The main collectible of Road 96 are cassette tapes featured from the game. Players can insert them into in-game radios and listen to the full song. There are 18 of these tapes to discover, and while it won’t encompass the game’s entire soundtrack it is still an ample amount of original music.

All of Road 96’s structure is procedurally generated so it can be a bit tough to actually go to a tape’s specific location.  Gaining several of them may also require special abilities that players haven’t learned yet. Rather than planning around collecting, players should sit back for the unique journey, and pick up hidden cassettes as they come along.

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Players can increase the chance of meeting certain characters and their stories by transport type chosen when concluding a scenario (as well as the “Last Seen” method picked during the Sonya Show for a fresh teen). John prefers to pick up hitchhikers, Alex will ride buses, Jarod may be the teen’s taxi driver, and Fanny will pull over those that recently stole a car. Walking has an equal chance of running into any major character, generic NPC, or simply winding up alone.

Cassette Tape Generation in Road 96

Jarod gets angry in Road 96

Road 96 prefers to generate a cassette from the songs players have previously heard, though the game can still spawn a random one among the remaining pool. Each track has an associated character or event, which may raise the probability of their song appearing as a cassette tape. However, anyone can offer or sell a tape belonging to another character; NPCs will even have a different tape when reloading a save file. Once a tape is found it will not duplicate for the save profile.

  • Dance Machine by E-BoyZ: Sonya’s party theme
  • Hit the Road by the Toxic Avengers: track played from Zoe’s cassette player
  • Home Call by the Toxic Avengers: after a teen is selected at the end of the Sonya Show
  • Jarod is Around by SURVIVE: escaping a Jarod encounter unharmed
  • Road 96 by the Toxic Avengers: late-game cutscenes
  • A Crazy Chase by Volker X: various crimes committed by Stan and Mitch
  • The Brothers by Volker X: Stan and Mitch chatting theme
  • Far From Home by Daniel Gadd: Zoe scenes that end peacefully
  • Her Name was Conny by Daniel Gadd: somber John scenes
John thinks of Conny in Road 96
  • Isthmus by Daniel Gadd: Alex scenes that end sadly
  • Night Hope by Kalax: played while traveling between scenarios
  • The Mountain Peak by Kalax: attempting to cross the border via the mountain climb
  • Ultimatum by the Toxic Avengers: played when the player must make an important plot choice
  • Bella Ciao Road 96 by xilix: Zoe’s trombone rhythm game
  • Alex the Hacker by Robert Parker: played anytime Alex hacks or invents something
  • Alex on the Road by Robert Parker: Alex’s driving theme
  • Revolution 96 by Alexis Laugier: major Black Brigade events theme
  • The Road by Cocoon: Zoe’s traveling theme

Cassette Tape Scenarios in Road 96

Teen selection screen in Road 96

Each teen can only encounter a character once during their entire episode. If the player has already met a particular character, one will need to get the current teen across the border, arrested, or killed first. For the second teen onwards, players will be able to select their protagonist from a list within the Sonya Show intro. Those specifically hunting for cassette tapes should select a teen with at least $10 and five energy points, or may risk either having not enough money or life to adequately obtain these collectibles.

John

  • Blame it on the Rain (hitchhike scenario): before John falls asleep, check the truck’s glove compartment
  • About a Girl: before talking to the drunken John, head left and check the tent’s big pocket

Alex

  • Beep Boop Beep: buy a cassette from the restaurant’s display for $10
  • Beep Boop Beep: buy another $10 tape from the teen outside the restaurant
  • LFO (bus scenario): help Alex fix his radio
  • Walking in My Shoes: during the digging game, dig up all holes before reporting to Alex

Fanny

  • Police Academy (stolen car scenario): before checking the glove compartment, grab the cassette from the tape deck

Zoe

  • Smells Like Teen Spirit: complete the trombone rhythm game
  • No Concession (hitchhike scenario): play connect-four with Zoe and mention that you like her music

Game match against Zoe in Road 96

Jarod

  • Roll with It: while bartending, steal the cassette by the far left cash register
  • Enjoy the Silence (taxi scenario): when Jarod exits the taxi, quickly peer at the front passenger seat and steal his tape
  • Praying for Time (stolen car scenario): before encountering Jarod, check the tape deck for a cassette

Sonya

  • Worlds Apart (stolen car scenario): the tape is sitting on the back seat of the teen’s car
  • Video Killed the Radio Star: before meeting the Florres protesters, turn to the right and loot the car with flowers growing out of the trunk
  • I’ve Seen That Face Before (Omen Vitality ability): this is available if players were taught Omen Vitality by John. When asked to bring champagne to Sonya, head into the employee closet and rip open the locker

Stan and Mitch

  • A View to a Kill (hitchhike scenario): look inside Stan and Mitch’s sidecar bag
  • Some Like it Hot: buy the tape from a teen outside the restaurant for $10
  • Some Like it Hot (Lock Pick ability): if players already learned Lock Pick from a past Stan and Mitch scenario, head to the restaurant’s back room and open the locked desk
Stan and Mitch side car and bag in Road 96

Reloading and New Game Plus

Because of the random nature of the procedural generation, there is no guarantee players will find all of these scenarios in a single playthrough. Of the main characters, only Zoe’s full story is tied for the larger narrative ending. Even if one is in the correct scenario, they may not have the funds, or special ability, to even earn the cassette tape.

One option is to fully listen to a new cassette song on a radio, if available within the scenario, and then reload the game. When a tape is played in this manner it is saved to the system data allowing players to get a new tape from replaying the scenario. Once Road 96 is completed players can enter New Game Plus mode with all of their earned abilities and cassette collection intact. While this second round prioritizes showing unseen scenarios first, it will eventually lead players back to areas with cassette tapes.

Next: How to Sprint in Road 96

Road 96 is available now on PC and Switch.