Death, Loops, and Mystery

I had played the demo of The Drifter and had done an overview of it early last month. The first chapter impressed me, yet I didn't anticipate the game's exceptional quality. I enjoy going headfirst into the unknown of something, and even if I don't care so much for it, I enjoy the excitement itself of just trying something different. In this case, though, the game checked all the right boxes for me.

The Drifter is about a man named Mick Carter, who is in the middle of going to his mom's funeral on a train car he hopped on. Yes, it would seem that Mick's life isn't going that well at the moment. He has been running away from his past for some years, and now it is calling him to come back home. He believed that dealing with his disgruntled family would be the worst experience he would face. However, after being shot at and witnessing some kidnappings, I should also mention that he cannot die; instead, he returns a few moments before each event occurs. He is stuck in what feels like an endless loop he can't get out of.

The Mind Games Begin

The story's best part is the mystery, which uses the "unreliable narrator" trope. You are seeing everything through Mick's perspective, and there are times when you wonder what is actually happening. It has you second-guessing and creating multiple theories as the events unfold. Are you actually seeing a monster, or is it just your fear playing tricks on you? Are the ghosts of your past trying to tell you something about getting out of a terrible situation? It is challenging to point out too many things without giving anything away in the story.

You navigate the world by pointing and clicking. It is incredibly easy to become used to. You hover over a person or object to obtain information or an item that will help you progress. Indeed, the gameplay is straightforward, yet each chapter presents unique puzzles. Sometimes you'll have to combine items together, like a rag or bottle, to create a Molotov cocktail, or give someone a new bit of information to unlock new paths so they hand you an item that allows you to go through a locked door. I do like how making a mistake and dying over and over again is a mechanic in the game. You don't go far either, so even if you think you got the right idea, you are dead again, and sometimes it will go on a bit.

Australian Noir Atmosphere

The atmosphere features a heavy synthwave theme reminiscent of the 80s and 90s, all in an HD pixel art style. You walk around in various locations, including homeless camps, laboratories, and underground shelters. The story takes place in a fictional Australian location at the turn of the 21st century (around 2000). It always reminded me of classic 90s action movies, and even the electronic music carries that theme. It is clearly more in the 2000s since they are using cell phones, but I can't say there was a true date given throughout playing.

Voice acting was top-notch as well. It wasn't just the main character, Mick. While every character made a genuine and necessary contribution to the story, the desk clerk at the New Bureau particularly stood out and annoyed me in a positive way. No one felt out of place, and they did an amazing job.

I can say there were a few issues in gameplay, though. I felt frustrated in certain parts of the death cycles because I needed a few extra seconds to regain my bearings. Additionally, having to redo certain sections became frustrating after the fourth or fifth attempt. I could see some people not liking a hint function either. There was only one time I didn't feel like I knew what I was doing and felt like a hint would have been helpful.

The hotspot function displays small circles indicating where you can point if you choose to enable it. The Steam Deck has a similar function that works perfectly. Instead of worrying about a mouse, you use one of the joysticks, and a circle will hover over your character. Where you can see small circles, you can point to them and press a button to interact with them. To be honest, I like playing it on the deck more than on my computer.

Final Thoughts

If you had told me one of my favorite games of the year was a click-and-point pixel game, I would have been okay with that because I'm not quick to judge, so think about that. Joking aside, this is easily one of my top games this year, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys games that are more story-driven and of the psychological suspense type.

Powerhoof is a two-person indie studio from Melbourne, Australia, known for their previous hits like Crawl (the dungeon crawler where friends control the monsters) and Regular Human Basketball. While they've released several smaller projects over the years, The Drifter represents their most ambitious work to date, an 8-year passion project that shows significant growth from their earlier titles. You can play The Drifter on Steam for $19.99, and it will be coming out for Nintendo Switch at a later date.

Disclosure: We received a free review copy of this product.