The Drifter Review – Groundhog Day

Death is not only a natural way of life, but also often a naturally expected part of video games. You die, try again, and often death comes with some form of penalty to put you back and to further encourage you to get it right the next time. However, it’s always fun when a game writes the concept of death and respawns into its story. The Drifter is one of these, following the story of Mick Carter, who is hitching a ride back home for a funeral in a box cart when armed soldiers kill the homeless stowaway traveling in the same cart. As Mick tries to find another way home, he starts picking up the pieces of a wider story to this murder, and encounters the soldiers again who attempt to drown him in a reservoir… only for Mick to suddenly wake up again, having somehow jumped back in time to just before his death.

Powerhoof’s The Drifter, is a pulp-style 2D point-and-click puzzle thriller game following Mick, a drifter who hops from place to place, job to job, and finds himself thrown into a plot surrounding missing homeless people, a serial killer who Mick has now been framed as, and a mysterious phenomenon that is causing others to go insane. On top of this, his sudden ability to cheat death by jumping back in time raises further questions as to how all of this is related.

The Drifter’s point-and-click puzzle mechanics consist solely of inventory puzzles, as Mick searches various areas and collects items to use to gather information and progress in his investigation. The gameplay is really well put together. At no point did I feel like the solutions to any of the obstacles that Mick comes across were too out of the box for the player to have figured it out for themselves. When you do get stuck, it’s usually solvable by exploring the area again, making sure dialogue with the available characters has been exhausted and revisiting all your options. It’s also plenty challenging, and I did find myself cycling through various ideas quite a few times.

Although The Drifter doesn’t have an in-game hint system, Powerhoof has drafted its own interactive spoiler-free guide for if you get really stuck, but it’s recommended that you only use it as a last resort. The guide itself is put together in the best way a guide can be, allowing you to slowly unveil various pointers without completely spoiling the solution if you still want the satisfaction of having solved it.

While the story does feel a little predictable in its third act, involving a few cliches and corny moments, it had its fun moments even during this segment as well as some touching reveals. The build-up to its finale was well paced and did a great job at keeping me interested throughout, especially with the multiple storylines unfolding under one investigation. As a main character, Mick really stands out as someone who has lost something dear to him and now he’s left literally wandering aimlessly in life, running away from his regrets. He has a very no-nonsense attitude and I enjoyed his snarky commentary too, while also appreciating that he’s genuinely a flawed character and part of his arc is learning from his past mistakes. There were plenty of genuinely funny moments, including one section where Mick was carrying a cup of tea and I was trying to work out what its purpose was, if you try giving the cup of tea to any of the NPCs, Mick will actually offer it to them… even enemies. The game is also accompanied by Mick’s narration, which is well-written and descriptive to paint the scene where the pixel art style leaves gaps.

Speaking of which, The Drifter is visually gorgeous. Its pixel art style oozes with a rich color palette, giving the game that Pulp comic look without directly going for that art style. Most of the settings take place at night, which gives way to the excellent use of lighting; yellow street lights, light seeping from windows, flashing billboards – really tapping into a noir thriller look. There’s also a creative use of letterboxing in some areas, with the letterbox being larger to show if a room is cramped and small, or tilted to show a steep incline in a hallway. 

Music-wise, Mitchell Pasmans and Louis Meyer have put together an electronic-style score which not only suits the game well but also really shines during intense moments. At one point, Mick is scaling a building, trying to figure out how to get onto the roof using what he has in his pockets while soldiers wait for him on ground level. This was one of the trickier segments to work out, and it didn’t help that I was bopping my head along to the irresistible soundtrack.

Following this is a really great voice acting performance from the whole cast. While the other characters aren’t really given the emotional moments to truly stand out, Adrian Vaughan as Mick does an absolutely fantastic job at not only bringing the character to life but also delivering a really engaging narration – one that would have you on the edge of your seat during an audiobook reading. Vaughan’s performance is so good that I genuinely don’t think The Drifter could have done without it as it makes Mick’s character so much more engaging and likeable, as well as bringing the more intense situations to life more as Mick panics, gets angry or struggles to make a quick decision. This is definitely one of my favorite performances of the year.

Overall, The Drifter is an excellent point-and-click thriller game that is a must-play for puzzle fans. The storyline is engaging, the point-and-click gameplay is pretty faultless, and it has one of the best voice performances of the year.

Jess reviewed The Drifter on PC with a provided review copy.