In Death Road to Canada, there are “normal” characters — this includes custom characters — and there are “rare” or “special” characters. You are able to encounter significantly more of the rare folks in the “Rare Characters'' game mode, but otherwise they will be much harder to find. In terms of recruitable characters, there are over 80 that can be found at the time of writing, including ones that can only be recruited on certain holidays.
While you are able to beat the game without any rare characters, the job will be much, much easier with their help. Some rare characters are not too good, some only mediocre — but some are astoundingly good. Just a handful of the great ones will be discussed today. Many rare characters are guaranteed to have amazing stats, like fitness and/or strength, and others have benefits that you just can’t access without having them on your team.
#10. Alvis
His colorful music notes appear over his head whenever he attacks.
See Alvis in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8zz2Z_yk1U
Alvis is a character who I have a soft spot for. He’s based on Elvis Presley, which, to me, is a rather unique choice for a game set in the apocalypse.
He doesn’t require weapons to put up a great fight; he’s able to use a weaponless Karate attack that does a good deal of damage against the undead.
While he isn’t better than later characters in this list, like Punch Bot, he definitely exceeds most regular characters. He may even be able to carry your team to the finish line!
Every time Alvis hits something, colorful music notes appear above his head, and an electronic ‘singing voice’ can be heard. If you’re anything like me, these sounds might get stuck in your head after having Alvis for a little while.
If Alvis’ morale gets too low, he will change appearance and his stats will change (notably, his fitness will be reduced to its lowest possible stat). He resembles Elvis Presley’s more iconic appearance in this form. Some people prefer Alvis’ second form, but I tend to prefer his first — mostly because of the fitness.
What makes Alvis good:
- Great fighting skills - he doesn’t have to have a weapon on him (although he is able to use them!) and his karate attack is actually surprisingly powerful.
- Aesthetics - in terms of vibe, he’s one of my favorites.
- Decent stats - His (first form’s) fitness is incredible; and his strength isn’t too bad either. He’s able to carry many different pieces of furniture for throwing and zombie-slaying.
How to get Alvis:
Alvis can be found at random when traveling on the Death Road. The event he can be recruited in is called “The King of Sing”. You’ll be given the option to either “recruit him” or “leave him be”. To increase your chances of finding Alvis, you can play on the “Rare Characters” game mode.
#9. Anime Girl
She may start off looking normal, but over time… Image Credit: Steam Card Exchange
See Anime Girl in action: https://youtu.be/Mbsic_msSpo?si=TOCVD5GNfsfY8dA3&t=19
Anime Girl is an… interesting character. The longer you have her, the more horrifying her appearance becomes. Her eyes become much bigger and she starts to get… melty.
But she’s a surprisingly good fighter. She will eventually explode after a few days when she becomes “too anime” and can no longer handle it. So, while she isn’t really a long-term type of recruit, she is an enormous help while she’s around.
Anime Girl uses a powerful attack and she has nearly-maxed fitness, so she rarely tires out.
She shouldn’t be relied upon entirely, but using her for battle could open you up for looting opportunities. For example, you could have her handle the zombies while you loot the items in any given room.
What makes Anime Girl good:
- Her fighting skills - this is really the main benefit she has. If you come across a siege while she is in your party, you are much more likely to beat it with her at your side.
- Fitness - her fitness stat is always high!
- Attitude - attitude rolls are easily passed with her in your party.
How to get Anime Girl:
One way to get Anime Girl is to bring a character with the Anime Fan perk up to full morale. Then, the ticking time bomb starts…
Otherwise, you may encounter her at random. The event will be called “The Power of Anime” and you will have the option to “Recruit her“ or “Part ways”.
#8. Gnomey
See Gnomey in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TdQuijc0ic
Gnomey is surprisingly great. Although he only has one health, he summons Battle Rats, Gnomes, and Punchzerker (in order of rarity) to help in battle.
Punchzerker will stay active until the end of the level in which he spawns. Gnomes and Battle Rats disappear after a little while, but can be respawned repeatedly. As long as you keep Gnomey away from overwhelming groups, he will be an enormous asset to your team.
When he dies, he spawns a cluster of NPCs to help you in your battle, but they are only temporary.
Gnomey’s weapon slots are free for you to optimize as you wish!
What makes Gnomey good:
- His great attitude! - His attitude is automatically set to the maximum stat.
