Outrun the Storm: Pacific Drive Review
Hop into your station wagon and drive to survive in this thrilling first-person driving survival game.
Written by Andre "Awndway" Molyneux
Pacific Drive is an excellent game set in the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state. If I were to categorize it, I’d call it a spooky paranormal driving craft survival game. The game starts on a nice day when our character, driving a van, is tasked with delivering to the Exclusion Zone.
We pass through a checkpoint and head down a winding road. Met with a dirt path along the wall we follow, the van’s electrical system goes haywire, and the engine cuts out. The vehicle stops. We’re sucked into some mysterious red energy of sorts and wind up inside the walled-off Exclusion Zone.
Welcome to the OEZ
You wind up in a very odd setting. Some of the terrain has drastically shifted and is even glowing green! The van you were driving has been deconstructed, and the parts are floating along your path, suspended in antigravity. After making your way through, you’re led to a shop with the iconic station wagon in the trailer. At least it has a similar shape, but it looks rough. You fix a flat tire, install some parts, and you’re off, driving to find shelter and figure out what happened to your character and where the hell you are.
In the Olympic Exclusion Zone, we explore an ever-changing environment that keeps the player or the ‘Driver’ on their toes with many “Anomalies” that come with their own individual nuance & challenge. After driving off with your very-used station wagon, you’re led to permanent shelter, Oppy’s Auto Shop, by a couple of men named Tobias & Francis. After entering and turning the power on, you meet Oppy herself through the same type of radio transmission from which Tobias & Francis had been speaking to you.
And then after some exposition, the real fun begins.
Your Car, Your Way
In Pacific Drive, we get to enjoy repairing & upgrading our vehicle, driving as fast as we can, gathering energy & materials to supplement our technology research and vehicle upgrades, and getting regularly creeped out! Not to mention some wicked tunes curated to this game's overall theme and feel. Oppy’s Shop comes with a jukebox, and, of course, your station wagon’s radio survived the weird, inexplicable decay that the station wagon itself suffered from getting sucked into the Exclusion Zone! We also have the option for Copyright free music for those interested in streaming and recording gameplay.
I’d say this game is worth a try if you enjoy driving games, but for those who aren’t super interested in them, don’t click off yet, as you do get to go outside of the car very often to explore your surroundings. Although you will need to store what you gather in your vehicle, and you definitely want to return to your car eventually to drive to certain buildings and landmarks, you can invest in upgrading yourself (to be more resistant to damage) and your inventory space to facilitate non-driving exploration! While running around, gathering, and exploring is possible, I’m not exactly sure how far you can be away from your car as I have not tried it. Being a driving game enjoyer myself, I regularly return to my car and drive wherever I like, on-road or off.
Surrealistic Style
Now, the driving and vehicle repair mechanics are not rooted in reality. For example, the car only shifts from park to drive, and you slather what’s called ‘Repair Putty’ on broken body panels and car doors, then watch them go from worn to new. However, it’s definitely fun & refreshing as this game is certainly Sci-Fi/Paranormal, and I’d say I greatly enjoy the lack of realism! There are plenty of driving sims & realistic crafting/survival games out there if you don’t exactly appreciate the lack of realism that this game offers.
You will also find many cosmetic items in the Exclusion Zone, so don’t fret. You can find plenty out there to apply to your trusty station wagon! For example, in my thirty-hour save, I have my paint shelf filled with decals & paint and several different types of steering wheels, gear shifters, antennas, & bobbleheads.
Below is a screenshot of what the station wagon looks like at the beginning of the game compared to the upgraded car after 30 hours.
Pedal to the Metal!
I’m thirty hours in, and I am giving this a solid 9/10 for my overall experience. Hurry up, play it, and experience it for yourself. Pacific Drive is available on PS5, Epic, and Steam for $30, or you can splurge an extra $5 for some nifty cosmetics.
Hurry the hell up, play, and see what you end up doing to your station wagon.