Detour

Detour is a real-time strategy game where players build roads, bridges, and tunnels to guide delivery trucks across obstacle-filled maps while sabotaging opponents’ infrastructure with weapons like bombs and EMPs. The goal is to be the first to transport a set number of trucks to the other side, combining strategic planning with fast-paced action.

Detour: Review

Introduction

In the crowded landscape of real-time strategy (RTS) games, few titles venture as far off the beaten path as Detour. Released in 2011 by Sandswept Studios, this indie gem reimagines competitive strategy through the lens of infrastructure warfare—a chaotic race to build roads, outmaneuver rivals, and deliver trucks across treacherous terrain. Though overshadowed by genre titans like StarCraft, Detour remains a fascinating experiment in minimalist design, blending SimCity-esque construction with the frenetic energy of a multiplayer shooter. Its legacy, though modest, lies in its audacious concept and flawed execution, offering a compelling case study in how innovation can both elevate and hinder a game’s potential. This review dissects Detour’s design, reception, and enduring appeal, arguing that beneath its technical flaws lies a uniquely compelling experience that embodies the spirit of indie experimentation.

Development History & Context

Sandswept Studios, founded by brothers Geoff “Zag” and Richard Keene, emerged as a small, ambitious team during a pivotal era for indie gaming. The early 2010s witnessed the rise of Steam’s digital marketplace, empowering developers to bypass traditional publishers. Detour capitalized on this shift, launching on May 16, 2011, as a downloadable title priced at $1.99—a deliberate move to attract budget-conscious players. The studio’s vision was audacious: distill RTS complexity into a “highway-building war game,” as described on Steam. They aimed to create a title that was “easy to learn, complex to master,” leveraging the accessibility of point-and-click construction while layering strategic depth through resource management and asymmetric warfare.

Technologically, Detour operated within modest constraints. Built for Windows XP/Vista/7, it required minimal hardware (1 GHz CPU, 512 MB RAM), targeting low-spec PCs common among indie audiences. The game’s diagonal-down perspective and free camera allowed dynamic map navigation, though this would later be criticized for contributing to visual clutter. The development team of 50, led by Geoff Keene, included notable contributors like composer Jon Churchill (known for Halo soundtracks) and artist Heather Smith. Their collaborative effort yielded a game that, for all its flaws, pulsed with personality.

The 2011 gaming landscape was dominated by AAA RTS behemoths like StarCraft II and Civilization V, making Detour’s quirky premise a stark contrast. While strategy games typically emphasized empire-building or tactical combat, Detour focused on a single, frantic loop: road construction. This niche positioning reflected a growing indie trend of reimagining established genres through hyper-focused mechanics—a precursor to titles like Mini Motorways (2019). Yet, the lack of polish in Detour’s UI and AI underscored the challenges faced by small studios attempting to compete with industry giants.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

Narrative is not Detour’s strength. The game eschews traditional storytelling in favor of abstract competition, with no characters, plot, or dialogue to speak of. Its “narrative” emerges purely from gameplay—a silent, high-stakes race where victory is measured in trucks delivered. This minimalist approach aligns with the game’s thematic core: modern infrastructure as a battleground.

The maps—littered with obstacles like forests, lakes, and hills—symbolize the chaos of urban development. Players must carve paths through this terrain, using bridges, tunnels, and explosives to “detour” around barriers. This mirrors real-world challenges in transportation logistics, where efficiency battles against environmental constraints. The absence of a narrative forces players to invest emotionally in their infrastructure; a perfectly constructed road becomes a source of pride, while a bombed-out segment sparks rage.

Themes of competition and economic warfare permeate the experience. Resources (credits) trickle in steadily but accelerate when roads connect to goldmines, rewarding strategic expansion over brute force. Weapons like dynamite, EMPs, and ground turrets transform the battlefield into a proxy for economic sabotage, reflecting zero-sum resource struggles in capitalism. Even the goal—delivering three trucks to the opposite side—feels like a commentary on supply-chain fragility; one well-placed bomb can undo hours of work.

While devoid of explicit narrative, Detour’s world-building is implicitly thematic. The vibrant, cartoonish art style (reminiscent of Pipe Mania) contrasts with the game’s ruthless mechanics, highlighting the absurdity of industrialized conflict. In a world where construction crews double as demolition squads, Detour asks players to embrace chaos as the ultimate strategic variable.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

Detour’s gameplay revolves around a deceptively simple loop: build roads, send trucks, sabotage opponents. Players start with a factory on one side of a map, racing to connect roads to the opposite edge. Terrain obstacles—trees, rocks, water—require clearing or circumvention via bridges/tunnels. Trucks automatically spawn and traverse these paths, but victory demands delivering three intact vehicles to the destination—a feat complicated by rival players (or AI) doing the same.

