Future Games Show 2023: Pacific Drive

Tonight at the Future Games Showcase, Ironwood Studios presented a new developer diary for Pacific Drive.

Pacific Drive was inspired by creative director Alex Dracott's childhood experiences of taking trips via his station wagon around the Pacific Northwest. As an adult, he would take his station wagon to abandoned industrial sites and up tiny dirt trails.

These adulthood experiences in his station wagon provided a surreal vibe leading to Pacific Drive's inception. This was the initial seed of the game as a run-based driving survival game. 

Ironwood Studios found there was an overlap between resource management and the plate juggling you want from a good survival game. Ensuring you don't run out of gas and that your car can still run was an essential addition to the survival experience.

They decided that the garage would be a safe space for players to work on their car as they would take excursions into the Zone where they could grab resources. By returning to the garage, you can return to the shelter and then continue the cycle again. 

While most survival games focus on the player, in Pacific Drive, your focus is on the car. Your station wagon is the only thing that can keep you safe when you're exploring the Zone. However, if your car isn't maintained, you can't do anything. While the player can still take damage, the car is more complicated. 

The station wagon will become more than just a tool; you will build a personal connection with it as you progress. 

In Pacific Drive, you need to survive the anomaly-filled Olympic Exclusion Zone with your station wagon as your lifeline. Scavenge resources and drive like hell to survive in this survival sandbox from Ironwood Studios. You can add it to your wishlist on Steam now, and it is expected to release sometime in 2023.