Pacific Drive

This game is fantastic.
Pacific Drive has been described as "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is happening in the Pacific Northwest and all you have is a car". However, the gameplay loop feels more like Subnautica. There are no classical enemies, no combat -- every threat is environmental; you are trapped in a part of the world being overrun by Anomolies, many of which are mobile and almost all are dangerous. Hailing from your garage in a small pocket of peace, you forage out deeper and deeper into increasingly dangerous zones, driven by the plot and a desire for more difficult-to-obtain resources.
The game is insanely atmospheric, and as immersive as you could ask for. Every element, from graphics to sound design to environment building, is crafted to evoke the experience that is Pacific Drive. Especially the music. I have not fallen in love with a soundtrack like I have the one on this game's radio in ages. I've added music from Pacific Drive to my playlist so I can listen to it when not playing the game.
I was not expecting the game to be so intense. You can never return the way you came, so the only way back to your safe base is by generating a portal. Doing so requires collecting enough of your zone's energy and triggering the portal with a device that only works at a distance. The moment you do, the zone begins to collapse rapidly around you, prompting a mad dash to reach the portal. Deeper zones require more unstable energy types which in turn require opening the portal from farther away. Making those mad dashes progressively longer, through more dangerous territory with a more oppressive ticking clock.
The zones are hand-crafted, but hazards and resources are randomly generated, as is your entry and exit points, allowing you to explore almost-familiar areas repeatedly while never knowing just what you will find or experience.
The plot is thin but solid, sold by excellent voice acting (including a character who will never not sound like Captain Janeway to me). The lore you can scrounge up is fun, especially the multi-part documentary you can round up the pieces of, giving some great history and an outsider's impression of a situation you are far more familiar with. The decision to make the car, the center of your experience, basically an SCP, allows a lot of game mechanics (like what happens if you die) to be rooted directly into the story rather than require player departmentalization.
Praise to the developers for many extremely good mechanical decisions. First and foremost, for me, was their attention to the needs of gamers who suffer motion sickness. There are multiple settings to eliminate (or at least minimize) issues.
Beyond that, the game has a large number of settings that allow you to customize your gameplay experience, tailoring Pacific Drive. I love that you can adjust your QoL in this game, allowing or disabling things like swapping parts with a part you are holding, or how long you have to hold the key to turn the ignition. Additionally, you can adjust elements which may alter the difficulty, but make the game far more enjoyable depending on your playstyle. (Halfway through the game, I turned off the non-gateway-related zone timer so that I could spend my time immersing myself in exploration without feeling pushed to speedrun each zone.) And major kudos for none of these adjustments disabling achievements. I, for one, don't care about achievements; but it never sits well when a game tries to punish you for playing your way. Pacific Drive never does that.
Some of the additional touches just made my day. Like representative car stickers being included for free, or the decal set you can find which decorates your car in the style of the Scoobie Doo Mystery Machine.
As for the bad, there is so very little that the flaws barely detract from enjoying Pacific Drive. In over 90 hours of gameplay, I experienced only two bugs. The first, getting stuck in a submenu, was a minor annoyance that was solved by navigating to another part of the menu rather than trying to close the menus directly. The second was considerably more problematic: sometimes, upon loading a save, the zone graphically glitched. I had to reload several times on multiple occasions, but the game always eventually loaded properly.
In addition to these two bugs, there are two design features that I did not appreciate. No, this isn't a rant about being unable to save while on a run. I understand how problematic that can be for many. But I also understand the developer's decision and appreciate the feeling of threat added by not being able to save-scum anything out there. I adjusted my settings to allow pausing, and that took care of any issues I personally had with RL interruptions.
Rather, the two issues are these: most of the late game equipment requires a large amount of a resource called Olympian Fragments which are exceptionally rare and in areas you cannot farm conveniently. Thankfully, you need none of that equipment to successfully get through the end of the game. Which is fortunate because you will have virtually none of it. The other issue I had was that cosmetics -- paint and decals -- have limited use. Which means if you find a design for your car that you fall in love with, you won't be able to keep it when parts start wearing out unless the RNG is kind.
But like I said, these things are not enough to sour the game. Not even a little.
I have driven all the way to the end. And now I'm free-roaming the area. Just for a little bit longer. I'm not ready to leave yet.

I really enjoyed playing through this game. i like driving in my car, collecting resources, repairing my car, and then preparing for my next "road trip"..i do not like doing these things in real life.

