It’s good to be back in the Zone! I’m Blake from Ironwood Studios, and I’m here to show you a little more of what’s going on in the Pacific Drive wilderness.
Life inside the wall is extremely dangerous, you’ll have to rely on a trusty station wagon as you venture out of the old auto shop. Be sure to fill up with gas before you leave on every trip to the Zone: letting your tank run out is a good way to meet a bad end. Explore twisted landscapes and long-abandoned facilities while scavenging for resources to keep your car running long enough to make a safe return. Bring it back in one piece and use your transport of collected materials to repair and upgrade your wagon before heading out for more.
As our new trailer shows, you’ll encounter all sorts of weird anomalies, most of which aren’t too friendly. There are warped towers that emit heavy bolts of electricity at anything that accidentally wanders too close, and subterranean chunks of metal ripping through the ground, shredding both the dirt and your tires. When collecting supplies you’ll want to stay close to your car, one of those menacing flying junk piles might sneak up on it without you realizing it. You’ll need to closely observe and understand these Anomalies to determine what you need to build to survive the next encounter. Equip your car with gear to resist their attempts to end your runs and upgrade car panels from bare sheet metal to specialized armor plates that protect against the worst elements in the area.
When it comes to modifying your car, it’s not just about fortifications. Add new racks to your car and attach them with extra gear for the road: fuel tanks, wind turbines and automatic parking brakes. You’ll want every little perk you can get while in the Zone. Everyone needs extra space to store their trash on the roof rack, but you can also mount a controllable searchlight, a lightning rod to keep your battery charged when there’s a bit more thunderstorm, or gadgets classified based on the experimental technology you discover. your shopping.
As you map the area, each expedition takes you further and further behind the walls. Your journeys will take you through difficult terrain, with each area harboring its own suite of nightmarish Anomalies. With these new risks come new rewards: some resources can only be found in dangerous locations. Just make sure your car is equipped for the task: if you’re headed for swamp mud, you’ll want to change to wheels that can handle mud and water. If you have to cross an eternally dark valley, some roof-mounted lights to illuminate the way ahead will be very important. And if you’re anything like me, you might find yourself struck by lightning too often – a high-tech engine upgrade pretty quickly solves the “can’t get out of here fast enough” problem.
Speaking of terrible weather and strange cataclysmic events in the zone, we have to talk about zone storms. These vast maelstroms tear apart the map, reshaping the wilderness, and causing massive damage to anything (or anyone) on it. Radiation is a common concern when driving through the forest, but once a full-strength area storm hits, it’s best to try to outrun it completely rather than blast through the trees, hoping your car will hold out. the shot as you watch your dashboard melt to pieces. You. Keep that accelerator pedal on the floor and the car pointed towards the catwalk – each successful return is one step closer to exiting the zone.
Scavenge resources, explore abandoned facilities, upgrade your garage and vehicle, then delve deeper into the wilderness to solve the mysteries and urban legends of the Zone. The utopian hope of strange new technologies may be gone, but their remnants still linger.
Pacific Drive is coming to PlayStation 5 in 2023.
