başta keyifli, sonra sıkıcı... Üzdü
I absolutely loved this game its just the little things that make this game an awesome game, the way you had to build/repair your car was so much fun. I also really liked the story, I would recommend this game 100%
Me divierto mas arreglando el auto que viajando
So boring, the story isn't there and doesn't provide enough crumbs to keep me interested.
I was pretty onboard with the vibes of Pacific Drive from the start. While it began and maintained as an oppressive "What the f is going on??" vibe, you slowly begin to piece together some understandings of how the Zone functioned. Combined with satisfying upgrade and crafting mechanics, it kept me quite entertained for its roughly 20 hour run time.
To start things off, I'm not much of a survival game person. I eventually find a lot of these types of games rather aimless or frustrating to the point where it loses me. I was surprised to find myself not in this situation (for the most part) in this game. I always had the next thing I'm looking forward to getting and was able to make decent progress towards that objective. While death is quite punishing, you can definitely alleviate some of these design decisions with generous accessibility options.
Combined with a satisfying upgrade system is a semi-roguelike system where you make "runs" to collect resources and make it further into the Zone. I did notice towards the latter half of the game that running earlier zones just to collect some early-game resources was rather tedious. But, as you begin to understand the anomalies that pepper the Zone and make longer trips, the game turned into quite a satisfying loop.
What accompanies these loops in the Zone is a narrative that features several disembodied voices that supports you as you make your way around the Zone. While you never seem them, I noticed myself getting quite attached to these characters as I went along. While I can totally see why some folks might find their presence annoying, I really enjoyed the light-hearted banter in such an oppressive environment.
Finally, the upgrade system and narrative comes to a head in the final stretch of the game. I did notice towards the end of the game that the amount of endgame resources required to get some of these upgrades became, for the lack of a better word, a tedious chore. Combined with an ending that ends up not really explaining anything and just kind of...ends, I can see why a lot of people were disappointed with the ending. For me, I realized that by the end of the game that I cared more about the characters rather than the Zone itself, and I'm glad the game structured the main mission line to not make some of these late-game upgrades a necessity to finish the game as it probably would've ruined the pacing.
Overall, I'm mildly surprised by the fact that I enjoyed Pacific Drive so much. I found that the game is pretty uncompromising in what it set out to do. I'm sure as soon as players noticed how meticulous Ironwood has built out the player's interactions with the car (For example, you can hurt yourself by dropping the rear door on your end), a lot of players would have bounced off. But for me, the satisfying car upgrade / loot run loop, the familiar and unsettling vibes of the Zone set in my home of Washington and the cast of characters allowed me to enjoy an experience that I haven't quite seen in other games. I look forward to what they do next!
To start things off, I'm not much of a survival game person. I eventually find a lot of these types of games rather aimless or frustrating to the point where it loses me. I was surprised to find myself not in this situation (for the most part) in this game. I always had the next thing I'm looking forward to getting and was able to make decent progress towards that objective. While death is quite punishing, you can definitely alleviate some of these design decisions with generous accessibility options.
Combined with a satisfying upgrade system is a semi-roguelike system where you make "runs" to collect resources and make it further into the Zone. I did notice towards the latter half of the game that running earlier zones just to collect some early-game resources was rather tedious. But, as you begin to understand the anomalies that pepper the Zone and make longer trips, the game turned into quite a satisfying loop.
What accompanies these loops in the Zone is a narrative that features several disembodied voices that supports you as you make your way around the Zone. While you never seem them, I noticed myself getting quite attached to these characters as I went along. While I can totally see why some folks might find their presence annoying, I really enjoyed the light-hearted banter in such an oppressive environment.
Finally, the upgrade system and narrative comes to a head in the final stretch of the game. I did notice towards the end of the game that the amount of endgame resources required to get some of these upgrades became, for the lack of a better word, a tedious chore. Combined with an ending that ends up not really explaining anything and just kind of...ends, I can see why a lot of people were disappointed with the ending. For me, I realized that by the end of the game that I cared more about the characters rather than the Zone itself, and I'm glad the game structured the main mission line to not make some of these late-game upgrades a necessity to finish the game as it probably would've ruined the pacing.
Overall, I'm mildly surprised by the fact that I enjoyed Pacific Drive so much. I found that the game is pretty uncompromising in what it set out to do. I'm sure as soon as players noticed how meticulous Ironwood has built out the player's interactions with the car (For example, you can hurt yourself by dropping the rear door on your end), a lot of players would have bounced off. But for me, the satisfying car upgrade / loot run loop, the familiar and unsettling vibes of the Zone set in my home of Washington and the cast of characters allowed me to enjoy an experience that I haven't quite seen in other games. I look forward to what they do next!
