Pacific Drive

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.

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.

Seems really good so far, fun and very interesting.
2 things though that I'd have to agree on with some other comments down here:
1. We need more available save options
2. Please, for the love of god, let us close the garage door. Amen

A lot of negative comments are about not being able to save where you want - yes, it's true.
What they don't mention is the fact that what you need for a run to be completed is about 20-30 minutes at a time, You choose how long a run is - you can gather resources you need to exit straight a way....this game really doesn't require you to have a 2-3h runs. It is completely up to you.
It gives you an opportunity to push your luck in order to get more/better resources....but you don't have to do it. It's very similar in that way to other roguelites. Your run can easily be contained to a 20/30 minutes game-play session - but if you want better loot it will take longer and be more dangerous. Your choice.
I feel it really needs to be stated to make it clear as negative comments make it seems like you need an extensive game play session at a time to achieve anything.
I get it - it would be nice to save and quit, but pushing you luck and deciding whether you want more or you are ready to exit is whole point of a game loop here. You don't have to explore every single location on the map - if you do it's your choice. And it's your choice that it takes longer that way and is more dangerous.

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).

I feel that this is one of those games that does not need a review; If you've heard/seen this game and it seems like something you would enjoy, you almost certainly will. On the other hand if it just sounds boring and unengaging, it's probably not the game for you. Regardless I would still like to write a review here just what you should expect from this game and other things you should know before you make the purchase. :]
----- What to expect
THIS IS NOT A SIMULATION GAME. Despite having very in-depth customization, this game really should not be thought of as a car simulation game. If you are expecting something like My Summer Car I'm afraid you will be disappointed. The controls and physics are very forgiving and arcade-y, the physics are a bit floaty but extremely snappy and responsive. The car may sometimes pick up a lot of speed real quick, but if something really feels off it probably means there's an anomaly screwing with you, or something is broken and needs fixing. The mainteneance is very simple and arcadey too, but what this game lacks in realism it more than makes up for with it's unique scavenger-like gameplay and STALKER-like identity.
SCAVENGE, RESEARCH, MAINTAIN AND PROGRESS is the basic gameloop of this here game. It's incredibly addictive and very fun, every time you think you've seen it all and you start to get familiar with the exclusion zone, it throws something new your way. The way the difficulty is introduced and scales with progress is wonderful. The way you slowly progress from replacing full panels with new, shitty and cheap crude panels to instead having more expensive parts in your car and mainting them instead is incredibly gratifying.
THE SOUNDTRACK IS AMAZING. I just really think this needs to be mentioned too. :] While it's not quite as wide and varied as a AAA title the soundtrack is carefully curated and filled with amazing songs that fit the sour, bittersweet, "Driving alone on a rainy night" atmosphere and vibe of this game. It's varied enough that it doesn't get old either. It's so good, it was a very big part of what made me like this game as much as I do.
----- THE BAD. Things you should know before buying
VERY POOR OPTIMIZATION. This game really just does not run too good, we have a really powerful and capable rig here, and yet this game consistently dropped to below 30 while playing it, and while this game is by no means ugly it also really does not have enough going on in it to justify such poor performance. Strangely, these problems with performance only seem to affect the early areas of the game; The later areas run far, far better than the early ones. This is one of those games where you just... can't worry about whether or not it will run, it's a game that *will* run bad regardless of how good your PC is, and it's something you just have to come to terms with to enjoy the experience (It's still very much worth it in my opinion).
THE RADIO DOES NOT DRAIN THE BATTERY. This is not a problem but I think you should know this. :] If you are one of those perfectionist like myself, and you're trying to always use as few resources as possible, know this; Judging from our own experimentation, in this current patch of the game, the radio does not consume battery and leaving the car on idle does not burn fuel either. :]
----- Personal opinion
I know numeric ratings are cringe, but if you'd like one from me, I'd give this game an 8/10. It's incredibly solid and fun, but it has a few problems that really hold it back; The optimization first and foremost, as well as some balancing problems. (Near useless abilities, road flares ruining my inventory >:[) I don't know how much of a popular opinion this is but I'd really like for this game to have a HARD or REALISTIC mode, with more punishing resources, damage, controls and etc. GIVE THE CAR A MANUAL TRANSMISSION COWARDS >:[
Also an option for a custom OST would be a godsend. (As good as the soundtrack is, nothing beats being able to listen to your own favorite tracks)

This game's experience (which is already fun) is VASTLY improved by the fact the devs allow you to slap a streamable URL into the car's radio. I was able to put an FM radio station from my country and listen live to the program as I picked up anchors and dodged bunnies
I also STRONGLY recommend using a Dualsense (PS5) controller to play this WITHOUT steam input. The game is very well optimized for this controller, using a lot of the features like the trigger vibration or sensitivity. This makes stuff like slamming the brakes, accelerating, using tools, etc much more immersive and responsive.