Pacific Drive Reviews
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
When you get down to it, Pacific Drive is a quietly brilliant game. There's nothing that comes to mind that is like it, and it's an outwardly simple concept that also has a variety of layers. While out on a run, you deftly drive around anomalies and sometimes escape a junction with a tattered car by the skin of your teeth. Other times, you're outfitting your car in the garage while the jukebox is playing, carefully considering what to bring with you and which parts you should have on the car. This game is exactly what I had hoped it would be when I initially heard about it, and it's been a long time since I've played something so boldly different.
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
Pacific Drive is an extremely entertaining experience that encourages us to play it up until the end.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Pacific Drive is a fantastic survival game with an addictive gameplay loop that involves forging deep connections to junctions, progressing deeper into an ever-changing Zone, upgrading a quirky vehicle, and navigating through challenges that appear on the road ahead.
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.
Pacific Drive delivers a refreshing spin on survival horror gameplay, with its original atmosphere and inventive use of genre elements. Despite minor flaws, its innovative approach captivates players, offering a truly unique gaming experience that pushes boundaries and keeps the genre exciting.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Pacific Drive is one of those amazing games that I’ve fallen in love with despite it doing so much I’m inclined to loathe. It’s brilliant in its externalization of survival gameplay with a car that acts perfectly in its dual role of burden and bearer. Its humor, style, and a luxury assortment of modifier settings have kept me spellbound. I can paint my car pink. Game of the year contender.
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
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 is an intriguing blend of science fiction storytelling and simulator gameplay mechanics. If you typically shy away from roguelikes, this might be the one that finally nestles its way into your psyche as you tell yourself "Just one more run".
Pacific Drive toes the line between "challenging fun take on the survival-horror genre" and "too complicated for its own good." The game is full of interesting lore, hardcore crafting mechanics, and a world of driving with plenty to explore. While the driving can feel repetitive at times, if you can get a hold of the system, you'll have plenty of fun in the Pacific Northwest.
Pacific Drive is like a road trip: It requires a lot of preparation and planning, but the journey is always worth the experience. Just watch out for the radiation.
Pacific Drive can be broken down easily into other genres, but it's unlike anything available in terms of tone, atmosphere and execution.
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.
Courage should be rewarded, always. And Pacific Drive is a brave game, offering unique gameplay focused on the exploration of the Zone and the relationship between man and vehicle. We will feel helpless and powerless most of the time, banking on car upgrades to have any hope of surviving in this bleak and hostile environment. The action is slow paced as the protagonist is not an Invincible Super Soldier but an ordinary man in his beat-up car, and this may turn away some fans of driving games, but the high point of this production is the story.
Review in Italian | Read full review
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.
Getting used to its well thought out progression systems might take a little too long due to its user interface but once you do it, it’s hard to stop playing Pacific Drive.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
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