Pacific Drive

A tense survival driving game

Pacific Drive is a premium adventure game that has you driving around in a beat-up car, looking for parts and tools to upgrade your ride. In this fusion of sci-fi and survival subgenres, robotic enemies and car-damaging environments stand in the way of your car's next upgrade.

Pacific Drive has similar themes to Car Mechanic Simulator, though its world of anomalies is similar to Death Stranding with the presence of cybernetic adversaries. It could also be compared to Fallout 4, which has a lot of Mad Max elements in it. The game even has a dash of Far Changing Tides.

Not a typical survival game

In Pacific Drive, you are not hunting for water or edible plants in this apocalyptic realm. You survive by gathering parts for your car while avoiding anomalies and dangerous robotic creatures along the way. Try to escape the area without taking damage to your character or your car. It deserves big credit for "Not" being another lazy zombie dystopian future game.

This is the developer’s first game, which is why its scope is slightly limited. It cleverly paces itself by laying out the resource locations in realistic places. You're not finding a bag of nuts and bolts behind a bush like in Far Cry New Dawn. You won't have to search online for the location of specific tools or materials.

Plot overview and gameplay mechanics

The mysterious ARDA entity has scattered remnants of scientific trials throughout the Zone, turning it into a labyrinth of enigmas. As explorers delve deeper, they confront anomalies and peculiar forces that warp perception and reality — some could be fascinating, others could complicate the journey. In the shifting shadows, indistinct shapes take on a life of their own. Each step requires caution, as the secrets of the Zone are intertwined with hazards. 

But the true terror is the Zone Storm with its unmatched ferocity. When it rolls in, you must flee immediately as this is no ordinary storm, but a cataclysm that tears apart the landscape. But before setting off, map out your route and pack the essentials. As you navigate the Zone, keep an eye out for materials and information — they're often tucked away, waiting to be discovered. 

Safely return with your haul to upgrade your vehicle and your base of operations. Each new journey presents its own set of challenges: strange weather patterns, harsh terrain, and the eerie leftovers of past experiments. Keep in mind the Zone's rule of thumb: risk equals reward — this means that the most valuable treasures are tucked away in the most perilous places.

Tense without being scary

The developers clearly wanted to make Pacific Drive scary without being in-your-face gory or jumpy, by adding an eerie, uneasy element. They have done this, but it makes the gameplay feel tense more than it makes it scary. Sadly, the close-up graphics in this scavenger game do not feel like the graphics in the PS5. The only compensation is that some of the game locations have a well-realized atmosphere.