Tarkov meets eurotruck simulator
This game made me empathize with a car
This game made me empathize with a car
Eu esperava outra coisa, um long drive de terror menos guiado, não foi oque recebi. o jogo não é ruim só não é oque eu pensei pelos trailer. é na verdade um roguelite de carro com bixos meio ??? vc mais anda do que dirige eu senti sei la
talvez no futuro eu dê outra chance com outros olhos pra isso
talvez no futuro eu dê outra chance com outros olhos pra isso
This review contains spoilers
Listen I know the Balatros and Final Fantasies of the gaming world are overshadowing this one but here me out: Pacific Drive is so worth your time. It's vibe-y, it's got some genuine heartfelt moments, it feels /good/ to play (the controls for turning the car on, turning on your wiper/lights, doing maintenance in the garage... it's all intuitive and engrossing and yum), it's pretty, it's a perfect length, it's engaging... My only complaint is that the looting got to be a tiny bit tedious after a while (but by that time I was wrapping up the game anyway) but otherwise this is near everything I look for in a gaming experience. Great stuff 👍
I also want to note that the game has a ton of accessibility and difficulty options, you can really tailor the game to how you want to play. And to sum up the loop: you venture into each layer of the Zone for various narrative reasons one "stop" or area at a time and at each "stop" you can loot new crafting materials and scan spooky stuff, if you want, but it's not necessary to stop at each junction. I think the game is strongest when you're venturing deep into the map and just driving most of the time. But as you unlock further junctions, you get better armor and tools for being being more prepared each "run" and in that way, it's got light roguelike characteristics. By the end my car (affectionately named Barbara or The Barb) looked like a mean, capable, blue machine with her end game armor and fun paint job. We love a plethora of car customization options. Ok that's all bye 💙
I also want to note that the game has a ton of accessibility and difficulty options, you can really tailor the game to how you want to play. And to sum up the loop: you venture into each layer of the Zone for various narrative reasons one "stop" or area at a time and at each "stop" you can loot new crafting materials and scan spooky stuff, if you want, but it's not necessary to stop at each junction. I think the game is strongest when you're venturing deep into the map and just driving most of the time. But as you unlock further junctions, you get better armor and tools for being being more prepared each "run" and in that way, it's got light roguelike characteristics. By the end my car (affectionately named Barbara or The Barb) looked like a mean, capable, blue machine with her end game armor and fun paint job. We love a plethora of car customization options. Ok that's all bye 💙
The ending was rather abrupt. The upgrade pacing was also a bit iffy but otherwise excellent in almost every other way. This game exudes atmosphere, in a way that shows how much love has been pumped into it. For a new IP riddle with so much progression, I'm excited to see what this studio does next.
This is why Oregon is superior to Washington
Pacific Drive is a fun, unique game but has it's flaws. The overall experience however is solid. It provides a satisfying driving game with survivor elements included perfectly. Manually refilling your car and repairing your car is extremely fun. The game doesn't run out of ideas as well with randomly generated areas and a random assortment of anomalies.
However, the game has faults. The main one in my opinion is the progression system. Throughout the game you will find new materials and items which can help you craft new items. Firstly this requires a bit of a grind, but then all you unlock is either more storage or better armour which you will probably have to replace after a trip further out in the zone.
Solid game that just some tweaking and modifying to make the playthrough more enjoyable and entertaining.
However, the game has faults. The main one in my opinion is the progression system. Throughout the game you will find new materials and items which can help you craft new items. Firstly this requires a bit of a grind, but then all you unlock is either more storage or better armour which you will probably have to replace after a trip further out in the zone.
Solid game that just some tweaking and modifying to make the playthrough more enjoyable and entertaining.
Pacific Drive is a rare case of a game that wrangles an oversaturated and stale genre by its neck and spin it into something original. It grabs everything about survival games and put it in four wheels.
Instead of the usual hunger, tiredness etc you now have fuel, battery, wear & tear and many other small gameplay mechanics and details that together forms a very cohesive big picture. Tending after your car can be a bonding exercise - and sometimes even relaxing, diligently fixing your car, organizing loot and researching new parts from the comfort of your garage after a panicked close call extraction.
