You feel immersed in driving unlike any other game we've played.
Disclosure: Kepler Interactive and Keymailer provided the game for review.
I’m very impressed with Pacific Drive. It rose above what I expected coming in. I assumed it would be a normal driving game where you get in the car and drive, but it’s a very different, unique experience. There are a few nuisances that took me out of it a little, but I had a really great time.
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Story
This isn’t some grand story, but it serves its purpose, and it’s intriguing. The voice acting is very good. There’s no bad actor in the bunch, everything sounds believable, and the way the story is doled out through those performances really worked for me. It was enough to keep me hooked and eager to uncover the other mysteries out there.
Gameplay
Pacific Drive makes you feel like you’re controlling the car, not becoming the car. You’re still the person in the seat, constantly looking around. You check the map to stay on course, monitor the car’s health, watch your gas and dodge hazards like electric fields that can damage the car or stop you cold. The roads are bumpy, and you feel every crevice. Your head is on a swivel the whole time. At first it’s cumbersome, but as you get better at multitasking, it becomes second nature and feels incredibly rewarding. The game doesn’t hold your hand. It challenges you to master the mechanics or keep getting your butt kicked, and I think it hits the right balance. You feel immersed in driving unlike any other game I’ve played. Add in heavy fog where something suddenly pops up in the road, storms raging around you and the mad dash to escape an area, and it gets intense.
The car isn’t just transportation. It’s your companion, your shield and your armor against the storms and the supernatural. You have to fuel it, bring extra gas and repair lost pieces and damaged tires, and there’s so much to balance that it can be overwhelming. The only way to upgrade is to scavenge materials out in the world: stronger panels, more storage, more fuel capacity. I’ve run out of gas mid-escape because I didn’t pack enough, and limped to the finish too damaged to make it. It all makes the car feel like your baby, and the tools you get are pretty amazing.
Exploration is dope early on. You find an abandoned house, break through a lock with the right gear and haul out materials. But as the world gets more hostile, I didn’t want to stop driving, because I didn’t want to risk losing everything. Survival games aren’t usually my bag, but the settings let you lighten things up so you don’t lose everything you worked for, without making the world any less dangerous. Some excursions are multi-stage, though, and failing the last stage sends you back to the garage. I get why, but a way to retry the last area or save manually would help. It’s not a huge negative, but it might frustrate people who aren’t into survival games. Early progression is also slow: before you unlock heavy-duty materials, your fragile car falls apart fast, and upgrading can feel tedious and draining.
Visuals
This is the biggest thing for me: the game is beautiful. The environments and landscapes are phenomenal whether you’re on foot or driving, and the weather effects are crazy. Wind whips the trees, leaves blow everywhere and rain gushes through, and it almost feels real. It’s at the caliber of the big boys, and Ironwood is punching way above its weight. Playing on PC with everything maxed out, it’s a sight to behold. Get up close or stare at the floor and the texture work isn’t great, not quite at a AAA level. But from a normal distance, it’s stunning, and that’s part of what kept me going back. The lightning, the supernatural effects, the fog and the spotlights in scattered buildings are all so well done.
Sound
The music amplifies everything when things go crazy and makes you more nervous about messing up. There’s licensed music in there, and the soundtrack is fine. The best compliment I can give is that I never had to think about it too much.
Verdict
I wasn’t expecting the game Pacific Drive is, and I was pleasantly surprised. I loved the driving, being in the world and the storytelling, and walking through those tense, fog- and rain-soaked environments feels like nothing else out there. Having to go all the way back to the start is a pain, and the early upgrade grind drags, but those little nuisances aren’t enough to knock it much. It’s a fantastic game.
Image: Ironwood Studios / Kepler Interactive
More on OnPoint: Gears of War: E-Day Review: The Coalition Built a Showpiece With a Heart and Orbitals Review: An Anime You Can Play, and I Didn’t Want It to End.
The verdict: Great
You feel immersed in driving unlike any other game I've played.
Pros
- Unique, immersive driving and multitasking
- Stunning environments and weather effects
- Car upgrades and maintenance build a real bond
- Strong voice acting and intriguing story
- Adjustable settings to lighten the survival penalty
Cons
- Textures don't hold up up close
- Failing a late stage sends you back to the garage
- Slow, tedious early upgrade progression
Platform played: PC (Steam)
Where to buy
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