Pacific Drive Reviews

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.

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.

Pacific Drive is an experience that survives on story, sights, and sounds, as well as adventure. Even with some interesting gameplay problems, this atom-powered adventure is worth playing.

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 can be broken down easily into other genres, but it's unlike anything available in terms of tone, atmosphere and execution.

I had to get rid of that car as soon as we got back because we discovered during that trip that my wife was pregnant with our daughter, and a soft top isn’t super practical, especially with no boot space. I miss that car to this day, five years later, because it gave me one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.

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 thoughtfully translates simple yet overlooked human aspects through an experience that is truly unique and unforgettable.

Pacific Drive is a first-person driving survival game with your car as your only companion.

Pacific Drive captures the spirit of working on your car in a game that heavily leans into the crafting experience over its driving roguelike elements.

If you're a fan of intense driving and the fascinating world of the supernatural, Pacific Drive may be able to steal a lot of your time. Combining multiple genres, it succeeds in providing players a cosmic experience. Check out our full review for Pacific Drive on PS5, developed by Ironwood Studios and published by Kepler Interactive.

A love letter to Boris and Arkady that brings their anomalous horrors to the Pacific Northwest. Pacific Drive makes up for what it gets wrong in pacing with imaginative gameplay and exceptional design.

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.

Ironwood Studio's debut is a challenging roguelite caRPG rich in atmosphere, complexity, and fascinating lore.

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.

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 a mystery that draws you in little by little and rewards you for staying dedicated with both a better vehicle and more ridiculous threats. Every excursion left me wondering just what I’d discover, both from survival and story standpoints, as well as what kind of crazy threats were going to try to make my life harder. Fun and interesting characters and a pretty great soundtrack help to keep things fun, but maintaining the station wagon is easily the most compelling part. It’s your best friend through thick and thin, even if it’s trying to eat your mind. That can be somewhat forgiven since it makes up the core of an ultimately great rogue-lite survival game.

Repair, improve, and pilot a quirky station wagon in survival game Pacific Drive.

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.

There’s much to admire in Ironwood’s car-based survival sim, not least the detail that’s gone into the old banger you pilot and the weird lands you have to explore, which force you to learn their quirks and keep your wits about you. As a crafting game, however, it’s rather unforgiving and laborious, requiring a lot of thankless graft if you want to stay on the road and unlock more inventive equipment.

As unpredictable as it is rewarding, Pacific Drive can be brilliant, infuriating, and frustrating in equal measure. There's a great idea here but much of its potential is burned up by a tough mid-game learning curve, and unpredictably cruel dangers.

Cars are inanimate objects, but if you drive one, you've undoubtedly formed a relationship with it. Perhaps you've named your vehicle after the way it looks; maybe you'd be more concerned if it didn't have that indiscernible rattle; it could be falling to pieces, but you've never known a more dependable companion. Cars feel as though they have a soul, and Pacific Drive knows it. This survival game's special sauce is in perfectly capturing the bond between car and driver.

Forza What-The-Heck-Is-That-On-The-Horizon

You’re asked to solve issues and improve possessions with cleverly intentional mechanics, but even these become frustrating to find joy in as exploration failings bleed into them. If not for the spikes and awkward pacing shift, Pacific Drive would have knocked it out of the park until the end.