Pacific Drive is not an easy one to review....
I could say PD is a rogue-lite driving sim with stage-based levels and world progression, with RPG elements, looting and has a narrative focus like Firewatch. Kind of like a mixture between Firewatch and My Summer Car.
Is it though? Ehhhh, we need to get into the details.
So, in Pacific Drive, you, a nameless driver, is cruising along a nice looking road in the woods, when suddenly, you get sucked into a vortex of some sorts. When you wake up, your car is in pieces, but you find another one in shambles, but working.
You hop on and you drive, until you start to hear the voices of different people who explain the basic gist of the situation. Essentially, you are near a "zone of exclusion" like in Chernobyl, and you need to cooperate with the people talking with you, the car, and the environment to get out of there and understand just what the heck is happening.
The first few hours you'll need to explore your surroundings, understanding what anomalies do and how to navigate the map, and that's when one of the first big positives came up to me: The car handles great. You can "feel" (even if using a keyboard like myself) the loss of traction and how every bump affects the handling. Braking feels a bit off, specially when driving fast (it's as if the front gets lighter and turns the car, which doesn't make sense), but I'm nitpicking. For a game that does not even attempt to be a sim, it handles far better than many racing games I've played.
As you keep on driving, possibly terrified of everything due to the amazing atmosphere the game generates, including sounds, you'll probably damage the car, be it because you forgot to put it in park and it rolled away, it was stolen, you dumped it into acid, crashed into a mine, got into a thunderstorm or just flew too high and landed hard.
Anyways, you gather up resources by disassembling wrecked cars, getting into abandoned houses and exploring, you need to gather up enough energy to warp back to your safe garage. This leads to an improvised race where you must find the most efficient way (be it the fastest, safest, most fun, etc) to it and floor it so as not to get destroyed by a radioactive storm. Even if you have the best gear or are an amazing driver, you are bound to make plenty of mistakes, or find yourself in very precarious situations because of this, which makes even the most rudimentary runs a joyride of trying to get to the warp point in time and in one piece.
When you finally make it, you'll find yourself back in your garage, where the scientists that were talking to you try to piece together what is happening and telling you what to do next. All the while you are fixing back your car, nurturing it and tuning it with different pieces. You'll find your car's quirks (small details that come up as you drive, like a car door opening when you go in reverse, or battery draining faster when the lights are off). You'll also plan your route for the next run; as you move forward, you'll realise that certain sections have different effects, like eerie darkness, storms, extra enemies, or constant stability (there is no time limit). This will be very useful as you explore, as it will help you make a path towards where you want to go (and FYI, if you want to move to a section up north, you need to go through all previous sections, hence the planning).
As you progress, the difficulty ramps up; you'll need to farm more materials to upgrade, and more runs to clear a path. Nearing the end game the requirements for farming get a bit ridiculous, specially considering that by then you have the driving down to an art and you'll put yourself in "dangerous" situations more often just for the heck of it (I did at least), but the game also commits a serious crime by dropping the ball narratively, in my opinion.
The game gets REALLY interesting narratively speaking, and while you don't really get a say on anything that's happening, you do feel a part of it. At one point in specific, something happens which is a rather emotional moment and is very well shown through the voicing (which btw, really sells you in on the story). After that though, it feels as though the game loses its gravitas, and it just doesn't have the same effect as you'd expected. The ending is.... also, rather bland, unfortunately.
So what else? Let's see:
-Graphics look very stylized, but the game does not run very well and needs a few optimization passes or turning down settings for it to run accordingly.
-Farming can get annoying, specially in the end-game.
-Story gets REALLY interesting, but then drops the ball hard late.
Played on:
Intel I7 12700k
32gb RAM 3200mhz
Tested on RTX 3070 Ti at 1440p
NVME Drive

This... This is a horror game.

I like cars and modifying them. I like drives in the wilderness. I like survival games. Yeah, I should play a survival game about modifying and driving a station wagon. There are some "obstacles" to avoid. No problem. I've played Mario Kart.

Flash-forward: It's dark with an eerie glow in the sky. Sounds of bending metal fill the soundscape. I'm in a clearing between some forested hills, I think. It's too dark to see anything unlit. There are electrified mannequins around me, my car, and a glowing energy ball. I had already filled up the car with parts I'll need to repair it. The death storm is actively approaching and I don't have enough energy to make it back without this ball.

I pick up the energy ball. The mannequins rearrange and start arcing electricity toward my car, clipping and electrifying me. I deposit the ball in the passenger seat and run around to the driver seat still getting zapped. My health drops to 1. I stop. I'm not currently being zapped and I don't want to run into another arc. I ate a candy bar. Health goes to 13. I'm out of med kits and I'm running out of time. The edges of my vision remain blurred. I sprint to the door and get in the driver seat . I frantically open the map and open the extraction point. Doing so accelerates the storm. A panel reading "DANGER" lights up and another saying "DRIVE". Multiple alarms sound off and the wind picks up around me.

