It was a long time since I was so thoroughly impressed with a point-and-click adventure game. And not only from a visual, auditory, and technical perspective – the atmosphere and general writing are top notch too. The demo was rather short, but it sure as hell left me yearning for more. Unfortunately, I don’t see a set date for release on Steam. So, who knows when it will be released? It sucks as I want more of The Drifter, and to be able to dig deeper into the captivating story of the wandering vagabond.
Hobo life
In the demo, you play as Mick Carter. Huffing it back to the big city by hitching a ride by train to attend his mom’s funeral. When the train finally reaches its destination, and Mick decides to jump off, something truly bizarre and shocking happens. An unknown group of assailants opens fire on the railroad car seemingly unprovoked. Mick makes a desperate escape, and after this, he has to figure out the why, and a way to go home.
It isn’t long until the “conspiracy” goes deeper after talking to the locals. If Mick wasn’t in it already, he sure as hell will be after the demo, which consists of chapter 1 of the game. People murdering the homeless aren’t the only oddity here, seeing as some kind of madness spreads about its population too. Driving some of the destitute absolutely nuts with extreme violence to follow. Pretty damn good premise of a mystery, I must say. And if the writing wasn’t enough to sell me on it, the presentation sure is.
Looks great
The Drifter looks and sounds great. The pixel art graphics with its animations add a certain charm and warmth to the style. It’s just very pleasant to gaze at, making you all fuzzy inside. The music has this somewhat rough synth tone that also contributes to the atmosphere – dark cyberpunk style. Then we have the voice acting (yes, everything is voiced) and it’s fabulous. Very Australian, but man, if the voice actors didn’t give it their all. Especially the main protagonist Mick comes through well, his anger, surprise, and mocking tone of the young is perfectly conveyed. Superb presentation!
The clicking
Now being a point-and-click adventure there isn’t too much to say here. Everyone knows how it works by now, as you will be examining objects and picking them up all day in a very classic adventure way. However, it seems you can die in specific segments of the game, but it does not throw you back into the menu when you do. Instead, the dying part comes with its own narration with Mick explaining the pain of perishing, and how he comes back to life – allowing you a second, third, or fourth try at escaping the clutches of death. Very immersive and above all; cool. I have no idea of the implications in the story of this, so I guess those who live will see.
In conclusion, I was very impressed by the demo. It’s way too early to say if The Drifter will be this good all the way through, but the potential is definitively there. I highly recommend adding it to the Steam/gog wishlist, because that is all you can do at the moment – well except trying out the demo for yourself. You can also visit the developer’s site where you can download some of their earlier games for free. That is something I will be doing.
Thanks for reading.
/Thomas
Tom's Gaming Vault 