- His minions - I love the Battle Rats, but the gnomes he spawns and Punchzerker are pretty good too.
- Dexterity - in other words, faster moving speed!
How to get Gnomey:
In the random text event “THE TRIUMPHANT RETURN OF GNOMEY”, you will have the option to either recruit him or run for the car. Although he might seem scary (based on the text he is introduced with), he is definitely worth recruiting!
#7. H*NK
He definitely certainly absolutely will not betray you if given the slightest opportunity! I swear! Image source: Malvi on YouTube
See H*NK in action: https://youtu.be/UsY_XAPdhUw?si=12pf9lXKrppSXFJz&t=24
H*NK is a pretty decent character overall. He is able to handle himself well in a fight, not requiring a lot of babysitting. His shooting skill is incredible, making him best suited for firearms.
Similar to L*NK, the asterisk in his name can be replaced with any vowel, so you have a random chance of getting HANK, HONK, HINK, and so on.
H*NK boasts repeatedly about how he is trustworthy and will never betray your team, but beware, his Loyalty is always set at 0. It’s best not to trust H*NK with any loyalty-based situations, because he will fail them miserably.
Both of his firearms — the Ded9 and the Modded Ded9 — pack a punch.
Whenever I have H*NK on my team, I find that he great at keeping zombies away and generally makes the experience much less stressful. Which is funny to say, since his loyalty is so bad.
What makes H*NK good:
- Decent fitness and strength - Not as good as Rambeaux’s later on this list, but still good. His fitness is slightly better than his strength.
- Incredible shooting skill - His shooting is even better than Rambeaux’s by default!
- Ded9 weapons- These weapons are both really good against zombies. You have the option to purchase one from him instead of recruiting him. But the Ded9 he carries with him is much better than the Ded9 he would sell to you.
How to get H*NK:
H*NK can be recruited at a trader camp for a whopping 20 food. I’d say it’s worth it, though! The event will be called “No Idea on the Acronym”.
#6. Speed Bot
Holding back zombies in a siege with its AUTO-NAILGUN!
See Speed Bot in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvKRZyh1_us
Speed Bot has 2 permanent equips, meaning that its third slot is free to be replaced with any weapon you want! Speed Bot cannot fatigue, so you can equip it with a really heavy-duty weapon and it will not tire of swinging it. You may want to increase its fitness and/or strength a bit if you plan on giving it a heavy weapon, though.
It has an AUTO-NAILGUN that has a maximum of 300 charges. 50 charges are charged back up at the end of each round, so you can’t use it as carelessly as you can use its SPEED MODE, which recharges fully. SPEED MODE has seven charges at max.
The nailgun starts off shooting slowly, but as you hold down the button, the speed of the nails increases. The nails are not very effective against the zombies, but it can hold them off.
SPEED MODE can be really hard to get used to, let alone control - it has its benefits, especially in places like sewers, but there is definitely a learning curve to using it. Other teammates may have a hard time catching up to Speed Bot’s SPEED MODE, so be careful not to leave any behind if you are speeding to exit a level.
SPEED MODE can also knock zombies to the ground.
Despite the difficulty in controlling SPEED MODE, Speed Bot is still a great teammate to have. It’s a decent fighter and, with only a bit of training, can be made into an excellent fighter.
What makes Speed Bot good:
- Dodging attacks - SPEED MODE allows Speed Bot to get away quickly if grabbed by any zombies.
- Stunning/knocking down zombies - especially in a crowd, you can use SPEED MODE to keep zombies from being able to attack for a little while.
- No fatigue + can hold a weapon of your choice - You can give Speed Bot heavy weapons for the best effects!
How to get Speed Bot:
Speed Bot can be purchased at the Mechanical Fortress trader camp for 15 food. A bit pricier than the slightly-better Punch Bot, but still an acceptable price given its benefits.
#5. Horse
Promotional art for the DR2C soundtrack - image source: https://joeygrady.bandcamp.com/album/death-road-to-canada-ost
See Horse in action: https://youtu.be/RWOKQaf66kI?si=SeZ7EOShrkDl4Iea&t=348
It’s very hard to describe Horse. He is a great representation of the game’s style and humor, which explains why he is commonly seen on promotional works involving Death Road, including the above image.
