paradrew101 streamer · GTA VI
Isometric shooter · browser game

Highway 101 — an isometric zombie shooter, play free online

Riverbend, California, September 1998. Casey Roark worked the night shift at the laundromat, and by morning the town had stopped answering. Her mother is two hours up the 101 in Santa Rosa — all Casey has to do is cross fifteen districts, and on four of them the road is held by somebody she knew by name. You steer her with a finger and you do the shooting: she carries one gun, and every shot is yours. The light here is cast for real — her flashlight, the street lamps and the burning cars throw true shadows off the buildings, and around a corner you see nobody at all.

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1
1 / 15
Health 0 / 0 0¢ Rounds 0 Wave — Exit —

Turn your phone sideways — this one is played in landscape

Save room
Save room Nothing touches you here. Buying and changing clothes only work in this room; head out with the button on the panel or through the door in the corner.

RIVERBEND, CA

Controls: drag anywhere on the board — Casey walks where your finger goes. On a computer you walk with WASD or the arrows, space to dash, E for a medkit — or, next to a thing from the story or a corner of the room, to take a look. Only the left mouse button fires: click it or hold it, and it fires wherever the cursor is. Casey never shoots on her own — until you press, the gun stays quiet. On a phone it is the same: a short tap on the board, or the fire button under your thumb, which aims at the nearest one for you. She carries one gun; swap it in a safe room. Music and effect volume live under the ♪ in the corner of the board.

Leaderboard

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# Player Districts cleared
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How to play

  1. Only the left mouse button fires. It hits where the cursor is and keeps firing while you hold it, and a burst re-aims at the cursor as it goes. Casey never shoots on her own: until you press, the gun stays quiet, and a miss costs exactly what a hit costs. On a phone a short tap on the board does the same, or the fire button under your thumb — there is no cursor there, so it aims at the nearest one for you.
  2. One slot: she carries exactly one gun, and it is everything you have until the next safe room. So the pick at the workbench is the decision of the run: the uzi holds a crowd, the sawed-off takes them apart up close, the launcher answers a tight pack but a miss with it costs a whole cooldown. The other guns are not lost — they wait in the safe room, and you can swap any time. A crate with somebody else’s gun turns up in two districts out of three, and what she finds goes straight into her hands.
  3. The dash is a short burst with a moment of invulnerability. It is how you get out of a biker’s charge and out from under a popping clown. A second and a half of cooldown, bottom right.
  4. A district is a stand: two waves at the start, four by the finale, each one bigger than the last, with the wave counter in the status line. Where the exit is stays unknown until the last wave: it sits on a random crossroads and gives nothing away, and the status line shows a question mark instead of a distance. The moment the street holds, the exit lights up green, a sign rises over it, and an arrow on the edge of the board points the way. It is a walk: a district runs a hundred and twenty tiles across, and some of its streets are blocked by wrecks, so the straight line is not always open.
  5. The light is real: Casey’s flashlight, the street lamps and the burning cars are cast as rays, and buildings throw shadows. Around a corner nobody is visible — neither to you nor to them.
  6. Money drops off the residents and lies around the streets: quarters, singles, fives and twenty-dollar rolls. The bigger the note, the brighter the spot on the asphalt — one is worth the detour, another is not. It is only spent in a save room: guns, gear and medkits. Rounds never drop from bodies: you find them on the streets and buy them at the counter, and that is half the reason to walk the district at all.
  7. Every district has a safe house — a building with a lit door, and that same door is where Casey steps out onto the street. Walk in whenever you like, even mid-fight, and walk back out to the same spot: the street waits exactly as you left it. Inside there is the workbench, the outfits, a summary of the district and the room itself: other people’s notes on the tables and corners worth searching. The payphone is there too, but you pick it up yourself — the call waits and holds nobody.
  8. The safe house is the save, and what it writes down is the state you walked out with. Closing the tab returns you to that door rather than to the street; the district itself is rebuilt.
  9. Death ends the run: quarters, gear and bought guns are gone. What stays is what you found — next time that gun is on sale from the start. That is the roguelite part.
  10. Bosses arrive with the final wave of districts five, nine, twelve and fifteen, and while one is on his feet there is no way out of that district. Each has his own trick — calling for help, firing volleys, going berserk on his last third — and the bestiary says so in advance.
  11. Reach the highway and Casey keeps a new outfit and a perk for good. Perks stack and work from minute one of the next run: change in her pocket, a second medkit, an ammo pouch, more damage, a sawed-off under the counter, then stitches, a second tape slot and speed. Eight clears, eight outfits and eight perks, and the fifth run already starts as a different game.
  12. Tapes lie in the streets — there are five, each enters the collection once, and they keep turning up afterwards: a picked-up tape plays until the safe room. A tape does not turn up at once — only after the street beats its first wave — in a random spot, under a violet glow and with an arrow on the edge of the board. Pick it up and the street plays it instead of the usual music, and the tape stays in the collection for good. You carry one; the backpack from the shop adds a second and a third slot, and raises the ceiling on rounds and medkits too. Found tapes can be played in the safe room, which has its own tab for it.
  13. By every safe-house door stands a thing from the story: Doug’s Corolla, Mari’s car, the soda machine, the 42. Walk right up and press E or the prompt button, and Casey says a few words about it. Residents you have met on the street collect as cards in the safe room’s Residents tab: a frame, a name and what they do; bosses join when they walk in. Some streets have a sound of their own: singing at the church, barking from the river kennels, the pump house humming at the plant, wind on the bridge.

