Pacific Drive is a survival game like no other and utilizes atmosphere and sound design to deliver an experience like no other.
The survival genre is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, and some people just can’t handle the difficulty of managing resources, let alone how long it takes for you to get the hang of most of the genre’s tropes and staples. However, sometimes a game is just so good with its storytelling or world design that you can look past the difficulty and survival elements and experience something that will last longer than any scare could. Pacific Drive is just such a game.
As you can probably tell, Pacific Drive is no ordinary game, and no ordinary studio made it. Ironwood Studios is a small game studio based in Seattle, Washington State; the studio was founded in late 2019, with Pacific Drive being their first major release. That’s not to say it’s the first and only project the team has worked on.
In fact, the team behind Ironwood has quite an impressive résumé, working on games such as Don’t Starve, Resistance 3, Bioshock Infinite, and even League of Legends. Considering how experienced the team is, it is no wonder why Pacific Drive is such a unique experience, especially when you notice some similarities between their debut title and some of their past projects.
As mentioned before, Pacific Drive is a survival game, but definitely not in the way you think it is, instead of waking up on a mysterious island butt naked with only your fists and a convenient backpack to keep you safe. Instead, you go from having a peaceful drive through the woods to being sucked into ever a twisting hellscape with nothing but your bare fists.
The hellscape you find yourself in is the Olympic Exclusion Zone of the Pacific Northwest of America, which seems to be ever-changing and shifting, and reality is far from stable. Unfortunately, the car you were driving in was unceremoniously torn to shreds and you will need to find transport, luckily, an iron stallion in the form of a station wagon awaits… That’s suspiciously convenient.
You and your iron steed must now find a way out of the Olympic Exclusion Zone, but more importantly, you need to survive. The station wagon is your lifeline and will act as your main form of travel and as something in a traveling hub zone. Your car will provide many valuable services, such as storing materials and allowing you to upgrade your equipment and even craft new materials.
This may not seem like much at first, but it will prove incredibly useful the more you progress through the game, especially once you can upgrade it further. The more you play the game, the more the car becomes a part of you in more ways than you originally thought.
Unfortunately, while your car allows you to craft materials and items, these are items that only you can exclusively use. You need to find a safe zone if you want to upgrade your car. Safe zones will be dotted across your map, the first of these being Oppy’s garage. These zones are a breath of fresh air; here, you can take your time and restock on supplies as well as repair and upgrade your car.
The atmosphere of these safe zones differs greatly from what you will encounter when traveling. Atmosphere is something that Pacific Drive does phenomenally well, when you are in safe zones, the music that plays is reminiscent of something you’d expect to hear from quiet and dreary town in the middle of nowhere. It’s weirdly calm now compared to the adventuring atmosphere; things are still calm and quiet, but there’s this distinct sense of unease.
This uneasy feeling is completely unstable as the world around you is literally being torn apart. One of the most notable dangers of the outside world is the environment itself. The air you breathe is slowly chipping away at your health, and that’s not even the least of your worries as the woods are crawling with deadly machines and otherworldly phenomena.
So, the air is poison, and going outside is a no-go, so why not stay in the car? Remember, Pacific Drive is a survival game, meaning you will have to go out and get materials; this isn’t too hard, thanks to the handy Scrapper tool.
Unlike in most games, where you need to harvest wood and vines for crafting, in this game, you rip apart broken-down cars and other structures to get materials, which is weirdly satisfying. It is also recommended that you take only what you need as, unfortunately, you don’t exactly have the most expansive inventory.
Unfortunately, this also extends to the tools you use. As mentioned before, your inventory is tiny, which can become an issue as you explore more of the Olympic Exclusion Zone. You will need to pack your inventory based on what tasks you need to do.
For example, if you need to gather materials, it is recommended that you break everything first and put your tools away so that you can carry everything you need to carry, and then just wash, rinse, and repeat. However, you should always keep First-aid Kits on you or materials to make them as you are bound to need them, but don’t go willy-nilly as dangers lurk around every pine tree, car wreckage, and building.
Resource management is a staple of the survival genre, but it is especially highlighted in Pacific Drive, where the most important rule is “Use it or Lose it”. You can’t afford to carry everything you see, and you need to plan ahead of time on what you need and what needs to be done. This extends not just to your inventory but also to your car. Your car isn’t exactly the most well-put-together piece of machinery, and you will need continuous maintenance on it, but most importantly, it needs fuel.
It cannot be overstated how valuable fuel is, you can siphon fuel from run down cars, or by refueling at a safe zone but without it, you are a sitting duck and without your car, you aren’t going to survive very long. The way Pacific Drive handles resource management really emphasizes the importance of everything you pick up and makes you feel just how dire your situation is.
As mentioned before, your main goal is to figure out what is going on in the Olympic Exclusion Zone, but have no fear; you are not alone in this endeavor. You’re not the only person stuck in this eldritch hellscape, and as you progress through the game, you will meet numerous characters, all with their backgrounds and quirky pieces of dialogue. “Meet” is a bit of a long shot as you don’t actually get to see the characters; they instead talk to you through your intercom.
Two of the most notable characters you will meet in Pacific Drive are Oppy and Tobias. Oppy, who was mentioned before, is the mechanic behind most of the garage safe zones; she’s also an experienced survivor of the Olympic Exclusion Zone. She is wise and experienced and is not afraid to give you a piece of her mind.
Contrast this with Tobias, who is, while still an experienced survivor, a happy-go-lucky goofball. The banter from these two is hilarious and helps cut the game’s tension, but their dialogue also shares a lot of information on the Olympic Exclusion Zone.
While the characters and atmosphere are two of Pacific Drive’s biggest strengths, we can’t mention its soundtrack. The music in this game is phenomenal, and we’re not just speaking about the ambient music.
Occasionally, as you progress through the game, it will play a song on either the radio or during a cutscene, and each time, the song matches perfectly with the scene that is taking place. Whoever was responsible for the soundtrack has some exquisite tastes, and it is definitely a soundtrack we will be playing on a loop for the foreseeable future.
While the survival mechanics of Pacific Drive are great and deserve every ounce of praise, they are unfortunately not the star of the show. That’s not to say that they’re not good, quite the opposite; it’s just that the game’s main appeal isn’t the mechanics but the game’s story.
Pacific Drive is a very story-heavy game and a big selling point. If you want to check out the game for its gameplay, go for it, but you’ll find yourself more interested in the narrative than scattering about looking for scrap metal.
Overall, Pacific Drive is a phenomenal experience. Simply calling it a game doesn’t do it justice, while it has interesting and fleshed out mechanics, they fall second to its story which features excellent pacing, unique characters and a plot so thick you can’t help but want to discover each and every secret it has.
Pacific Drive is a must-play for narrative fans or those who want a more rewarding survival experience that doesn’t rely on the genre’s usual tropes. Heck, even if that’s not a big enough selling point, the game has an excellent soundtrack.
