Pacific Drive: why my favourite gaming companion of the year is a beat-up old car
Pacific Drive has given me a new virtual friend.
Mario has Luigi, Ratchet has Clank, and Ellie has Joel…or Joel has Ellie, depending on how you look at it. Gaming history is packed with iconic partnerships. Sonic may be the main man, or hedgehog in this case, but imagine speeding through Beach Zone without Tails by your side? With the ever-growing popularity of open world games featuring lone protagonists, free to play titles and MMOs, it can be argued that the beloved gaming companion in the older sense is a dwindling trend. But one recently released game, Pacific Drive, has given me what could be one of my favourite ever companions…a beat up, rusty old car.
In Pacific Drive, you navigate the Pacific Northwest gripped in an alternate reality. Supernatural forces have taken over an area known as the Olympic Exclusion Zone. You’re trapped in a wasteland where unnatural occurrences have become the norm. You must scavenge to survive and solve a far-reaching conspiracy with the help of your good friend…a 1990s hatchback.
Ride or die
It’s an unlikely partnership, but one that makes for a wholly unique playing experience. Your car is an extension of you. It’s your health bar, your speed, your skill tree and your combat. If your car dies you die, so upgrading it with foraged materials and sci-fi technology is key. The car is your gun, shield and shelter all rolled into one. It’s a main character all of itself, and I grew something of a weird bond with this virtual old bucket of rust.
I’m an overly moral player, I’d say. I feel pangs of guilt when I accidentally kill a horse in Red Dead Redemption 2. I’ll always pick the honourable choice over the opposite, as if the universe is judging my in-game decisions. When I kill an enemy, I imagine that I’ve taken the life of a complex person who had hopes, dreams and wishes. But even with all my soppiness in mind, I never expected to grow a strong bond with a rusty banger.
For me, that is Pacific Drive‘s greatest strength. It posits an inanimate object as a main character with genuine personality. Over time, I become in-tune with its quirks, the way it drives, and how it beeps its horn in sometimes awkward moments. In the same way you’d feel relief when getting home after a long day, I felt the same after sprinting to my trusty car having narrowly avoided some sort of unexplainable lightning paranormal. And in that, this battered car is a companion that everybody needs.
- Pacific Drive is available on Steam and PS5.
Jack Needham
