Pacific Drive Reviews
"Pacific Drive" is an extremely atmospheric survival game that draws its charm from the exuberant inhospitability of the exclusion zone. Loneliness and menacing anomalies make our old station wagon our closest ally. If you like roguelikes and crafting, you will find a rich field of activity in "Pacific Drive" - but the tinkering and fiddling sometimes get a bit out of hand. If you leave the somewhat tough start to the game behind, you will be rewarded with a motivating expansion system. The exclusion zone is an almost mythical place - and certainly not for the faint of heart.
Review in German | Read full review
There’s a lot here that feels great, but it’s the inconsistency that lets it down. All those great moments are padded by a framework that doesn’t do them enough justice. Too much emphasis on scrounging, an unfocused narrative, and a generally poor feeling of momentum and progression. I’m still certain that there are some who will be able to overlook the game’s flaws and latch onto its unique charm. However, I think just as many people are going to bounce right off it. Either way, it isn’t a comfortable ride.
Pacific Drive offers a road trip like no other, boasting immaculate sound design and a classic '90s conspiracy delivered through a compact survival-crafting roguelike loop.
Pacific Drive offers a thrilling and unique experience that seamlessly blends the excitement of a road trip with the terror of the supernatural. The game quickly won me over, just as it’s sure to win over the imagination and thrill of players who give the game a much-deserved try.
Just like the Daewoo Lanos I inherited from my sister when I eventually got my license, Pacific Drive is an imperfect but undeniably charming experience. It's filled to the brim with sensational atmosphere, intriguing mystery and edge-of-your-seat cinematic adventure. If you can buckle up and push through the foibles of this otherwise fantastic survival 'roadlite', I guarantee you won't regret getting behind the wheel.
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.
With a charismatic voice cast, vast upgrade system and a fascinating mysterious world, Pacific Drive is an experience that is unique in every aspect. I personally have never played anything like it. Similar yes, but like this experience, never. The idea of creating a game based on roadtrip films with a mystery and horror aspect, combining elements of survival and crafting was an assertive choice. The debut of Ironwood Studios is a great success and made me extremely curious about the developer's future works.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Pacific Drive is a title that oozes passion from every exhaust pipe, and we can only be happy for Ironwood Studios and the love placed in their debut work.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Balancing Pacific Drive’s scrappy systems can be punishing, but the riveting tension of each drive through its unnerving world was always enough to keep my hands placed firmly on the wheel.
Ironwood Studios' debut game accomplishes to be an immersive survival driving adventure. Its intense treks through mind-bending obstacles are balanced with humor and relaxing moments provided by crafting and upgrading useful tools and car components, along with Pacific Drive's catchy alternative rock soundtrack. It's an incredibly impressive debut game that should put the new studio on the map: "there's no peace of mind or place you'll see, like riding on Pacific Drive."
Pacific Drive takes each genre it tackles in a bold new direction, and creates something that’s not necessarily unheard of, but feels entirely unique in its design, care, and the way in which it pulls you into its world. You’ll immediately begin to care for your car as you keep it safe, and exploring the Zone consistently provides new, refreshing things to keep you engaged and daunted. Though the milder aspects can feel repetitive, it adds to a worthwhile experience that is absolutely worth playing.
For their first feature, my heartfelt applause for Ironwood Studios. Not only have they taken the roguelite formula to new ground, integrating driving, deep survival, and a captivating sci-fi story, which makes sense of their original world. Despite the bugs or the fact that the roguelite formula doesn't appeal to you, there is "something" about it.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
No matter how careful you are, it only takes the slightest thing to bring everything crashing down.
A punishing, exhasperating slog, or an off-beat love story between driver and car, human and the Zone? Pacific Drive is both and then some.
An intriguing set-up, with an impressively ominous atmosphere, is spoilt by overfamiliar roguelike elements that ruin the pacing and increase the repetition.
Pacific Drive is about laboring towards something and enjoying the results – feeling the sense of progress, along with the satisfaction and motivation such tangible progress brings with it. There are undoubtedly hours upon hours of gameplay to be had for those possessing unrelenting patience, those true warriors of attrition that would see Pacific Drive’s systems through to their ultimate culmination.
Finding the balance between survival and cozy Sunday drives is tricky, but Pacific Drives manages to nail it. This is a road I want to travel again without a doubt.
If you fight your way through, Pacific Drive is a solid survival game, but it can only really shine with the car upgrades.
Review in German | Read full review