I turn the car key. The car was already on, so it turns off instead. CRAP! I turn it back on. The starter cranks for what feels like minutes. I shift to drive and floor it! The car gradually accelerates as a station wagon would. GO! GO! GO! There's a pillar of light in the sky over a mile away and behind a hill. That's my exit.

While still in the clearing and driving towards the extraction, I take my eyes off the road to look at the map in the passenger seat. I got maybe a minute before the worst of the storm engulfs me. Behind the map, outside my window, there is a whirlwind of energy and chaos as the world prepares to tear itself apart. I look forward again and manage to dodge a few mannequins at the last second.

I start making my way up the hill. There is no direct path so I have to weave through trees and around rocks, plowing through some of the smaller trees. The car's health lights flash with every bump and hit. The hood is flashing red. The traction light on the dashboard lights up and beeps as the tires loose grip. I have enough momentum to make it over the hill.

I dodge the trees on the way down. I'm getting close. I decide to merge onto a nearby road, hoping to avoid more trees. As soon as I make a hard left to get onto it, my lights reveal boulders blocking the entire road. I break, stopping inches from the boulder. Reversing and turning to the side took forever. I check the map. Most of the map is painted in danger red. I got a few seconds before it reaches me. My 13 health would not last long in it.

I opt to stay offroad and drive toward the beacon of light. It's clearly visible and in front of me. I see no obstacles, but I've been fooled before. Come on! Come on!

I make it through.

A brief loading screen and I'm driving back into the garage. My health is still at 13 and my car is beat up. A voice on the radio says "Alright Driver. Stop showing off before you get yourself killed." I park and take a moment to ground myself.

This... This is a horror game.

Alright, time to get ready for the next trip.

The bones of a truly magnificent game are all here. It really is one of the most unique games I've played and something about the vehicle being the very core of gameplay was extremely satisfying. The loop of venturing out, scavenging, repairing and upgrading etc. is an addiction and some of my favorite moments of the game are spent in the garage repairing and preparing my car for my next outting.
After you venture into the world for 25ish hours, however, the game begins to lose the magic of its gimmick. And to be fair what game doesn't after that long? The anomaly variety isn't all that great and after you get some great parts and experience behind the wheel, the stakes aren't so high anymore. I also feel like there's an indescribable flaw with the way you are incentivized to gather resources. The loop explains itself. Drive to zone, gather items, use items to build tools or parts that help you get to next zone and better resources. But I felt like this process could have been more dramatic, more explicit. I was never found wanting for materials, resources, or tools so long as I hoarded enough and explored enough. And of course it can't be a review without mentioning that the ending leaves much to be desired. Those devs better be cooking up something great DLC wise.
It's easy to make the review sound negative hot of the heels of completing the game, but rest assured: if this game sounds like it's your jam, it most certainly is. It's unique, rewarding, a complete blast, and highly immersive. I haven't experienced a game with mechanics quite like it. It kept me well entertained for nearly 50 hours (given that a lot of that time was spent farming and stalling so that I didn't have to finish the game because I enjoyed it so much).