Where she is going

Fifteen districts back to back: the motel lot, the strip, the mall, the blocks across the river, the high school, St. Mary’s hospital, the yards, the trailer park, the River Road treatment plant, the drive-in, the bridge, the bus depot, the church and its yard, the Guard checkpoint and finally the on-ramp to the 101. Before each one there is a safe room: quiet music, a workbench, a rack of outfits and a working payphone. The payphone is where the story is told: a radio still looping yesterday’s advisory, an answering machine with her mother’s voice, a recorded 911 call about the plant discharge, and a Guard channel silent for three days. In districts five, nine, twelve and fifteen the road is held by a boss — Coach Dale, the River Road foreman, the night driver of the 42 and Trooper Barnes — and while he stands, there is no way through. Every district is a stand: the waves come on their own, and until the street holds them there is no way out. One run is enough to finish it: half an hour, if it goes well.

What a safe house is for

Every district has one — a building with a lit door, and you can walk in whenever you like, even mid-fight. Nothing touches you inside: a workbench of guns, a shelf of gear, a rack of outfits and the payphone that carries the story. There are fifty of these rooms in town and the run decides which ones you get: the laundromat, an auto shop, a video store, a radio station’s control room, a sawmill watchman’s shack, the fallout shelter under the school. Every one of them has other people’s paper lying about — a shopping list, a shift sheet, a note for the next guy — and two or three corners worth searching: mostly dust, sometimes change or rounds, rarely an attachment for a gun and very rarely somebody’s named piece. On the wall there is a summary of the district: how many residents are still outside, how much loose change is lying around, whether the district had a weapon crate and whether it has been taken, and how far the exit is once it has opened. A gun you do not need is sold there for half price. And the important part: the run is written down in the safe house — in the state you walked out with.