One thing this game got absolutely right is the quirks system. As you progress through the adventure, your car starts to develop "malfunctions" that can range from being harmless, annoying, detrimental and even beneficial. It feels like your car is another main character by itself.
If you're a fan of diegetic sim games such as Jalopy, enjoy works of speculative fiction such as Roadside Picnic/Stalker and isn't bothered by survival mechanics and a little bit of grind, then this game is for you.
The only thing that somehow soured my experience is that it could have used a little bit more variety. Anomalies are awesome, but after a while you start to notice there's only a few types of them. Can't shake the feeling the game could've been more ambitions and creative in this regard. Same for the POIs: at some point I started ignoring them because they offered too little loot for too much effort (and it's always distributed in the same boxes/bags/etc). Lastly, Pacific Drive would have benefited from more unique stuff (such as exotic parts/equipment and decor) to reward exploration other than generic resources and the occasional random decal or paint.
Instead of the usual hunger, tiredness etc you now have fuel, battery, wear & tear and many other small gameplay mechanics and details that together forms a very cohesive big picture. Tending after your car can be a bonding exercise - and sometimes even relaxing, diligently fixing your car, organizing loot and researching new parts from the comfort of your garage after a panicked close call extraction.
One thing this game got absolutely right is the quirks system. As you progress through the adventure, your car starts to develop "malfunctions" that can range from being harmless, annoying, detrimental and even beneficial. It feels like your car is another main character by itself.
If you're a fan of diegetic sim games such as Jalopy, enjoy works of speculative fiction such as Roadside Picnic/Stalker and isn't bothered by survival mechanics and a little bit of grind, then this game is for you.
The only thing that somehow soured my experience is that it could have used a little bit more variety. Anomalies are awesome, but after a while you start to notice there's only a few types of them. Can't shake the feeling the game could've been more ambitions and creative in this regard. Same for the POIs: at some point I started ignoring them because they offered too little loot for too much effort (and it's always distributed in the same boxes/bags/etc). Lastly, Pacific Drive would have benefited from more unique stuff (such as exotic parts/equipment and decor) to reward exploration other than generic resources and the occasional random decal or paint.
While this game was quite grindy, it did not take away from my enjoyment of driving around the olympic peninsula. only main issues with the game was the tinkering station and how it was hard to listen to the story with everything trying to kill me.
I definitely enjoyed my time with it, but this game really has like 15 hours of content stretched out to 40+. The procedurally generated maps with identical locations really start to feel repetitive and grindy after the first 15, and then it just keeps going. If i compare this to the hand crafted maps of Subnautica, Grounded, Dredge etc. it really just fails to live up. It's also missing interesting set pieces/story beats like those games, although I did enjoy the characters.
really cool game, love the upgrade paths but felt like a lot of work imo probably not for me
edit: went back to beat it, really fun game and glad i got the last engine but that ending stinked
edit: went back to beat it, really fun game and glad i got the last engine but that ending stinked
📌 RUS Version
Стэндалон игра про Буханку из «Metro: Exodus» не удалась
Очень тихо и незаметно прошёл релиз «Pacific Drive», и вот почему:
Игра не может предложить ничего больше концепции "ты мастурбируешь лут, кастомайзишь своё корыто и катаешься по тихоокеанскому побережью вокруг аномалий".
Это всё. Никаких откровений, сюрпризов, интересного нарратива, крепкого сюжета или глубокого геймплея.
📝 Здесь есть множество скучных записок и главный герой, который настолько "никто", что у него не только голоса, но и тела нет. Помимо него есть ещё три заэкрановых персонажа: постоянно что-то болтают, и только по радио. Их озвучивают классные актёры, но играть им особо нечего. Все сюжетные линии вроде подходят к концу, но в итоге сам сюжет по сути это — даже не громкий, а — просто «пук».
🎮 По геймплею игра сама не понимает, чем она хочет быть.
Дефолтный режим в какой-то момент становится перегруженным различными переменными и хочется его поменять. Но других сложностей или режимов в игре нет. Есть огромный список модификаций-читов с настройкой отдельных пунктов от «негаснущих фар» до «неполучения урона от конкретной стихии».
То есть, мне не совсем понятно, как сам разработчик видел этот геймплей.
Потому что если всё это поотключать и чиллить на лесных пейзажах, ну хз, они не настолько грандиозные или ламповые. Визуал приятный, но слишком дженерик, чтобы им наслаждаться. Да и никакого геймплея, кромке жмяканья на газ больше не останется.
