the encounters with him include the possibility of him killing the hitcher.
- Jarod has killed at least one police officer, but they're still focused on enforcing Tyrak's regime over dealing with a serial killer.
- None of the Brigades know who he is. Robert, who convinced Jarod's daughter to join their cause, doesn't seem to remember he exists, much less realize he's out for revenge. One motel owner figured out Jarod was stalking him, but didn't identify him before being murdered. The Brigade bouncer even lets Jarod into their hideout to use the bathroom. John makes no mention of him at all.
- Sonya ignores his death threats and is oblivious to him following her in some of her scenes. "You're the Inspiration" implies she's somehow aware he's connected to Lola, but she still doesn't recognize how dangerous he is.Sonya: WHO THE HELL IS THAT GUY?
- Outside-Genre Foe:
- The story of Road 96 is a political conflict, with the hitchhikers avoiding police and potentially siding with the Black Brigades amidst the backdrop of an election. Jarod is a vengeful, apolitical Serial Killer whose appearances change the tone to that of a horror movie and is a chillingly serious threat to everyone regardless of their allegiance. Conversation with him shows he's so disconnected from the politics of Petria he isn't even aware Tyrak is president, and while his need for vengeance comes from Robert radicalizing his daughter Lola, leading to her death, he doesn't show any understanding of what motivated his daughter.
- On a gameplay level, most of Road 96's challenges involve proper resource management and the odd minigame or adventure game puzzle. Jarod's events instead require quick thinking and people skills to avoid antagonizing him long enough to survive increasingly-obvious mortal peril.
- Offscreen Teleportation: Jarod will frequently pull this, using moments where the hitcher is engaged in a predetermined animation to suddenly appear unexpectedly close.
- Percussive Therapy: In one scenario he and the hitcher use bats to destroy the Black Brigade's old radio tree, in an attempt to expel some of Jarod's rage. While he is surprisingly calm and open afterwards, he soon flies into a rage because breaking things didn't actually make him feel better.
- Pet the Dog: He's mostly hostile towards the player characters, but a hitchhiking teen has a chance of getting a free ride in his taxi. During the scene where the hitcher serves drinks at his favorite bar, he also tips $15 while the other patrons only tip $3.
- Punk in the Trunk: Uses the trunk of his taxi to stow and transport victims, as Robert Winters finds out the hard way.
- Red Right Hand: It's most obvious in Praying for Time, where he's sitting face-to-face with the player for much of the event, but Jarod suffers from facial paralysis on the left side of his head, giving him a very sinister appearance.
- Revenge: He's out for revenge against Sonya Sanchez, believing she left his daughter Lola to die during the 86 bombing and The Black Brigade for recruiting his daughter and getting her killed.
- Revenge Myopia: He's out for revenge for his young daughter's death, but is so obsessive that he'll violently murder kids as young as 14 simply because he suspects they might join the Brigade.
- Scare Chord: Jarod's Offscreen Teleportation is usually accompanied by this.
- Serial Killer: Has killed a large number of people and plans to kill even more, even multiple hitchers if the player makes the wrong choices.
- Stalker without a Crush: Jarod stalks Sonya in some of her sequences, such as prowling through the Tyrak party or renting a room in the same hotel where Sonya's trying to film Robert.
- Tragic Villain: The death of his daughter, Lola, is what drove him to become the monster he is in the story proper, and it's possible for a player to dig up a bit of humanity in him with the right actions and answers... but never enough to make him not a threat to their life, let alone to everyone else.
- Villain of Another Story: While he proves to be just as much of a threat, if not more, than Tyrak, the most interaction he has with the upcoming election is attempting to kill Sonya but backing out or being stopped by Stan and Mitch at the last minute.
- Villains Out Shopping: He has one semi-normal event where the player just mixes him a drink in a bar. Notably, this is the one of the very few events where they aren't at risk of being added to his bodycount.
Other Characters
President Tyrak
- The Bad Guy Wins: The Escape Ending has him win the election and ensure that he'll be president for life.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Has a son named Colton.
- Egopolis: Played Straight or Averted. According to the in game map
, one of the Cities is named Colton city. However, it is unclear if it's Tyrak's son that's named after the City or the other way around. - Hate Sink: Throughout the game, President Tyrak is shown to be an utterly horrible man. He runs Petria with an iron fist, having anyone who opposes him killed or arrested for treason. He bribes the rather corrupt police to arrest and lock up runaway teenagers who are trying to escape Petria, keeping them locked in facilities where they are brutally beaten, and then transferred to the pits where they are never seen again, implied to be killed. He has no redeeming qualities to make up for his heinous actions.
- Invisible President: Though you see posters of him all throughout the game, Tyrak himself makes no physical appearance until the climax of the game.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Two of the three endings have his karma catch up with him, either by being forcefully overthrown or arrested and tried for his crimes.
- Meaningful Name: Tyrak has the first four letters to the word Tyrant. No points for guessing how he ruled his government.