Fifteen districts

# District Boss Side, tiles Who lives there
1 Crescent Motel lot On foot to the first gas station. We will see after that. Landmark: Doug’s Corolla “Doug spent all summer turning buyers away from it. I patted the hood like a horse. Sorry. I did not make it in time.” — 70 Shambler, Runner, Mailman, Bouncer
2 The strip The windows are intact. Nobody ran, then — they just walked out. Landmark: Mari’s car “Added in her hand: “Case, socks too.” Still knocking front right — she went on about it for a week.” — 70 Shambler, Runner, Mailman, Crawler, Biker, Bouncer, Matron
3 Riverbend Mall The gallery is shorter. And darker. Landmark: Mall fountain “Dry. Quarters on the bottom — somebody’s wishes. Those I leave. Something here should still come true.” — 90 Shambler, Runner, Schoolkid, Mall guard, Patrol cop, Crawler, Biker, Butcher
4 Blocks across the river I grew up here. Do not look in the windows. Landmark: Mrs. Ostrowski’s cats “Four bowls, three cats. I could not find the fourth. I gave them everything left in the bag by the door.” — 90 Shambler, Runner, Schoolkid, Screamer, Biker, Matron
5 Roosevelt High The gym is open. Coach Dale always locked it at nine. Landmark: Coach Dale’s pickup “The heater never once worked, three winters running. But he never pulled away till my door had shut behind me.” Coach Dale 90 Senior, Schoolkid, Janitor, Shambler, Runner, Crawler
6 St. Mary’s Hospital Mom was on the third floor. I know the way out. Landmark: Soda machine “Eats quarters, same as in ’94. Back then I kicked it; now I just pay. Same hum.” — 90 Shambler, Crawler, Nurse, Orderly, Spitter, Janitor, Schoolkid
7 Riverside yards Two turns from here to the treatment plant. That is where it started. Landmark: River kennels “Bowls dry, and the water trough ran off a hose from the river. Nothing else here needs explaining.” — 120 Shambler, Runner, Dog, Firefighter, Bloater, Mechanic, Screamer, Patrol cop, Butcher
8 Pines trailer park Tight, dark, and every door standing open. Landmark: Three chairs and a boombox “The tape in the boombox ran to the end and nobody flipped it. They did not leave mid-song. They left after.” — 120 Shambler, Dog, Trucker, Biker, Bloater, Screamer, Schoolkid, Matron
9 River Road treatment plant The discharge itself. The crew van is still at the gate. Landmark: Crew van “A thermos on the seat, a work order on the dash dated the ninth. Stepped out for a minute. On Wednesday.” The River Road foreman 120 Hazmat worker, Bloater, Spitter, Shambler, Firefighter, Crawler
10 Star drive-in The screen is burning white over the whole field. Light, and nobody. Landmark: Speaker post “The speaker is off its hook, lying in the grass, hissing. Somebody stayed to the end. I will hang it back up.” — 120 Shambler, Runner, Dog, Senior, Birthday clown, Biker, Trucker, Bouncer
11 The Riverbend bridge Narrow, with nowhere to step aside. The Guard held it to the last. Landmark: Sandbags on the bridge “The floodlight faces the town, not the road. They were not watching for anyone outside. They were watching us.” — 120 Guardsman, Patrol cop, Shambler, Runner, Mall guard, Trucker, Bouncer
12 The bus depot The 42 is parked at the workshop gate. Its driver is not. Landmark: Bus 42 “They never did replace the seat, and he asked four times. Somebody put a cushion on it. Bill, that was you.” The night driver 120 Mechanic, Trucker, Shambler, Dog, Janitor, Bloater, Butcher
13 The church and its yard Light in the windows. Singing inside — which is worse than silence. Landmark: Church sign “The letters say Sunday service at ten. It is Sunday already. They did not wait for ten.” — 120 Preacher, Shambler, Crawler, Screamer, Nurse, Orderly, Schoolkid, Matron
14 The Guard checkpoint The order was to let nobody through, either direction. It stands. Landmark: Guard Humvee “The radio hisses on channel four. I keyed it: “Four, one civilian, heading for the ramp.” Nobody answered.” — 120 Guardsman, Patrol cop, Mall guard, Firefighter, Hazmat worker, Trucker, Dog
15 The 101 on-ramp Two hundred metres of asphalt. And him. Landmark: Patrol car “Hat on the dash, door pulled to, not shut. He got out as if he would be right back. He is still standing out there.” Trooper Barnes 120 Guardsman, Patrol cop, Shambler, Runner, Dog, Firefighter, Trucker

Twelve guns

She carries exactly one — whatever is in her hands. Two are yours from the start; the rest sit in crates around town, and a crate turns up in two districts out of three. A gun found on the street goes straight into her hands, and the old one waits for you in a safe room. Once found, a gun is in the shop for good — even if that run ended badly.

Gear

Four bosses

They stand in districts five, nine, twelve and fifteen, and nothing gets past while they do. Each is somebody Casey knew: the school coach, the foreman from the treatment plant, the driver of the 42 bus and the trooper on the ramp. Their tricks differ, and they are named here in advance — the fight should be about reacting, not about guessing.

What a clear leaves you

Fifteen districts is half an hour, and few people replay half an hour for nothing. So every trip to the highway leaves two things for good: an outfit (visible immediately, changes nothing) and a perk (changes the next run from minute one). Perks stack — the fifth run starts as a different game.