В общем, играть в увлекательное "сам себе геймдизайнер за свои же 1500р" я не захотел и остался на дефолте. Но уже через пару абзацев будет твист.
✨ Аномалии не работают комплексно и не создают уникальных ситуаций — хотя это выживач — жанр, где игрока закидывают в песочницу с экосистемами, которые генерят ему истории —. Они либо разбросаны то тут, то там, либо сваливаются разом большой пачкой и заталкивают тебя в гробан.
Через пару часов это уже начинает сильно заёбывать. Особенно, когда до сюжетных участков трассы нужно добираться каждый раз заново через миллион одинаковых развилок — это же авто-рогалик —, где ты просто давишь тапку и едешь к воротам на следующий уровень.
А когда на 70% сюжета ставят гриндволл...
На этом моменте я решил сбавить градус духоты ♨️, и воспользовался всеми возможными внутриигровыми читами, подрубил трейнер и проехал до концовки — ни о чём не жалею. Очень редко так делаю, почему бы и нет. Так бы я её вообще не прошёл, а досматривать на ютубе не хотелось.
В общем, кастомайзить машинку было прикольно, но оно того не стоит.
____________________
https://t.me/kuznyade ← подписывайтесь на мой Telegram-канал, пишу там тепло про 🎮, 🎬, 🎸 и 📚.
____________________
📌 ENG Version
The Standalon game about UAZ-Bukhanka from "Metro: Exodus" failed
The release of "Pacific Drive" was very quiet and unnoticed, and that's why:
The game cannot offer anything more than the concept of "you masturbate loot, customize your trough and ride along the Pacific coast around anomalies."
That is all. No revelations, surprises, interesting narrative, strong plot or deep gameplay.
📝 There are a lot of boring notes and the main character, who is so "nobody" that he does not only have a voice, but also a body. Besides him, there are three other off-screen characters: they are constantly talking, and only on the radio. They are voiced by great actors, but they don't have much to play. All the storylines seem to be coming to an end, but in the end the plot itself is — in fact not even loud but —, just a "fart".
🎮 According to the gameplay, the game itself does not understand what it wants to be.
The default mode at some point becomes overloaded with various variables and you want to change it. But there are no other difficulties or modes in the game. There is a huge list of cheat modifications with the setting of individual items from "non-extinguishing headlights" to "not receiving damage from a specific element".
That is, it is not entirely clear to me how the developer himself saw this gameplay.
Because if you turn it all off and chill on forest landscapes, well, they are not so grandiose or lamp-like. The visual is pleasant, but too generic to enjoy. And there will be no more gameplay, there will be no more gas pressure on the edge.
In general, I did not want to play the exciting "my own game designer for my own 30 bucks" and remained in default. But in a couple of paragraphs there will be a twist.
✨ Anomalies do not work comprehensively and do not create unique situations — although this is a survival genre where the player is thrown into a sandbox with ecosystems that generate stories for him. They're either scattered here and there, or they come down in a big pile at once and shove you into a coffin.
After a couple of hours, it's already starting to fuck up a lot. Especially when you need to get to the plot sections of the route every time again through a million identical forks — this is an auto-bagel — where you just press the slipper and go to the gate to the next level.
And when they put grindwall on 70% of the plot...
At this point, I decided to reduce the degree of stuffiness ♨️, and took advantage of all possible in-game cheats, cut the trainer and drove to the end - I don't regret anything. I very rarely do this, why not. So I wouldn't have passed it at all, and I didn't want to watch it on YouTube.
In general, it was fun to customize the machine, but it's not worth it.
Стэндалон игра про Буханку из «Metro: Exodus» не удалась
Очень тихо и незаметно прошёл релиз «Pacific Drive», и вот почему:
Игра не может предложить ничего больше концепции "ты мастурбируешь лут, кастомайзишь своё корыто и катаешься по тихоокеанскому побережью вокруг аномалий".
Это всё. Никаких откровений, сюрпризов, интересного нарратива, крепкого сюжета или глубокого геймплея.
📝 Здесь есть множество скучных записок и главный герой, который настолько "никто", что у него не только голоса, но и тела нет. Помимо него есть ещё три заэкрановых персонажа: постоянно что-то болтают, и только по радио. Их озвучивают классные актёры, но играть им особо нечего. Все сюжетные линии вроде подходят к концу, но в итоге сам сюжет по сути это — даже не громкий, а — просто «пук».
🎮 По геймплею игра сама не понимает, чем она хочет быть.
