IEvergreen forests, lush mountain landscapes. Just my old station wagon and me in the vastness of the Pacific Northwest. Sounds tempting. What could go wrong? Lots of them if you leave too hastily. I was able to repair the burst front tire, but I wasn't prepared for the distance to the next gas station being so long. In the trunk I find a first aid kit, some tape and an empty gas can. Didn't I just drive past a broken down truck about a kilometer away? I can do it on foot. I'm just about to slam the trunk door when my old station wagon rolls off towards the slope. The handbrake! Too late.
Now I have much bigger problems than an empty tank. The car is upside down in the section of the valley that I had previously avoided. This is where the anomalies that make the survival video game “Pacific Drive” so unique are found. Glowing blue clouds emit crackling bursts of electricity, muddy brown columns erupt from the ground, and the radioactive radiation is immense.
Whatever was being experimented with on the Olympic Peninsula must have gone terribly wrong. The area has been a restricted area for 50 years, with a massive protective wall separating it from the outside world. I don't know how exactly I ended up here – but I definitely have to get out again. It's too lonely and scary here. No one guarantees me that the tourists who stand frozen like cardboard mates on the main streets won't come to life when I look away for a moment. “The Last of Us” sends greetings, seasoned with a pinch of “Stranger Things”, “Stalker” and “Gran Turismo”.
The machine and I – we look after each other
“Pacific Drive” is “inspired by our love of cars and the Pacific Northwest,” says Ironwood Studios, the small development team from Seattle that has only existed since 2019. The love can be felt everywhere, every cog in the studio's debut game meshes together. “Pacific Drive” is not a survival game as you are used to. I don't have to go hungry or sleep, I just have to take care of my old station wagon – my best friend in a deserted and surreal world. If I treat it well and keep it in good condition, it will protect me to a certain extent from the dangerous radiation on the Olympic Peninsula. However, through contact with the anomalies, he also developed his quirks. Since the last trip, the passenger door opens when I turn the ignition key.
Such problems can be solved in the workshop. My station wagon and I, we look after each other. Together against the rest of the world. I'm almost tempted to call him “Wilson,” but he's so much more diverse than a volleyball with a smiley face. I stroke the hood, the kitten purrs. We don't need names when we're on our own. You are my station wagon, I am your driver, and the world is our enemy.
Good preparation is the beginning of every successful joyride. In the first few hours of play, longer tours fail due to the lack of equipment. The anomalies disrupt the electronics, the engine smokes, the headlights break. In the building ruins and research containers next to the main roads, I gather the resources I need to upgrade my workshop. I'm installing a beefier engine, shielding the headlights from power surges, and installing an automatic parking system so my poor station wagon never slides down the slope again.
Nevertheless, I will wreck my poor old station wagon countless more times until I make my way to the inner ring of the exclusion zone. “Pacific Drive” is not just a survival game, but also uses common mechanisms: the game worlds are randomly generated with each round, so you are better prepared for everything. Nothing is more painful than screen death on an hour-long tour where I've stuffed the trunk with all sorts of useful stuff along the way. The nice spare tires, the long-awaited welding torch: everything gone.
Only a portal can bring me and my old station wagon and the valuable trunk contents back to the workshop undamaged. But the world seems to have something against me just teleporting away. The sky turns orange-red, as if it were burning. I try to take a shortcut through the middle of the forest, but I underestimated the gradient. A powerful radiation storm robs me of my vision and tugs at the body of the old station wagon. I crash into a tree and slide down the slope, that's it. Game over. Or just another tour? At least I still have a few spare parts in my locker. I turn on the jukebox, start screwing and make a route plan. The weather is expected to get better on the main street today.
Pacific Drive is available for the PC and Play Station 5 at a price of 29.99 euros.
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