Pacific Drive Reviews
Olympic Peninsula and its Exclusion Zone have hidden many secrets for more then three decades and now, after I got pulled in by a mysterious anomaly, it is finally time to reveal them all! But this is no happy tale of a handsome protagonist, but a mere mortal driver's storyline, which wiggles and twists around a postapocalyptic wasteland. And what better tool to navigate it than a sturdy vehicle, armored with the knowledge of brilliant scientists and quirky tech, that will surely protect me from the horrors of this dystopian world'
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Pacific Drive is an intriguing survival title that appeals to the unknown and the player's curiosity, with unique and engaging moments. By merging vehicle and survival, Ironwood Studios nails its proposal and boldness.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Pacific Drive is a wonderful surprise, full of secrets to discover and with deep game mechanics that make this an extremely stimulating and original title.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Pacific Drive is a game for masochists who enjoy being tortured, and honestly, it's the most fun I've had with a game all year. There's a sort of sadistic thrill in the relationship between me and my decomposing rust bucket of a car every time I leave the garage — and that's one of the game's biggest strengths.
It’s a gorgeous, thoughtful and idiosyncratic game that perfectly blends mundane engine maintenance with otherworldly anamolies. Still, the station wagon is an automatic so when it comes to learning to drive? Absolutely useless.
Pacific Drive offers a chance to take a beautiful vintage car to the forbidden Zone with a total of radiation and anomalies. Aside from the dangers, there's no avoiding the elaborate micromanagement on this trip, where every part of the car must be inspected, upgraded, and weaponized down to the smallest detail. Yet the driver's role is purely pacifist and collectible. Collecting resources is essential to continue on the road, as is crawling through every wreck. The atmosphere at this point is so thick it could be sliced, helped by the well-balanced audiovisual aspect, which is underlined by the fact that the authors have managed to create an authentic night in which you can't see a step. Charismatic characters, subtle humor, and an intriguing storyline all make this a dangerously addictive ride.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Watching the pre-release teasers, I was under the impression that Pacific Drive would be a sort of an interactive road movie. Instead, we got a rogue-lite car action with the interaction limited to avoiding colored blobs in the environment and recycling trash for progress.
An exciting addition to the survival genre that leverages micro-actions to create a stronger relationship between space, player, and vehicle.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Pacific Drive manages to combine elements from roguelike and survival forms and combine them with the catalyst of the old station that we have all seen in some American movie of the 80s.
Review in Greek | Read full review
Pacific Drive is an atmospheric car survival game that presents us with an interesting perspective of the world and unique systems that we haven't seen anywhere else. If you have strong hardware at your disposal and want to check out something unique then I am able to recommend Pacific Drive, even though it probably needed a little more time in the oven.
Review in Polish | Read full review
The whole game is something you’re either going to love or hate. Pacific Drive isn’t going to leave many (or any) people saying, “Enh, it was okay.” You might think it’s a brilliant take on the survival genre, or you might think it’s endless amounts of busy work without enough of a payoff, but either way, it’s guaranteed to get a reaction out of you.
Developer Ironwood Studios’ first go at the rogue-like genre has not only come out fresh as it gets but also put such a unique spin on a classic crafting/survival formula that I sincerely hope the term “road-lites” takes off. Hardly a pothole was hit riding along the anomalous, unstable ridgelines, with a perfectly-tuned balance of cautious material gathering, intense and atmospheric car treks, and wild sci-fi worldbuilding. I was absolutely enamored by the “car”-acterization of the humble station wagon that’s your mobile base, with the Quirk system being a highlight of the various gameplay mechanics that made Pacific Drive’s number one character stand out, just as it should. Truly, I felt like it was me and my clunker-bucket against the world, or, at least, this hellish sci-fi melting pot we were stranded in. Ironwood Studios has a sunny, clear road ahead for them, so here’s hoping they keep on truckin’, knowing their first IP went off without a hitch.
While some of its looting mechanics feel a little stale in comparison to how it evolves other areas of the genre this likely won’t deter most players from seeing this intriguing story through to the end. Instead, Pacific Drive is one of the most intriguing games I’ve played in 2024 so far. It borrows concepts from the likes of STALKER and Firewatch, and combines them to create an accessible survival rogue-lite that’s a joy to engage with. Seeing your car gradually transform from a heap of junk to essentially a life support system is a satisfying experience, and only enhanced by the weird and wonderful world you get to drive it about in.
Pacific Drive successfully balances many systems and delivers a creepy, unnerving rendition of the Pacific Northwest. If you thought Alan Wake's world was spooky, Pacific Drive offers a pretty worthy contender for what is an outrageous and outlandish supernatural roguelike.
Pacific Drive will end up as a highlight of 2024 for anyone seeking a fresh experience. Unfortunately, some quirks and genre trappings make it a little less wondrous than the Zone itself.
Pacific Drive successfully reinterprets the core of the survival genre, centered around the bond with your station wagon. While the POV driving mechanics and the anomalies often provide relentless, occasionally exhausting challenges, the game still retains a charm that makes you want to take the wheel once again.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Pacific Drive thoughtfully translates simple yet overlooked human aspects through an experience that is truly unique and unforgettable.
Pacific Drive is made for fans of survival games and sci-fi adventures. With its captivating anomalies and subtle horror, the hugely important and extensive maintenance of the station wagon and the somewhat frustrating ruthlessness. Pacific Drive offers a unique experience with a charming flair and is a great debut from Ironwood Studios.
Review in German | Read full review
Pacific Drive is fantastic once you sit down and play it correctly. The game's core mechanic is survival, but many might fail to see that. Anyone who enjoys survival games should definitely give this one a go. Even if you usually don't enjoy survival games, you might be interested in building and driving your car. But before you do, you might want to fiddle with the levels of difficulty and accessibility settings to find a setting that suits your playing style. Pacific Drive is fantastic; driving through it has been a unique experience and arguably the year's most unique survival game entries.