Roadman brings the grim, gritty crime action to Android

• Roadman is out now on Google Play
• This gritty multiplayer crime sim isn't lacking in absurdity
• But the social issues are very much on full display

All too often, the debate about whether or not something glamorises crime is brought up. Be it Grand Theft Auto, 1980s classic Scarface or modern social media, is it good to be bad? Well, in Roadman, that perceived guilt is stripped away to reveal a much darker underbelly than you might be comfortable with.

On the surface, Roadman is a pretty standard GTA-like that puts you in the shoes of an up-and-coming criminal on the rough streets of Anywhere, Nondescript Nation. But scratch beneath it and you'll find this is less fast cars and flash than back-alley dealings and brutality.

In Roadman, your class, gender and appearance will all change how different NPCs perceive and react to you. The intended effect is to communicate and critique the social issues that give rise to crime and perpetuate it. But you'll still be meeting some strange characters and experiencing absurd stories as you explore this dark city.

It's bad being bad

Roadman makes a lot of very big promises, but at the moment, it seems to be gearing up for bigger things. Appearances may be deceiving, however, I think that the more stylised low-poly look of Roadman works better than trying to emulate more graphically dazzling crime simulators.

At the same time, I think that it'll need a bit more demonstration of how this social system works, and a bit more time to see how players react before we find out whether Roadman is the upset to the system we need.

But, in either case, Roadman is just one of many intriguing releases that are out this week! And you may be like me, and be a bit overwhelmed. Fortunately, you can do as I did and dig into our regular weekly feature of the top five new mobile games to try this week to get started!