Дефолтный режим в какой-то момент становится перегруженным различными переменными и хочется его поменять. Но других сложностей или режимов в игре нет. Есть огромный список модификаций-читов с настройкой отдельных пунктов от «негаснущих фар» до «неполучения урона от конкретной стихии».
То есть, мне не совсем понятно, как сам разработчик видел этот геймплей.
Потому что если всё это поотключать и чиллить на лесных пейзажах, ну хз, они не настолько грандиозные или ламповые. Визуал приятный, но слишком дженерик, чтобы им наслаждаться. Да и никакого геймплея, кромке жмяканья на газ больше не останется.
В общем, играть в увлекательное "сам себе геймдизайнер за свои же 1500р" я не захотел и остался на дефолте. Но уже через пару абзацев будет твист.
✨ Аномалии не работают комплексно и не создают уникальных ситуаций — хотя это выживач — жанр, где игрока закидывают в песочницу с экосистемами, которые генерят ему истории —. Они либо разбросаны то тут, то там, либо сваливаются разом большой пачкой и заталкивают тебя в гробан.
Через пару часов это уже начинает сильно заёбывать. Особенно, когда до сюжетных участков трассы нужно добираться каждый раз заново через миллион одинаковых развилок — это же авто-рогалик —, где ты просто давишь тапку и едешь к воротам на следующий уровень.
А когда на 70% сюжета ставят гриндволл...
На этом моменте я решил сбавить градус духоты ♨️, и воспользовался всеми возможными внутриигровыми читами, подрубил трейнер и проехал до концовки — ни о чём не жалею. Очень редко так делаю, почему бы и нет. Так бы я её вообще не прошёл, а досматривать на ютубе не хотелось.
В общем, кастомайзить машинку было прикольно, но оно того не стоит.
____________________
https://t.me/kuznyade ← подписывайтесь на мой Telegram-канал, пишу там тепло про 🎮, 🎬, 🎸 и 📚.
____________________
📌 ENG Version
The Standalon game about UAZ-Bukhanka from "Metro: Exodus" failed
The release of "Pacific Drive" was very quiet and unnoticed, and that's why:
The game cannot offer anything more than the concept of "you masturbate loot, customize your trough and ride along the Pacific coast around anomalies."
That is all. No revelations, surprises, interesting narrative, strong plot or deep gameplay.
📝 There are a lot of boring notes and the main character, who is so "nobody" that he does not only have a voice, but also a body. Besides him, there are three other off-screen characters: they are constantly talking, and only on the radio. They are voiced by great actors, but they don't have much to play. All the storylines seem to be coming to an end, but in the end the plot itself is — in fact not even loud but —, just a "fart".
🎮 According to the gameplay, the game itself does not understand what it wants to be.
The default mode at some point becomes overloaded with various variables and you want to change it. But there are no other difficulties or modes in the game. There is a huge list of cheat modifications with the setting of individual items from "non-extinguishing headlights" to "not receiving damage from a specific element".
That is, it is not entirely clear to me how the developer himself saw this gameplay.
Because if you turn it all off and chill on forest landscapes, well, they are not so grandiose or lamp-like. The visual is pleasant, but too generic to enjoy. And there will be no more gameplay, there will be no more gas pressure on the edge.
In general, I did not want to play the exciting "my own game designer for my own 30 bucks" and remained in default. But in a couple of paragraphs there will be a twist.
✨ Anomalies do not work comprehensively and do not create unique situations — although this is a survival genre where the player is thrown into a sandbox with ecosystems that generate stories for him. They're either scattered here and there, or they come down in a big pile at once and shove you into a coffin.
After a couple of hours, it's already starting to fuck up a lot. Especially when you need to get to the plot sections of the route every time again through a million identical forks — this is an auto-bagel — where you just press the slipper and go to the gate to the next level.
And when they put grindwall on 70% of the plot...
At this point, I decided to reduce the degree of stuffiness ♨️, and took advantage of all possible in-game cheats, cut the trainer and drove to the end - I don't regret anything. I very rarely do this, why not. So I wouldn't have passed it at all, and I didn't want to watch it on YouTube.
In general, it was fun to customize the machine, but it's not worth it.
2 AM - Olympic Exclusion Zone - Outer Zone
I kill the engine, close my eyes and sit back in my car seat. The wind and rain batters the protective outer shell of my car, threatening to lift it off the ground and toss it down a ravine at any moment.
