With Steam Next Fest came a demo for the mysterious Pacific Drive. What follows are my first impressions of it.
Described as a first-person survival game, Pacific Drive is focused on the Olympic Exclusion Zone — an unknown event happened in the Exclusion Zone years ago, after some time, even the government abandoned it. Now, you find yourself within the zone, faced with supernatural dangers and a mysterious car as your only companion.
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Surreal
From the introduction, the game had a very surreal feeling of being told about this mysterious Exclusion Zone and then having to drive past it. The closer you get to the border, the weirder things get. Electrical shocks go off, lights break, and then, as soon as you think it’s over, your car is caught. Drawn into the Exclusion Zone, you immediately awaken to the danger once again.
But, through it all, the demo has a beautiful tranquility. Supernatural circumstances aside, the forest is peaceful, the rain pattering on the car is calming, and the sun shining through the trees is enough to put one at ease.
That is until the supernatural events start to pile on. There was one point in the demo when I was walking through a rundown gas station, only to get scared and surprised by a group of mannequins “sightseeing.” The game didn’t use jumpscares or anything of that manner. Instead, it gave me a peaceful, tranquil area, and my mind was at ease. That’s not to say there weren’t any tense moments. The longer I stayed in one area, the more the ground seemed to erupt and move around me. Then, as I was about to leave the mission, I was chased by the ground erupting around me and radiation building up around me and my car. With the atmosphere, music, and beauty, I got lost in the game.
Speaking more to the main gameplay of Pacific Drive, you are to explore the Exclusion Zone areas as you try to piece together the “remnant” car that chose you. Remnants are objects that choose people, slowly driving them to madness until they run away into the zone.
Equipped with tools and equipment, you need to scavenge and salvage materials to keep yourself alive and to also fix your car. A better-conditioned car means a safer you. The system of using tools to break down junk cars and other pieces of metal is simple, yet being able to grab pieces off of the car reminds me of a mechanic simulator. It has good depth without making it feel like a job to manage.
The audio in Pacific Drive is also very well maintained, although some conversations are a little too loud and could use toning down. The audio does its job of setting the mood while knowing when to change up and make the game feel tense when it needs to.
Overall, I walked into Pacific Drive expecting just another survival game as the market is becoming more and more saturated, but I was pleasantly surprised. As long as more complexities are added the deeper you get into the story, Ironwood Studios’ Pacific Drive could shape up to be one of the best games of February, let alone the year.
Get ready to explore the Olympic Exclusion Zone when Pacific Drive is released on February 22 for PlayStation 5 and PC.