Resource Management is the backbone of strategy. Credits generate passively (≈1/sec) but surge when roads link to goldmines. This incentivizes expansion but creates tension: investing in mines delays offensive capabilities, while aggressive bombing risks depleting funds. Weapons (bombs, EMPs, nails) cost credits, demanding split-second decisions between offense and defense.

Strategic Depth emerges from asymmetric tools:
– Defensive: Road blocks (two-layers thick), turrets (ground/air), shields, and street sweepers.
– Offensive: Dynamite (single road destruction), bombs (area damage), EMPs (disable units), and bribes (halt trucks).
– Utility: Scan abilities (reveal fog of war) and environmental restrictions (e.g., wetland-building bans).

Yet, the loop is undermined by critical flaws. The interface is universally panned: items are cycled via mouse wheel or memorized hotkeys (e.g., F2 for scan, “5” for upgrades), with no point-and-click selection. This turns frantic moments into frustrating fumbles, as players scroll through menus while enemies bomb their infrastructure.

Combat devolves into stalemates. Rapid-fire bombing creates “whack-a-mole” cycles where players rebuild roads under constant fire. Defense often outpaces offense, leading to passive play—especially against AI, which struggles to adapt. The fog of war exacerbates this; limited visibility reduces strategic foresight, turning late-game moments into chaotic scrambles.

Multiplayer offers redemption. With five modes (free-for-all, team, shared resources, survival, turret defense) and an in-browser, it shines as a social experience. Up to four players can engage in high-stakes races, with custom rules (timers, truck thresholds, starting credits) adding replayability. The Steam community, though small, persists—a testament to the game’s unique charm. Single-player, however, feels rote. Twenty-seven challenges repeat the same formula, with AI opponents offering little variety beyond predictable early-game rushes.

World-Building, Art & Sound

Detour’s world is an abstract playground of interconnected roads and explosive chaos. Art direction embraces a cheerful, isometric aesthetic, with colorful tiles, cartoonish trucks, and exaggerated explosions. Nighttime maps add atmosphere via headlights and darker palettes, but visual clutter often obscures key details—especially in four-player matches. The art succeeds in making destruction visually satisfying but falters in clarity, where overlapping roads and terrain can obscure critical threats.

Sound design is minimalist. Explosions and truck engine noises provide immediate feedback, while the ambient soundtrack—composed by Jon Churchill and others—remains subtle, blending into the background. This prioritizes gameplay over immersion but risks monotony during extended sessions.

World-building is procedural rather than narrative-driven. Each map generates unique terrain challenges, encouraging adaptive strategies. Goldmines and garages (spawn points) act as economic landmarks, turning the map into a contested resource grid. The absence of lore or lore-heavy characters shifts focus to pure spatial reasoning, where the “story” is one player outmaneuvering another through clever road placement.

Reception & Legacy

At launch, Detour’s reception was mixed to negative. On Steam, 59% of 1,300+ reviews were positive, citing “addictive” multiplayer and “innovative” mechanics, but criticism centered on the UI and AI. Metacritic’s 2.4 user score reflected this, with one user calling it “an amateur attempt at a strategy game.” Critics like Worth Playing (75/100) acknowledged its potential but reserved praise for multiplayer-only sessions.

Commercially, Detour achieved modest success. Its $1.99 price point and Steam sales drove consistent sales, but it never cracked the top 100 strategy titles. Its legacy lies in its influence on indie design. Detour’s focus on minimalist mechanics anticipated games like Mini Motorways, while its emphasis on asymmetric tools foreshadowed titles like For The King (2019). Sandswept Studios continued its experimental path, with later projects like Destiny proving their ambition.

The game’s most enduring impact is as a cautionary tale. It demonstrates how innovative gameplay can be sabotaged by poor UX, a lesson later heeded by developers like Noodlecake Studios (creators of Mini Road Racing). Its cult following persists in niche communities, where modders share custom maps and strategies, keeping the spirit of infrastructure warfare alive.

Conclusion

Detour is a flawed masterpiece—an indie RTS that dares to be different yet falters in execution. Its core loop of road-building and sabotage is ingeniously simple, offering moments of pure strategic euphoria when players outwit rivals. Yet, a clunky interface, stale late-game combat, and weak AI prevent it from reaching its potential. As a historical artifact, it’s a testament to the risks and rewards of genre innovation. While it may not be “worthy of a place in the RTS pantheon,” as one Metacritic user quipped, its chaotic charm and bold concept ensure it remains a footnote worth revisiting. For players seeking a break from micro-heavy strategy and willing to embrace its quirks, Detour offers a detour worth taking—a flawed but fascinating journey into the heart of infrastructure warfare.