“There’s no such thing as a ‘Cursed Wheel’” I tell myself; and I believe it, I really do. It must have been my judicious use of the handbrake or driving a little too fast over a small pile of stones or a little too close to the Hot Dust 200 yards back. That’s why my front left wheel is loose for the fourth time on this excursion. It’s not Cursed.
I believe this despite being frequently pursued by semi-sentient balls of possessed trash and flying robots that want to steal my car. I believe this despite the existence of the Friendly Dumpster and the enigmatic-but-useful Pacemaker. I believe this despite every single piece of evidence to the contrary. There is no such thing as a Cursed Wheel.
Leaving it is an option. I can drive for miles without tending to it, I might even make it home if the conditions are perfect. Conditions are never perfect. A rogue squall could drift across at any moment and I could be left trying to repair so many more issues under a battering of acid rain or a confusing storm of Bollards and Shakers throwing my car and my self around like toys. Best to deal with it while the weather is only pre-apocalyptic.
I slide out into the maelstrom and tighten the wheel. It’s literally a moment’s work, even with my tools haphazardly thrown into a side-storage container. I even check around the car for any signs of weakness in the vehicles doors and panels, it’s the kind of thing that can save your life in the Olympic Exclusion Zone. All good, I slide back into the driver’s seat, soaked but satisfied. It’s time to head home.
I pick an exit point (why do they have to be so far away?) and all hell breaks loose. The real storm is coming and I am going. Fast. Tearing across the terrain in the near pitch-black at 100, 120, 140 km/h, squinting through the pouring rain. While my back was turned, exploding Tourists have drifted into the road causing me to veer into a ditch and mow down two dozen saplings before colliding with a tree. I check the dashboard console, no serious damage but the hold-up means that the initial storm has overtaken me and the worst is still to come.
Pulling back onto the road and flooring it, I can feel the true nightmare breathing down my neck, my exit point so near and yet not-near-enough. It’s a damn good job I dealt with that wheel.
An alert chimes on my dashboard.
There is No Such Thing as a Cursed Wheel
I kill the engine, close my eyes and sit back in my car seat. The wind and rain batters the protective outer shell of my car, threatening to lift it off the ground and toss it down a ravine at any moment.
“There’s no such thing as a ‘Cursed Wheel’” I tell myself; and I believe it, I really do. It must have been my judicious use of the handbrake or driving a little too fast over a small pile of stones or a little too close to the Hot Dust 200 yards back. That’s why my front left wheel is loose for the fourth time on this excursion. It’s not Cursed.
I believe this despite being frequently pursued by semi-sentient balls of possessed trash and flying robots that want to steal my car. I believe this despite the existence of the Friendly Dumpster and the enigmatic-but-useful Pacemaker. I believe this despite every single piece of evidence to the contrary. There is no such thing as a Cursed Wheel.
Leaving it is an option. I can drive for miles without tending to it, I might even make it home if the conditions are perfect. Conditions are never perfect. A rogue squall could drift across at any moment and I could be left trying to repair so many more issues under a battering of acid rain or a confusing storm of Bollards and Shakers throwing my car and my self around like toys. Best to deal with it while the weather is only pre-apocalyptic.
I slide out into the maelstrom and tighten the wheel. It’s literally a moment’s work, even with my tools haphazardly thrown into a side-storage container. I even check around the car for any signs of weakness in the vehicles doors and panels, it’s the kind of thing that can save your life in the Olympic Exclusion Zone. All good, I slide back into the driver’s seat, soaked but satisfied. It’s time to head home.
I pick an exit point (why do they have to be so far away?) and all hell breaks loose. The real storm is coming and I am going. Fast. Tearing across the terrain in the near pitch-black at 100, 120, 140 km/h, squinting through the pouring rain. While my back was turned, exploding Tourists have drifted into the road causing me to veer into a ditch and mow down two dozen saplings before colliding with a tree. I check the dashboard console, no serious damage but the hold-up means that the initial storm has overtaken me and the worst is still to come.
Pulling back onto the road and flooring it, I can feel the true nightmare breathing down my neck, my exit point so near and yet not-near-enough. It’s a damn good job I dealt with that wheel.
An alert chimes on my dashboard.
There is No Such Thing as a Cursed Wheel
I knew I’d dig Pacific Drive, but I didn’t expect the car maintenance to become my favorite part of it — or for it to keep me invested for nearly thirty hours.
My play style in games like this is to play the janitor: grabbing everything not bolted down and tossing it in my sack. That served me very well for the incredibly robust crafting system, amassing a large tool shed of doo-dads. Unfortunately, I think it also kept me too far ahead of this game’s best moments where everything is going wrong and you have to be like Matt Damon in The Martian to “science the hell” out of the problem, crafting the essentials to keep you going.
