Road 96 is a narrative-driven road trip game set in a fictional country on the edge of political upheaval, following teenagers trying to cross the border before an election. Each playthrough procedurally shuffles encounters, vehicles, and story fragments together into a different journey.

Choices made along the way affect relationships with the recurring cast of drivers and hitchhikers players meet, gradually revealing the bigger picture of the country's unrest. Its mix of road-trip vignettes and light puzzle or driving sequences keeps each run varied.