For me this game felt a lot like a high school relationship.
It starts all crazy and interesting. You're slapping glowing goop on stuff so you can continue to have a good time. There's a bunch of little details that that are super neat, and you're just really enjoying yourself, but then you start to realize that there's no depth. Every day feels the same. Every drive feels the same. Now and then you learn something new and you stick around a little longer.
Like, I'm gonna finish this game because the story is certainly good, but is the gameplay?
I really don't know about that. I think some people will love this game from start to finish. Looking at my friends list, of the 6 people that have it, half of them stopped playing at the 3 hour mark. Not statistically significant, but worth mentioning. I think part of the reason for the steep drop off is that this world promises danger and excitement, but ultimately the excitement fades as the player realizes that while this world looks very dangerous, it's really not... I suspect most players will finish the game with fewer than 2 deaths, and many of them will finish with none. I say this because I've only come close to dying once in my play through. Don't get me wrong, the world definitely does get more dangerous as you go deeper into the zone, and the atmosphere changes accordingly in a way that is very well executed. However, the danger comes exclusively from anomalies, and at the end of the day they're all just pot holes on steroids. You will NEVER be attacked. To me, it doesn't really matter if the pot hole glows, or moves around while making loud threatening noises, it's still just a pot hole. OH, I almost forgot. This is the loudest game I have ever played. The sounds the anomalies make are oppressive. I've never had the audio in a game make me feel genuinely on edge before, and that's actually a plus for PD. I think it will help the player to feel like they are in danger for longer than they otherwise would have.
So lets talk about the loop. You basically always do the same thing. You fix your car (fixing the car is full of lovable details), you go back into the exclusion zone (the exclusion zone is cool as hell), drive as close to any new anomalies as you can to scan them (the anomalies feel unique and interesting); after that you drive around them as best you can. You go to the same 3 buildings, shack, science trailer, tower, oh right also gas station. Shows you how forgettable it all becomes. At those places you loot chests for colored rectangles that represent various resources used for crafting upgrades (the upgrades feel rewarding like more storage in the back seats you are definitely not using for passengers). Later areas feature new resource nodes which adds a picking "apples from trees" vibe to gathering and there's less grabbing rectangles from boxes, which is good. Finally, you occasionally find documents you can read or listen too, but its at random so it doesn't really make any of it feel significant when found. Game would have benefited greatly from more hand crafted structures that contained those story elements.
Far and away my favorite part of this game is the excitement I felt racing towards the exit as the map collapsed around me. These moments were 10/10 when it comes to atmosphere, sound design, and excitement factor. Imagining myself teleporting back to base, steam coming out of my hair, car mostly dissolved, with 3 out of 4 tires popped is great! Unfortunately, as humans everything gets old. If a volcano erupted a safe distance from my house I would think its super cool, but if it it erupted every day...?
Not everyone will tire of their "neighborhood volcano" at the same rate, but around then is when the game play loop starts to feel like a lemon to me, pardon my car pun. You fix your car (a boring blow torch has partially replaced the lovable glowing repair goop), you go back into the exclusion zone (the exclusion zone only really comes in 3 flavors: Washington coast, Washington coast on "fire" at night, and totally f'ed), drive as close to any new anomalies as you can to scan them (the anomalies feel like objects to be scanned rather than dangerous); after that you drive around them as best you can... You upgrade your car (the upgrades feel like lateral moves, your car is faster, but you're spending more time going around stuff).
Repeat until more story elements appear.
Playing through this game I'm very much reminded of Dredge, both are spooky, atmospheric games featuring a vehicle you upgrade, but despite the fact that I think the story in this is better, I think Dredge is just a better game. The game play is better, cuz fish tetris ;) and the story TELLING is better because its way less linear and direct. PD's story telling is 99% over the radio dialogue, which can totally work, look at Firewatch, but the difference here is you're a silent protagonist. Hell, the story is interesting enough to keep me playing even after the game play loop got old, but its not unique story telling in any way, and they should be critiqued for that. For example it could have been revealed over time that the car is conscious and trying to communicate, because then there would be two interwoven narratives, making everything feel less linear. The car even has a button that lets you appreciate it with some Tomagachi style pixel art, but that goes no where. Alternatively game's like these never let you see the people you're talking to on the radio, they could have elevated their story by subverting that expectation somewhere around the midway point.
Back on the topic of Dredged, when I finished Dredge I wanted more of an excuse to keep playing and my review reflected that.
With this game, I'm not even done and I'm here to say that all I really want from this relationship going forward is more of the story because the physical side of things has gotten stale; so I think it would be better if we just stay friends. I might get back together with Dredge. Who know's? Realistically though, I'm just going to move on, but Pacific Drive, I need you to know... I really did have fun for the majority of the time we were together.
For people who made it all the way to the end and still want something a bit more concrete, here you go:
This game is worth $20, and I am very firm on that.
TL;DR:
Pros: Visuals and audio in this game are perfect, no changes needed. The way the map gets darker and more dangerous as you head deeper into the exclusion zone highlights this fact. Upgrading the car feels rewarding both visually and with the QoL improvements they provide.
Cons: Game either overstays its welcome, or does not offer enough new content as it progresses to make me feel like sticking around. I cannot decide which it is. So maybe its both?
PS: I'm almost positive the car itself is a nod to Dr. Manhattan because the hood ornament is nearly identical to the symbol for hydrogen on Dr. M's forehead, and the default color of the car is the same color as Dr. Manhattan in the comics. So that's super neat
Edit from the future: I have now expanded upon my review like I said I might, and in that time I still have not finished the game. Take that how you will. I will finish this story, as updating this review has motivated me to see how close I got with my guessing and how let down or thrilled I will be with the ending. At that time I will likely make add a comment containing light spoilers as this review is 98% spoiler free and already quite long.
Anyone who has read literally all of this, you are a LEGEND and I have more reviews that you would probably enjoy. Thank you so much for your time!

Intriguing Game, Wish I could save
This game looks fun and intriguing with a unique style and interesting hints to a story. The anomalies in particular are a great edition. The driving element of the game is direct and well laid out. Id love to be able to recommend more, however,
while this game looks amazing and has an interesting world build it lacks in some design areas. The biggest issue I found was the inability to save unless certain points had been reached, making it impossible to progress if you cant sit to play for extensive periods of time. I would love to play the game with the option to save outside of level changes. If you have the time to sit through and play then it looks like an interesting story and cool world. Just hope some of the design issues are fixed then might play again in future.