THE DRIFTER

For some reason, this particular adventure had escaped my radar. Although it ticked all the boxes of the "orthodox" point 'n' click adventure, Powerhoof's new release (who had given us the equally interesting dungeon crawler, Crawl) didn't sound as strong as other representatives of the genre. However, no harm is done - with its official release, "The Drifter" deserves to be heard and played by every fan of the genre, as it easily ranks among the (yet another...) quality releases of the year.

According to the development team, the Drifter is inspired by famous authors such as Stephen King and John Carpenter, a claim largely borne out. On the one hand, because of its "adult" content, which includes a lot of gore and harsh language, and on the other hand, because of its tense and dark atmosphere, which could be easily transferred to a good movie.

Though never fully clarified, the Drifter takes us somewhere in the mid-2000s. The protagonist is Mick Carter, a guy in his fifties who has yet to settle into a place or a job. He wanders from city to city (hence the title "Drifter" - an impressive discovery on my part), changing jobs like shirts (his, however, remains the same), yet without accomplishing anything substantial. However, the news brought to him by phone by his sister that their mother has left this futile world and is to be buried in their hometown, led him to the decision to return. At night, as a stowaway on a train.

His arrival was accompanied by a series of unexplained events. When Mick tried to wake his fellow passenger in the carriage to help him get down from it (the doors of the hardware carriages do not usually open easily), he attacked him, trying to kill him. In the panic, the door finally opened, only to have his attacker killed in a hail of gunfire. After painfully managing to get off the train unharmed, he ends up in a homeless camp.

Things get complicated there, as after the appearance of a unit of armed paramilitaries (?), he witnesses another murder. In fact, after this one, he finds himself in the unpleasant position of being considered the prime suspect, while the highlight of the paranoia is that at the same time he has memories of his own death!

The questions are too many: who are these guys who are armed to the teeth and killing homeless people? What are they attacking Mick for, since he's just a petty drifter? How can he be alive if he remembers being... killed? And, finally, are there really monsters with claws running around, or are they just stories of homeless people drinking?

Questions that are all answered by the end of the nearly eight-hour adventure, with the answers having a background of science fiction, philosophy, but also "regular" science. It's obvious that the authors of the game have read a lot of books in their lives, and this is reflected in the game. Indeed, when they decide to unravel the mystery, it could easily have sprung from a Stephen King novel.

So there are some nuggets of the supernatural, but I don't want to give any more details about the Drifter's story. Depending on your tolerance or love for such stories, you will enjoy the corresponding "excitement" of the game's plot. On a personal level, after completing the game, I really enjoyed the sharp writing and the way the story unfolds in the eyes of the player - especially in the first half. However, at some points towards the end of the adventure, I felt it slightly overdid it in terms of what we call "suspension of disbelief". But I don't mean to be unfair to the game - this is purely a personal opinion and you don't have to agree with it. After all, the Drifter exudes "strong" adventure vibes, and that's something that can't be ignored.

The game takes the traditional adventure game approach, with very simple controls (everything is done with the left click), inventory and item management (either with each other or with the environment) and of course dialogues with the various people we will meet. However, due to the structure of the story, there are several instances where we have to act quickly - otherwise Mick dies. Particularly in the first, and I would say most stressful, chapters of the game (out of the nine available), it's something that will happen many times, with the solution usually being to use an item or click on a certain hotspot. In the event that we fail and Mick gets...blown to bits, we return to the previous point with no serious consequences (other than an achievement being lost...), but in some cases, we may have to repeat certain moves over and over again until we make it out alive.

To avoid misunderstandings, these are not quick-time events or arcade controls that require quick reflexes, as the time frames provided are quite long. You simply have to perform an action or series of actions correctly, and admittedly, except for one, maybe two points, I wasn't troubled at all. However, this can happen with some of the game's puzzles, whose difficulty gradually increases - and, I would say, in an ideal way.

The structure of the plot could well be described as cinematic. In the early chapters, the Drifter is fairly linear, with a few visitable screens and measured items to collect, but more "action" (read: you will die!). In between, there's a more "open-world" chapter with combinatorial puzzles (nothing too overwhelming though), then the emphasis is put back on action, and before the thunderous finale, I can say that the Drifter gets pretty tough. This is due to the fact that there is no clear objective from the start (it is gradually revealed), and you'll need to repeatedly visit certain locations until there is light in the tunnel. Undeniably, the surprise of the high challenge is welcome, however much it may not have seemed to him initially that the game would "struggle" us with its puzzles. I'm all for it.

Moving on to the inevitable part of the graphics and sound review, Drifter presents pixel-art of very high standards, both in terms of animation and overall aesthetics. It's no coincidence that it uses the same graphics engine as Loco Motive , however Powerhoof's artists have done an excellent job on their own. And the dark colours give the right tone to the gloomy atmosphere, which are exquisitely combined with the crimson of the blood, which often makes its appearance.

But the atmosphere of Drifter wouldn't be the same without its creepy synth soundtrack and the amazing work done on the voice-over. The actor who plays Mick in particular, who also serves as the "narrator", is flawless, as is the entire cast of the game, which is by no means negligible in numbers.

In the end, the experience with the Drifter was another pleasant surprise. It is undoubtedly another adventure of merit, a "must play" for every fan of the genre. Especially those who have a soft spot for thrillers and the atmosphere of old horror movies will probably love it a little more.

Go to discussion...