Horse is seemingly well-loved by the creators of DR2C, but he isn’t great for fighting. In fact, there are few weapons he is actually able to use at all. I usually hope to get L*nk in the same run as I get Horse, because Horse is able to use boomerangs pretty effectively and L*nk eventually finds two separate boomerangs.
Unlike animals, Horse is able to go on looting adventures on his own even if there are other teammates present and available. With this advantage over animals, he can sometimes be more useful to recruit than animals despite his slightly slower speed than them.
On levels where you are able to have teammates rest, one strategy is to have only Horse go. and run through areas quickly to loot, killing little to no zombies in the process. That way, you won’t have to worry about characters needing to catch up to him and you will be able to loot quickly.
Although he isn’t a great fighter, I do enjoy having Horse on my team quite a bit. It’s hard not to like him.
What makes Horse good:
- Speed - He is the fastest-moving humanoid character within the game. This makes him ideal for looting while others take care of zombies.
- Fitness - His fitness is excellent; his strength, not so much. If you equip him with a boomerang, the low strength shouldn’t be too much of an issue.
- Humor - He’s a silly character to have - who would be able to resist his charm?
How to get Horse:
Horse can be encountered at random in the “A Lovely Horse” text-based event. You will have the option to “Recruit him” or “Imagine being a horse”.
#4. Rambeaux
Several years ago, before AI-updating releases of the game, Rambeaux would favor a purse over his knife, leading to him carrying it around near-constantly. Image credit: Ryuka - Ruki on YouTube
See Rambeaux in action: https://youtu.be/HH4PbRzWqA4?si=qDNAlpLCZPGUpfcq&t=2799
Rambeaux is a character I didn’t expect to include in this list when I first started it. He was always a character I avoided because I knew he was mostly a firearm main and I’ve never been in a good enough ammo situation to justify recruiting him.
But, in the process of playing through some “Rare Characters” modes for this list, I decided to give him a shot, and I was surprised! Not only is his shooting skill really good, but his fitness and strength is, too, so he isn’t only good with firearms.
Rambeaux’s weapons are also pretty top-tier, especially the minigun. The minigun uses up ammo fast, though, so you’ll want to stockpile as much rifle ammo as you can when you have him on your team.
And… that’s pretty much it for any warnings regarding Rambeaux. He’s a really easy character to play as and he is also not the type of character you need to actively play as for him to benefit you. He tends to be an excellent supporting teammate who isn’t held back by being tired, so long as he always has ammo supply.
I also didn’t expect him to have only one firearm — I thought he would have three. But I’m actually happy about this, not disappointed. He isn’t limited to only the thing he excels at, and he’s a very well-rounded character overall. Give him a shot!
What makes Rambeaux good:
- Fitness/Strength - Both Rambeaux’ strength and fitness are near-maxed upon recruit!
- Shooting - His shooting skill is also near-maxed, making his weapons even more effective.
- Strong weapons - both the Minigun and the Rambeaux Knife are incredible choices for zombie-slaying. As long as you keep some rifle ammo on-hand, you’ll be good to go!
How to get Rambeaux:
Rambeaux can be recruited if you find him at a trader camp. He will require 10 food to recruit.
#3. Punch Bot
Sometimes after a special attack, dialogue can appear over Punch Bot! Image source: Rocketcat Games on YouTube
See Punch Bot in action: https://youtu.be/lR23Txn-9LM?si=PSmCj1msidHeu7cX&t=8
Punch Bot is an incredible fighter. It has incredibly powerful moves that recharge each level, and even its most basic move is great at killing. Not only that, but it cannot be fatigued. That’s right — Punch Bot never gets tired!
Punch Bot is one of the most fun characters to play as, on top of being powerful. It has a regular uppercut attack called “ROBO UPPER”, a zooming lunge attack called “CHARGED PUNCH” and a jumping attack called “SLAM PUNCH”.
You can use ROBO UPPER infinitely, whereas CHARGED PUNCH only has nine charges per round and SLAM PUNCH has five. These will recharge fully after each level is over. Both CHARGED PUNCH and SLAM PUNCH are incredibly effective at killing several zombies at once, but ROBO UPPER is nothing to shake a Lead Pipe at, either.
CHARGED PUNCH is best for killing zombies in a line, but SLAM PUNCH is best for killing small crowds of zombie surrounding Punch Bot.
