Steam does like to bring up some interesting games through its discovery queues. And this is one I’m pretty sure I’d seen around before. We Took That Trip, by studio Lucito Loquito, is about the simple joys of being on the road. Just you, your cat, and the campervan driving along a single road admiring the landscapes that greet you. It sounded like it’d be a chill time. So I’ve given the demo of it a whirl to see whether that chill vibe strikes gold.

Asleep on a beach, a man is woken by his cat. Greeted to a beautiful night sky full of stars, the cat leads the man back to his van. The demo only allows for keyboard and mouse controls, but the configuration is simple enough. Progressing dialogue is done via the space key, with interacting with things done with a left mouse click. There’s a few other controls, such as dropping held items or zooming the view, but these didn’t feel needed in the demo.

The campervan is without a wheel, though it has only fallen off and needs replacing. That is done via using an unconventional method of jacking the van up to a height that the wheel can be placed back on. Likewise, fuel is also handled in an unconventional way, with this guy having got a conversion done in the future. Probably. In the back of the van is a blender-like device, which anything can be placed. That blender device then turns those objects into fuel.

With those two jobs done, it is time to hit the road. Driving is a simple act. Since the viewpoint is from a first person perspective, everything in the campervan can be interacted with. Ignition key, radio, switches for lights and wipers, the cat… All the while using the W key to drive forward with A and D to steer. Then S for reverse, though it can be awkward doing so. As soon as you lift a finger from that S key while turning, the van immediately turns in the opposite direction.

Not long after leaving the beach, after some driving along a twisting dirt road through a forest, I reach a garage guarded by some cows. Much like the cat, these cows can also be petted. That moves them out of the way, allowing me access to some paint cans to personalise the outside of this van as I want. The doors, lower body, and upper body can be painted. Being me… red and black.

Further along this winding road, there’s a sticker shop. A few stickers on a table, relating to cats and food. Pick them up, and place them on the van. Easy. The only other things to experience in this demo are the changing biomes as the drive continues. And the first use of nitro. A meteorite fragments comes crashing down. Picking it up and placing it in the fuel blender fills that nitro gauge.

However, when activated, it doesn’t run out. It expects me to drive through a portal, and will only run out when I do. On the other side of that portal, is a psychedelic road winding through infinite space. And Aimee. Who Aimee is, I can only guess. Judging by the dialogue shared between the two, she seems to be a lover lost. One who adored them both. I imagine this is one of the stories that will be encountered in the full game.

Eventually, another portal brings me back to Earth, where the road trip continues. While the full game seems like it will have no end point, with procedurally generated areas providing new things to experience, this demo does. The end point is clearly marked, but I still wanted to smash right into it. But with nothing else to experience, I opened up the menu to see a reset to last checkpoint option. So I pressed it, thinking that at least I can be closer to the beach.

Nope. Instead, it puts me in front of the barrier, into a jumbled mess of a biome with an untextured road. A road which can still be driven on. So away I go, aware that this can only last as long as I have fuel. And on this trip beyond where I’m meant to be, I encounter something else. I’m not going to say what, since I’m not entirely sure the context is all there for it.

We Took That Trip is certainly a chill vibe. It’s simple textures, lo-fi styled music, and a changing time cycle that sees a lovely transition between day and night all create that vibe. I’m keeping my eye on this one. What’s promised for the full game seems like even more will be available to just relax with. And also engage with, with many more interactions to be found.

Images Taken From:
We Took That Trip Demo | Steam