Exploring the Spooky Pacific Northwest in Pacific Drive

Pacific Drive, an upcoming game from Kepler Interactive, has recently been showcased in the Steam Next Fest demo. This game, set in an alternate timeline where a strange experiment in the 1940s saw a corner of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula overrun with strange and dangerous anomalies, has captured the attention of many gamers with its unique blend of roguelike survival and dungeon-crawling gameplay. In this article, we will delve deeper into the Pacific Drive demo and explore the spooky Pacific Northwest landscape, the game mechanics, and the overall experience.

The demo begins with the playable opening scene, the hub home garage, and the first mission. The structure of the game is teleporting to a separate mission zone, driving and walking around hunting for key items and various crafting materials, avoiding dangerous anomalies, charging your magical teleporter by yoinking science orbs, and desperately zooming towards a gateway while a battle royale-style storm closes around you.

One of the most notable aspects of Pacific Drive is the physical interfaces inside the car. Players can control everything from the wipers and radio to the high-tech map by looking about. The attention to detail in the car’s interior is impressive, and the soundtrack with lyrical songs adds to the immersive experience. The weird anomalies, such as rising rock “bollards” and eerie explosive mannequins, also add to the spooky atmosphere of the game.

Another interesting feature of Pacific Drive is the car’s health system. Each part of the car, including the tyres, engine, lights, doors, side panels, bonnet, boot, and bumpers, has its own health bars and secondary conditions. To fix these issues, players will need magic putty and a range of tools or sometimes must craft a whole new part. Scavenging for materials is essential, but it can also result in damage, making the survival and roguelike elements of the game frustrating without a clear purpose.

The demo does a poor job of making the survival and roguelike elements interesting or appealing. The chores of scavenging for materials and crafting healing items and parts are necessary but not enjoyable. The lack of puzzles or real challenges makes the scavenging feel like a tedious chore rather than an engaging part of the game. However, the full game may reveal more significant progression systems to craft new gadgets and abilities for the car and the player, which could make the survival elements more valuable and interesting.

Despite the frustrating survival elements, Pacific Drive’s demo has a good mood and an intriguing setting. The spooky Pacific Northwest landscape and the strange anomalies make for an engaging and immersive experience. The potential for upgrades and abilities in the full game also adds to the excitement of exploring the Pacific Northwest with a car covered in weird gadgets and a hellstorm whirling in the rearview.

Pacific Drive’s demo is only the beginning, and the full game may offer a more cohesive open world and a more significant role for the survival and roguelike elements. The game’s unique blend of roguelike survival and dungeon-crawling gameplay, along with its immersive setting and attention to detail, make it a game worth keeping an eye on.

If you’re interested in Pacific Drive, you can grab the demo on Steam while it’s still available during the Steam Next Fest. The game is set to launch in full on February 22nd and will also be sold on the Epic Games Store. It will cost £25/€30/$30.

In conclusion, Pacific Drive’s demo offers a glimpse into a spooky and immersive Pacific Northwest landscape filled with strange anomalies and a car with a complicated health system. While the survival and roguelike elements can be frustrating, the potential for upgrades and abilities in the full game adds to the excitement of exploring this alternate timeline. Pacific Drive is a game worth keeping an eye on, and we look forward to seeing how the full game develops.