Unlike Speed Bot, however, all of Punch Bot’s moves cannot be replaced with any weapons, so what it has is what it keeps.
What makes Punch Bot good:
- Charged attacks - not only are the charged attacks powerful, but you get a good amount of them per round. Only during sieges would you ever really run out of them.
- Lack of fatigue - not every move will be equally as powerful, but Punch Bot will be able to throw punches continuously!
- Strength/Fitness combo - Its strength is better than its fitness, but both are incredibly good. It can also increase its fitness beyond the normal maximum!
- Fireproof (sort of) - On looting missions / sieges, it cannot take fire damage. This doesn’t apply to in-text events, though.
How to Get Punch Bot:
You can recruit Punch Bot by playing in the O*P*P game mode as well as by encountering the Mechanical Fortress trader camp, where you may recruit them for 10 food. A really cheap price for such a good robot friend!
#2. L*nk
Zombie obliterated with the M*ster sword!
See L*nk in action: https://youtu.be/9TdQuijc0ic?si=52lgycHdtBQxqkh5&t=31
L*nk is a lot of fun to have on your team. When you initially recruit him, he has only a wooden sword (named “Take This”) and a tree branch, but as time passes, he will eventually find a wooden boomerang. Then, even later, his sword upgrades, he finds a metal boomerang (much stronger than the wooden one), and you have the choice between him carrying 3 replenishable bombs or having an extra vitality — “vitality” meaning it will take an extra hit to kill L*NK.
Finally, after you have managed to keep him alive and well for quite a while, his sword will upgrade yet again to be the M*ster sword!
I think L*nk is a really fun nod to the Legend of Zelda franchise. But even for those who aren’t fans of LoZ, his character is an enjoyable one to play. I think the concept of weapons upgrading over time is incredibly fun, especially for a game like Death Road to Canada.
And the weapons you get are genuinely good as well! The M*ster sword is great fun to use — it shoots beams at zombies! — but I tend to favor the metal boomerang personally; it works long-distance and it always comes back to you. It also can one-shot zombies! What’s not to love?!
Be careful when you have L*nk, though. If his morale gets too low, he will hurt some teammates while swinging around his sword. While his morale will increase afterwards, it usually isn’t too worth getting others hurt.
What makes L*nk good:
- Upgraded weapons over time - keeping him alive is all you need to do in order for his weapons to get better and better!
- Good fitness and strength - these can also be upgraded later
- Chance to increase vitality OR have refilling bombs - the 3 bombs he carries will reappear later if all have been used up and the vitality remains permanent as well. It’s ultimately up to you which you think is best-suited for your current run!
- Parody of a well-loved character - I love Death Road’s willingness to parody existing characters, and L*nk is one of the best examples of this being done right.
How to get L*nk:
Like most others on this list, you’ll have to come across L*nk by chance. The “LNK” event gives you the choice to either recruit him or leave him be. Other than getting the random chance of encountering him, he’s completely free to recruit!
#1. T*L*B
See T*L*B in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5X0RkfulqI
T*L*B is my favorite rare character to play as on the Death Road. While he can’t use traditional weapons, his strength is unmatched. He is able to rip sinks and toilets from the ground, leaving only a burst water pipe in their wake. He can lift old, rusty cars and slam them into entire crowds, killing them with great effectiveness.
It’s important to be in control of T*L*B when you have him on a team since characters that are not being controlled by players can’t lift and throw furniture. But in my experience, you won’t want to switch to another character when you have him on your team.
The Last Bodybuilder is still able to use throwable explosives, like Molotovs, grenades, pipe bombs, etc., so during sieges and final battles it is always a good idea to supply him with them. You are able to carry furniture while he carries explosives, so don’t worry — you won’t have to choose between the two!
What makes The Last Bodybuilder good:
- A ton of strength - he can pick up and throw pretty much anything and everything except for team members!
- Excellent Attitude stat - if an event depends on an Attitude roll, selecting T*L*B will always give you great results
- Can throw explosives - so he still has some weapon functionality!
- Incredibly fun to play - trust me, if you’ve never played as him before, you are in for a surprise and a treat.
How to get T*L*B:
T*L*B can be encountered at random when driving on the death road. The event will be called “The Last Bodybuilder” and your options will be to either “ask for strength tips” or “ask to recruit him”.
