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 💙