Fans of the survival genre will be saddened to hear that the upcoming survival driving game Pacific Drive has just been delayed.
Survival games have exploded as a genre, with their mechanics slowly infiltrating plenty of other genres. Coming from Ironwood Studios, Pacific Drive promised an interesting gameplay loop that makes good use of survival mechanics. You take control of a car as you try to make your way across a post-apocalyptic land filled with dangers around every corner. The developers really nailed the general atmosphere with the graphics and the sound design, and the game quickly got some traction when it was first announced in early 2023.
Even though people still have plenty of love for the zombie genre, it is getting a bit stale. This is why seeing that Pacific Drive mostly focuses on environmental dangers as well as anomalies that will try to turn your car into a wreck. While this is reminiscent of Stalker, there are no real enemies that can be taken down. The core gameplay loop revolves around gathering resources while repairing and finding enough gas for your car.
The main reason behind this delay seems to be the health of the developers. Not wanting to suffer from burnout, they are slowing things down and emphasizing the well-being of their team. And seeing as video game development can be quite hellish when crunch time comes around, it’s nice to see smaller companies acknowledging this and trying to do the right thing. Pacific Drive is slated to come out sometime in 2024 for PC and PlayStation 5.