Clears Outfit Perk
1 Trooper’s jacket Taken off Barnes along with the badge. Heavy and too big. Change in her pocket Casey does not leave the laundromat empty-handed any more.
2 Hospital scrubs From the St. Mary’s store room. Clean — the only clean thing in town. Trunk first-aid kit A second medkit on every run.
3 Turnout gear Too long, but it has the stripes. In the dark she is the first thing you see. Doug’s ammo pouch Fifty rounds over the usual load on every run.
4 Prom dress Hung in the closet since May. Casey decided there was nothing left to wait for. Her own handloads A tenth more damage from everything she holds. Permanently.
5 Night driver’s jacket Leather, route 42 on the patch. Smells of diesel. The spare sawed-off Under the counter from the start — right where the pistol was.
6 Guard fatigues From the checkpoint guardhouse, somebody else’s name tape. The order to let nobody through does not apply to her. Ronda’s stitches The night nurse stitched to last. Thirty health over the vest, permanently.
7 Choir robe From the vestry. They sing inside without it — they do not need it any more. Doug’s walkman A second tape slot from the first street out — no backpack needed.
8 Star drive-in usher jacket Red, with a flashlight on the strap. The show is on and there is nobody to seat. Broken-in sneakers Eight districts on foot — her feet know the way. Eight per cent faster.

What Casey learns on the way

Experience drops in the middle of the fight: level up, the game stops, three cards on screen, pick one and no skipping. Fourteen skills, each with its own level cap, and they reset with the run — so two runs with the same guns play differently: piercing rounds in one, magnet and thrift in the other.

Skill Rarity Levels
Trigger finger Any gun fires 12% faster. common 4
Own powder Every gun hits 14% harder. common 4
Padding 22 more health. common 4
Light feet Casey moves 8% faster. common 3
Good eye 5% more of her shots find the head. rare 4
Fresh batteries The flashlight reaches 18% further. common 3
Long pockets Change and rounds come from 1.5 tiles further. rare 3
Thrift Shots cost 15% fewer rounds. rare 3
Hardball Bullets punch through one more. rarest 2
Heavy hand Hits shove 40% harder. common 3
Clean bandages Medkits heal 30% more. common 3
Second wind The dash comes back 20% sooner. rare 3
Scrounger Every fifth body gives a round back. rare 3
Blowout Every other head taken tears up whoever stands close. rarest 2

Named guns

Found while searching the corners of safe rooms, rarely, and never sold in the shop. Each has an owner — and a story Casey tells the moment she finds it. They last only until the run ends.

Gun Whose
Sheriff Holloway’s revolver Heavy, accurate, punches through two. Six shots and a long wait. Framed over a register since ’79, when Holloway retired and gave it to the town. The glass is intact and the gun is oiled — so somebody has taken it down since.
The Dove A trap gun: the pattern holds tight and carries, for buckshot. A side-by-side with a bird engraved on the lockplate — the kind you shoot once a year and clean twelve times. The comb is worn where somebody’s cheek went.
The Varmint Small calibre, but it never stops and barely costs a thing. The attic .22 half this town learned to shoot cans with. Four names are carved down the forearm; the last one is in a child’s hand.
The Amethyst A pocket derringer: close, slow, and it never asks for ammunition. Two barrels, mother-of-pearl and a violet stone in the grip, in a velvet box. Its owner carried it in her handbag for forty years and never once drew it.
The foreman’s rivet gun Like a nail gun, only heavier: goes through two in a row. A River Road air tool, black fingerprints all over it. There is a name tag on the hose and a second, crossed-out one underneath: it was handed down.

Tapes

Five tapes lie in the streets, one per district: it turns up once the street beats its first wave, under a violet glow and with an arrow on the edge of the board. Whatever is in the pack plays on the street instead of the fight theme. All five were recorded in Riverbend before September ’98.

Tape What is on it
The Gully Three from the Roosevelt band, down the gully behind the school, on the band room’s boombox; Mrs. Yoo never missed it. grunge, 1993
The Warehouse Taped off the deck at a warehouse out past the yards, in one take; the last copy lived in Reggie Jr.’s back room. rave, 1994
Trailer Park Kids from the Pines in a trailer with the door open; the neighbours came by twice to complain and stayed. punk, 1992
The Sawmill The sawmill kiln after hours: the watchman let them in on condition it was over by his ten o’clock round — it wasn’t. thrash, 1996
Night Shift The River Road plant’s night crew, in the pump house: the pumps are on the tape; there was no keeping them off it. industrial, 1995

Who is out there

Twenty-six kinds of resident and four bosses, and every one of them was somebody’s neighbour yesterday: the mailman, the nurse, the coach. Each kind behaves its own way — one shuffles, one runs, one spits, one calls the others in. Below are the very figures that walk the street, each one drawn by hand.

Progress lives in your browser: found guns, the story and your record sit in this device’s localStorage. Clear the site data and Casey walks out of the laundromat with the pistol and the nailer again.

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