There are games that sometimes tend to focus more on the vibe of the experience playing it rather than the actual gameplay itself. That’s not always a bad thing, there are times where you just want to relax and just vibe. With “Pacific Drive” it has all that but a very intriguing mystery to explore as you drive through the Pacific Northwest. When developers Ironwood Studios first announced this title a couple years ago, I was not sure what to make of it. I sort of got “Firewatch” vibes from it, but while prominently being in a car. While at times that can be half-true, that’s exactly what I was hoping for, plus a little more. There is a strong survival aspect to “Pacific Drive” as well that I was not expecting.
So, what exactly is going on in “Pacific Drive”? The general plot is you are a nameless character, or “The Driver” who is plunged into the heart of the Olympic Exclusion Zone in the Pacific Northwest circa 1998. From a first-person perspective, you will have to navigate this treacherous landscape either on foot or behind the wheel of a customizable station wagon that you are somehow supernaturally tied to, this car also has a personality of its own. Dynamic weather elements significantly impact gameplay, altering vehicle handling and presenting additional challenges. Metal monsters pose a persistent threat, latching onto the player’s vehicle and necessitating swift action with the buzzsaw to fend them off. Throughout the journey, you will encounter various obstacles, including electrical anomalies and disruptive barriers, which is where a lot of the survival aspect plays in. Exploration yields valuable crafting recipes and blueprints that will help your vehicle’s capabilities and uncover the mysteries of the Exclusion Zone.
At the core of the gameplay is your garage, functioning as a central hub for customization and repairs. Utilizing a headset, vehicle diagnostics become a hands-on affair, with often quirky malfunctions you will constantly need to keep up with such as the state of your tires and the car’s battery life to name a couple. While minor repairs can be tackled on-the-go, more intricate fixes require the sanctuary of the garage. Resource and inventory management play pivotal roles, Scrap metal scavenged from wrecked vehicles via that trusty buzzsaw as mentioned early that are seminal parts of the gameplay loop.
Interactions with NPCs and the discovery of artifacts such as notes and audio logs add depth and really help build the ambiance and lore that this game excels at, getting glimpses into the world’s lore is by far my favorite aspect of the game for me. What I personally find frustrating is unfortunately the survival aspects in “Pacific Drive” can get in the way of the narrative by giving you too much to juggle at once. That, for me, really interrupted a constant “flow-state” I wanted to get into this game. While the game doesn’t do anything bad when it comes to being a survival game, it honestly gets a lot of it right if you’re a gamer who thrives in survival sandboxes. I just wish I didn’t have to constantly go back to the garage to work on maintenance and I kept wanting to just figure out what was going on in this really awesome world Ironwood Studios created.
“Pacific Drive” does deliver a thrilling blend of survival mechanics with narrative depth, it’s just one ingredient overpowered the other a bit more than I personally would have liked. If survival games are more your speed, then buckle up and get ready to embark on an adrenaline-fueled journey through a gorgeous and very ominous post-apocalyptic landscape.
8/10
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Related: Nick Navarro Reviews
Gaming since I was given an original Nintendo as a kid. I love great storytelling and unique ingenuity. When both collide in a single game, I'm a happy gamer. Twitter/IG @NickNavarro87
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