Even though Xbox Game Pass has been facing a wave of understandable controversy with its latest pricing changes, that hasn’t stopped Xbox from continuing to add fantastic games to its roster. While it’s only a small step towards easing players who are still feeling burned by the price changes, members who stay subscribed are already in for an excellent and seasonally themed treat for October.
While there are already a lot of Game Pass titles competing for your attention this month, with both Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Wilds 2, this recently added indie game is one you don’t want to ignore. Even though PlayStation Plus subscribers got the perfect horror game to play this Halloween with Alan Wake 2, Game Pass isn’t too far behind with the addition of Ironwood Studios’ sleeper hit Pacific Drive.
Pacific Drive Is Finally Available On Game Pass
Released all the way back on February 21 of last year, Pacific Drive has finally made its way to Xbox Game Pass as of October 23, letting even more players enjoy its hauntingly post-apocalyptic take on the survival horror genre. Playing as a delivery driver who was unwillingly sucked into the depths of a supernatural exclusion zone, you’ll need to manage an equally mysterious car to escape.
Given that Xbox Game Pass hasn’t added any horror or even spookier titles leading up to the end of October, Pacific Drive has arrived just in time to take advantage of the Halloween season. Even if you’re already experienced everything Pacific Drive’s story has to offer, it has also just released a major expansion with a whole new area and story to uncover.
Rather than directly fighting any of the Olympic Exclusive Zones enemies for yourself, Pacific Drive will have you traversing its increasingly distorted environments filled with supernatural obstacles and environmental hazards similar to those found in the world of SCP.
With your trusty station wagon being your only hope of survival, you’ll need to scavenge for supplies and manage any supernatural quirks that pop up on your journey to upgrade its vehicle with defenses, storage capacity, and abilities needed to get through its more challenging areas.
Pacific Drive Is An Incredibly Underrated Experience
While it can often feel safest behind the relatively protected wheel of Pacific Drive’s supernatural Station Wagon, that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of tension-filled moments to leave you on the edge of your seat. Whether it’s being caught out in a Zone Storm or getting ambushed by abnormalities while on foot for supplies, Pacific Drive’s exclusion zone can be just as harrowing as it is fun to explore.
Even if it isn’t a traditional horror game by any means, I’ve been more frightened from desperately trying to escape with my vehicle and loot intact while playing Pacific Drive than I have in most horror games out there, especially when exploring a new area of the Exclusion Zone for the first time.
Going from a simple survival car management game into a full-blown paranormal mystery with its fair share of story twists and gameplay surprises, Pacific Drive had a very positive reception upon release, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t without any flaws.
Despite the fantastic premise, Pacific Drive still faces criticism over a somewhat repetitive roguelite gameplay loop and occasionally frustrating control scheme, which may not appeal to every player out there.
Even with these concerns, Pacific Drive still offers a fantastically unique atmosphere that more than delivers on its initial premise, blending its S.T.A.L.K.E.R. inspired world with plenty of its own unique mechanics to provide more than just a few cheap thrills.
Whispers In The Woods Takes Full Advantage Of Pacific Drive’s Haunting Setting
Thankfully, even if you’ve already beaten Pacific Drive or just want to experience the most terrifying aspects of the game right off the bat, Ironwood Studios’ Whisper in the Woods DLC is the perfect addition to the game. Even though Wshiper in the Woods isn’t included in the free version of Pacific Drive currently available on Game Pass, the DLC adds 8–12 hours of horror-themed content.
Honing in on all the haunting moments of the original Pacific Drive, Whispers in the Woods is a fully dedicated horror experience with brand-new disturbing environments, abnormalities, upgrades, and a mysterious storyline to uncover.
Pacific Drive: Whispers in the Woods can be played with either a new or an existing save, which can be accessed only a few hours after its introduction.
Having already received very positive reviews after its release, Pacific Drive’s new expansion has been praised for adding a refreshing way to experience the previous gameplay loop with tons of even deadlier abnormalities that break the rules you learned in the base game. Thankfully, you’ll also be able to unlock a plethora of powerful vehicle upgrades to help survive these environmental terrors.
Whispers in the Woods also adds a new gameplay mechanic to the mix in the form of Artifacts, which distorts you and the world around you at an even faster rate depending on how many you have at once.
Underrated Survival Horror Game Now On Xbox Game Pass