It pays to pay more attention to the details than I did: figure out where to find what kinds of resources and just grab what you need to have the best freeform experience. If you’re an anxious little thing like me, you might burn yourself out a bit on stopping for resources too often and losing momentum on some of the more grand objectives. As with any immersive RPG like this, it’s a dance between what you need to do versus trying to do everything. Finding that balance makes for the best trip.
Just like the best immersive sim games, there’s a tradeoff for the endgame that you either end up having the final mission that tests you in every lesson you learned — or lets go of the gas and lets you walk through a shoegazey reflection. This one fixes eyes to shoelaces, where I maybe wanted to really show-off, but it might be best for a game about driving to have at least one joyride.
My play style in games like this is to play the janitor: grabbing everything not bolted down and tossing it in my sack. That served me very well for the incredibly robust crafting system, amassing a large tool shed of doo-dads. Unfortunately, I think it also kept me too far ahead of this game’s best moments where everything is going wrong and you have to be like Matt Damon in The Martian to “science the hell” out of the problem, crafting the essentials to keep you going.
It pays to pay more attention to the details than I did: figure out where to find what kinds of resources and just grab what you need to have the best freeform experience. If you’re an anxious little thing like me, you might burn yourself out a bit on stopping for resources too often and losing momentum on some of the more grand objectives. As with any immersive RPG like this, it’s a dance between what you need to do versus trying to do everything. Finding that balance makes for the best trip.
Just like the best immersive sim games, there’s a tradeoff for the endgame that you either end up having the final mission that tests you in every lesson you learned — or lets go of the gas and lets you walk through a shoegazey reflection. This one fixes eyes to shoelaces, where I maybe wanted to really show-off, but it might be best for a game about driving to have at least one joyride.
For the first 20 hours of this thing I felt like I was playing an all-time cult classic. Phenomenal weirdo atmosphere, incredible blend of a really satisfying survival loop and beautiful cinematic worldbuilding. Everything about fighting your way out of a storm, repairing the car, and upgrading it piece by piece feels so tangible in the best way. Maybe I loved it too much early on, cause I spent so long in act 1 that I left myself a lot of game to get through by the time things started to feel repetitive and worn out. It just doesn't feel worth taking any time to engage with the mid-zone and deep zone in any way when you've done the same routes 10 times over and the only reward will be incremental upgrades that aren't remotely needed to complete the main story. My lasting memory will definitely be those first 20 hours though. Absolutely nothing else that feels like this
Enjoyed this a lot, but in the end, the loading times killed the enjoyment for me.
The ending is kind of bland and uneventful but the moment to moment minutia of gameplay more than makes up for it.
Fuck you Pacific Drive GOTY 2024
I never thought I would enjoy the story in a game about driving. This is basically like Jalopy, except way more fleshed out in terms of scope. The sense of progression is fantastic and the looting and inventory management were superb, and, the story was very good and the characters were all very wonderful, I found myself engaged in their conversations at times and I would laugh with them here and there. The driving physics were fantastic also, every bump the car feels it has great and the weight transfer of the car when braking felt solid also. Overall, great game, but lacks challenge; I died maybe twice in my 40 hour playthrough.
i dont like it
A fun game, albeit a flawed one. The game is not very good at communicating with the player and it gets very very grindy near the end. Had some great moments though !
Jalopy fans eating
It's an okay game, nice concept but gameplay too grindy. I am definitely going to finish it, but after around 10 hours I feel quite tired of it.
This review contains spoilers
A solid entry in the survival-exploration genre that doesn't quite hold up to greats like Subnautica, Pacific Drive stands well on its own but isn't quite as engaging as I'd hoped by the end.
The gameplay loop itself is solid and has good bones that it shares with others: explore, gather, upgrade, explore a little further. There are dangers on the way, but my biggest problem lies there: the anomalies, while initially scary on first encounter, become routine and easier to deal with, and all are solved by the same simple tactic: simply drive around them. Only a select few actively chase you, and those are easily sidelined by an upgrade crafted in the opening hours of the game.
The largest danger is actually yourself and just how greedy you think you can get. My only death through the entire playthrough was caused by lingering somewhere I shouldn't and not healing because I thought I could get away with it. Entirely my fault and it was funny to boot, so I wasn't even frustrated at losing ♥♥♥♥.