- Red and Black Totalitarianism: His campaign posters have this, reinforcing what a rat bastard he is.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Tyrak looks very similar to Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev. Meanwhile, his obsession with keeping the people in is similar to Ulbrich's and Honecker's.
- Villain with Good Publicity: A corrupt, evil bastard, but with a disturbingly large support base behind him.
- Would Hurt a Child: Has no problems with hurting minors, as shown throughout the game, such as sending them to the pits. He even orders his forces to fire on the rebels at the border, even though there are teenagers there, like potentially Alex, and the other even being the Minister’s daughter, Zoe (if she survives to that point), coldly ignoring the Minister’s hesitation if Zoe is there.
Senator Flores
Tyrak's opponent in the election.
- Blue Is Heroic: The good option for president, and comes with a campaign poster in heroic blue.
- Flat Character: She's running against Tyrak and that's about the extent the game tells you about her.
- The Ghost: While she appears on posters, Flores never appears in-person or is even heard talking in-game.
- Hero of Another Story: The last line of the Prologue book indicates that Flores is the protagonist of that story.
Robert Winters
Leader of the Black Brigades and wanted man after his involvement in the Collapse of '86.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: If "Enjoy the Silence" happens after reaching the border five times, Jarod shifts focus from Sonya to the Brigades and has Robert captive in his trunk, with Robert terrified and pleading for his life. It doesn't save him.
- Anti-Villain: He is fighting against a despotic president in pursuit of bettering his country, but he's willing to sacrifice even teens for that.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Robert might have a habit of manipulating teenagers for his own ends, potentially to their deaths, but he draws the line at outright betraying them. Even if the hitchhiker refuses to vote for violent revolution during the meeting he invites them to, audibly frustrating him, he'll still hide them from the cops and give them some advice on how to continue north.
- Evil Teacher: Before going on the run, "Bob" taught at a high school and used his position to radicalize students including Lola.
- Laser-Guided Karma: The last we see of him in Road 96 is being stuck in Jarod's trunk, presumably to be killed by him.
- Manipulative Bastard: Robert likes to find young idealistic teens and radicalize them, and he's very good at it. When the player character meets him at the Brigade hideout, he tries to get them on his side, being nothing but encouraging and hospitable towards them unless they vote against him when deciding the future direction of the group, at which he becomes dismissive of the teen.
- The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: Openly advocates for more violence in the Brigade's fight against Tyrak and that's when he's already carrying out bombings.
- Sinister Shades: Always wears a pair of sunglasses, likely to help hide his identity.
Adam
Sonya's limo driver/bodyguard/general unlucky gofer.
- Anguished Declaration of Love: If the hitcher chooses to save Adam from Robert, he can be heard confessing he loves Sonya in the hotel room afterward.
- Beleaguered Assistant: Adam genuinely does the best he can to assist and protect Sonya, but is constantly met with derision while his concerns are dismissed.
- Butt-Monkey: Adam does not have it easy working for Sonya. Being ignored, insulted, ditched after a car crash, even possibly injuring his leg during a sting operation on the Brigade gone wrong.
- Ignored Enamored Underling: Sonya is aware of his love but is largely dismissive of Adam. That said there is a photograph in the end credits which implies the two do eventually go on a date.
The Minister of Oil
A high-ranking member of Tyrak's administration, responsible for development of Petria's oil industry.
- Even Evil Has Standards: He questions Tyrak's decision to have the police open fire, regardless of if the person leading the charge is Zoe.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: The strings he pulled to save Zoe from the pits, followed by him questioning Tyrak when he orders the police to fire on the protesters (which possibly includes Zoe provided she didn't die beforehand) implies this trope.
- No Name Given: He's only known by his position. His name might be Frederik, if Zoe's stolen documents were originally for him. His surname however is revealed to be Muller in Mile 0.
- Screw the Rules, I Make Them!: When his daughter Zoe was caught by police and sent to the pits for trying to leave the country, he pulled strings and tried to have her brought back to him.
- Undying Loyalty: Even his daughter Zoe being taken to the pits and possibly later killed by border forces doesn't cause any apparent strain in his work under Tyrak.
Max
A runaway teen held prisoner at the boarder wall.
- Fate Worse than Death: It's implied that the guards used electric shock therapy on him, which has left Max practically mute and unable to recognise the player.
Introduced in Mile 0
Kaito Lin
- Interclass Friendship: Despite him and his family being workers, he's best friends with Zoe who is a resident of White Sands.
- Platonic Life-Partners: He and Zoe are best friend, though it's possible to imply that he does have feelings for her.
Colton Tyrak
The son of President Tyrak who Zoe used to babysit.
- Hidden Depths: Despite at first appearing to be nothing but a brat who complains to Frank about everything, it's hinted early on that he wants to be free to be more like normal kids. During Zoe's escape she runs into Colton, where he shows far more awareness than previously thought by saying he's aware that she and Kaito stole from his father and that Tyrak isn't a good person. He then decides to help Zoe since she unintentionally gave him an escape from his life.
