AM by BrocBois takes the concept of a midnight drive into a fight for survival against demonic forces. Something evil hunts you on the dark American roads, and your car is both your sanctuary and a trap, as faith becomes as crucial as fuel. With gas stations serving as checkpoints, charging stations for your flashlight, and to fix up your car, the long drive begins.

Jesus, Take the Wheel!

Our story begins with the nameless character waking up in their car to the radio. A Christian radio broadcast plays with pastors giving listeners advice and hope in some trying times and rumors of a rapture. Given that the voice portraying the radio pastor is one of the developer’s fathers, I have to give kudos for his performance in AM as a non-actor. There’s a lot of passion on display in his voice. It gives comforting grandfather vibes.  

In lieu of traditional storytelling, AM delivers its exposition through environmental glimpses caught in the headlights of your car. A crashed car, covered in blood with the driver missing, is your first sign that the road trip is taking a deadly turn. This minimalist approach to the storytelling heightens the rural backroads containing secrets and mounting dread. Which suits the speedy and precise driving gameplay. 

The Power of Flashlights Repels You!

Unfortunately for our protagonist, they aren’t alone in the lonely roads of AM. They come across a monster on the road hunting for them. If the car has its headlights on, the fiend will attack. In order to hide from it, the player can turn the headlights off and whip out a flashlight covered in Jesus stickers to see through instead. The ultimate protection against the paranormal. The radio’s music distorting is the time

If the creature manages to land on top of your window, your flashlight will be powered by newfound faith and glow a strong white. Holding and releasing the mouse buttons will knock the demon out of your face. Fail to do this in time, predictably, leads to death with the player respawning at their last checkpoint. Halfway through, there is another demon that sort of just hangs around inside your car and make distracting noise, and a shine of the flashlight will rid them away.

On the note of the stickers, a nitpick I had with AM was the weird tone. On one hand, the game is delightfully moody and atmosphere. However, the demo opened with a self-deprecating message about “being another 40-minute horror demo” and the stickers on the torch include a chibi Jesus. The combination of religious horror and the out-of-place comedy conflicts with each other. Although, the full experience has a chance to smooth things out beforehand. 

Final Thoughts

The road ahead for AM looks promising. The midnight ride is full of wonder and danger. The journey is a mixture of eerie and relaxing, between the gospel songs and the demon women out for a stroll. For those looking for another driving horror experience, AM is bound to deliver!

AM demo was part of Steam Next Fest. As of publication, it is still available for free on Steam A full release date is to be announced.