Car customization is peak, though I wish we could craft our own paints and decals. A friend found purple paint, yet I never laid eyes on a single can of purple paint in my entire playthrough, plus running out of a favorite decal is frustrating under the best circumstances.
The added benefit of the customization station being locked behind progression that takes >2 hours to get to is hilarious for how much it pisses off the fash so that immediately earns points back, though. A+, devs.
Graphically, the game looks fantastic in its style but is so poorly optimized that I often had to turn down settings I otherwise wouldn't.
The story is fine, if a little basic, but I found the characters present endearing even as just voices on the radio and enjoyed listening to their banter. The lack of subtlety around Tobias & Francis' relationship was made even better with the lategame reveal that actually pulled my heartstrings a little. Well done, devs!
The gameplay loop itself is solid and has good bones that it shares with others: explore, gather, upgrade, explore a little further. There are dangers on the way, but my biggest problem lies there: the anomalies, while initially scary on first encounter, become routine and easier to deal with, and all are solved by the same simple tactic: simply drive around them. Only a select few actively chase you, and those are easily sidelined by an upgrade crafted in the opening hours of the game.
The largest danger is actually yourself and just how greedy you think you can get. My only death through the entire playthrough was caused by lingering somewhere I shouldn't and not healing because I thought I could get away with it. Entirely my fault and it was funny to boot, so I wasn't even frustrated at losing ♥♥♥♥.
Car customization is peak, though I wish we could craft our own paints and decals. A friend found purple paint, yet I never laid eyes on a single can of purple paint in my entire playthrough, plus running out of a favorite decal is frustrating under the best circumstances.
The added benefit of the customization station being locked behind progression that takes >2 hours to get to is hilarious for how much it pisses off the fash so that immediately earns points back, though. A+, devs.
Graphically, the game looks fantastic in its style but is so poorly optimized that I often had to turn down settings I otherwise wouldn't.
The story is fine, if a little basic, but I found the characters present endearing even as just voices on the radio and enjoyed listening to their banter. The lack of subtlety around Tobias & Francis' relationship was made even better with the lategame reveal that actually pulled my heartstrings a little. Well done, devs!
I got plenty of good mileage out of the gameplay loop, but idk i wish the game went crazier with the end game zones, kind of disappointing that the instability of the world didn’t breakdown entirely or some shidddd, and the ending is there i guess?
Infelizmente Pacific Drive não me agradou o quanto eu esperava, não é um jogo ruim, mas tem muitos elementos que acabaram tirando meu interesse em continuar jogando.
Primeiramente quero destacar os pontos positivos dele, as músicas que tocam na rádio são incríveis, a mecânica de upar o carro e de fazer as manutenções são legais.
O que não me agradou nem um pouco foi a sua história, achei muito fraca e desinteressante, chegou a um momento do jogo que eu simplesmente fazia as missões sem nem saber o porquê direito.
Outra coisa que me pegou um pouco, foi o fato do jogo não ser mundo aberto, não que eu ache jogos de Extraction ruins, mas acho que esse jogo caberia muito mais um mundão aberto.
As anomalias do jogo são muito sem graça, acho que se o game tivesse algumas ameaças reais, seira bem mais legal. Sinto que esse jogo tinha um potencial incrível e foi mal aproveitado, poderiam botar algum tipo de combate simples e um risco maior em cada run misturado com a mecânica do carro, seria bem mais interessante.
Como falei antes, não é um jogo ruim, da para relaxar jogando, mas acho que completar toda a história desse game não rolou para mim
Primeiramente quero destacar os pontos positivos dele, as músicas que tocam na rádio são incríveis, a mecânica de upar o carro e de fazer as manutenções são legais.
O que não me agradou nem um pouco foi a sua história, achei muito fraca e desinteressante, chegou a um momento do jogo que eu simplesmente fazia as missões sem nem saber o porquê direito.
Outra coisa que me pegou um pouco, foi o fato do jogo não ser mundo aberto, não que eu ache jogos de Extraction ruins, mas acho que esse jogo caberia muito mais um mundão aberto.
As anomalias do jogo são muito sem graça, acho que se o game tivesse algumas ameaças reais, seira bem mais legal. Sinto que esse jogo tinha um potencial incrível e foi mal aproveitado, poderiam botar algum tipo de combate simples e um risco maior em cada run misturado com a mecânica do carro, seria bem mais interessante.
Como falei antes, não é um jogo ruim, da para relaxar jogando, mas acho que completar toda a história desse game não rolou para mim