Dead Static Drive

This is a recommendation with a few ifs. [h2]The rec[/h2] Something about Dead Static drive is just [i]cool[/i] to me. It has a [i]je ne sais quoi[/i] that popped in the trailers and still pops in the game proper. That's hard to accomplish and, yeah, a real YMMV thing. But it's also the product of a particular authorship and vision and I'm down to: (a) support that, (b) recommend that, (c) meet the game where it's at now to explore that. There's something here that really works and I'm curious about that journey. I'm also happy to drop money on that (in much the same way I'll happily spend $15 on a quirked-out zine because something about the artistic intent intrigued me). It's some combination of the art, the energy, the inexplicable optimism of jumping into a random car and just tearing down the highway despite the terrible monsters around you. The combination of eldritch horror [i]and[/i] the Americana freedom of a car and a sun-drenched road is appealing. It works. [h2]The ifs[/h2] A lot of stuff is real uneven. Other reviews have pointed out the UI weirdness – having to cycle through every possible screen resolution to set yours is a good, and emblematic, example. The game is obtuse in both the eldritch horror way and a "oh I don't know if that's necessarily intentional" way. At launch, the only way to figure out the buttons was to find the manual on the story page. The narrative hook is vague and thematic hook more so. Bits and pieces don't quite hang together. It's a scavenger game with an abundance mindset – there's stuff [i]everywhere[/i] and I don't know why I need any of it. Every fuel pump I've seen works and I can steal any car. My character is a librarian which, hell yeah, but I don't think it matters? (Up top, I said the game's optimism and eldritch/Americana combo is a plus. And it is. Buuuuut the game might be a bit too liberal in that sense of freedom to really work it, ya know? There's not a lot of tension, as is.) The horrors seem chill and the NPCs chiller. I walked into a pizza place and my companion said "Where did she come from?!" I didn't see anything so I assumed something skittered by outside. Three minutes later, I noticed a monster just crouching on the floor, hanging out by the door. You can shoot NPCs, revive them, and just go back to chatting. Like I said: uneven. But also: still [i]cool[/i]. Right now, this is a rough game with a vision that works for me and that I'm down to support. Not everyone approaches games like that and, sure, I get that. I can totally see why people would run into the above issues and hit "Do not recommend". I'd do the same for a lot of other games. But something about this one works enough for me to land on the side of "Recommend, if..." I like it when people make the thing they want to make and crush parts of it, even if other elements aren't there (yet). I wanna see where this goes.

game won't start half the time and when it does I can't get past the first level for it resetting back to the main menu. If you are interested in this game don't buy it for awhile. It can't even start or continue properly.

Unfortunately this is a no... It's very barebones and lacks structure. Looks like a lot of ideas but not well put together. The intro is just throwing you into a room and that's pretty much it. Like others, it took me around 10minutes to find out how to get out of the room. I then ran over three teenagers, picked them up and one ran after me through the entire map. There was literally nothing in the first map for me to really do much in. After exiting the map I drove around, seen the same familiar buildings then drove to the next area.. and the next area and the next area. It became night and there were some buggy enemies littered around the maps, some slugs walking around in one direction crawling into walls and really nothing else to do or see. The driving is fun and the frame rate is relatively high but there's not much really going on here. All the exciting stuff in the trailer I can't see panning out in the long term if your only goal is to drive around and pretty much go from A to B. Also, the sound is non-existent. Your car makes no noise except for the horn, there's no engine sound, no tyres screeching, I hear nothing except the horn and really loud footsteps when I'm walking around. It's a shame, the dev seems to be responding to people on the forums but this really needs a lot more work and to go back to the drawing board. Focus on a story, give reason to drive around, reason to use guns and reason to pick people up - or just drop the idea of picking people up entirely. I got nothing in the first hour which isn't a good feeling.

Unfortunately, even after the long development cycle, the state that this game released in leaves far more to be desired. My first 15 minutes of this game were full of confusing prompts, overtly-snappy and loose controls, and audio issues (my car had no audio at all). The game also locked me into a loop after I picked up the Waitress and went to Gasmouth. Every time I attempted to reload my save it would reload the main menu. Just a huge disappointment, hoping one day this game gets finished.

Llevo siguiendo el desarrollo de este juego desde que se anunció porque parecía una mezcla de todo lo que me gusta. Incluso he pagado los 30€ que vale pese a tener gamepass por apoyar a los desarrolladores, ya que entiendo que siendo un equipo pequeño ha tenido que ser un desarrollo duro, pero tras media hora voy a pedir el reembolso, menuda decepción. En teoría todos los retrasos que ha sufrido el juego y los largos periodos donde los desarrolladores no decían nada era porque estaban trabajando porque el juego este a la altura de lo que esperan, pero me cuesta creerlo viendo el resultado final. -El juego no te explica absolutamente nada, ni controles, ni como orientarte, ni como reparar vehículos. Nada. -Los personajes se unen a ti pero una vez los llevas a su destino siguen contigo (?) son inútiles peleando y de hecho se ponen entre tu y tu pistola y el bicho al que estás disparando. -No hay absolutamente ningún incentivo por parar el coche más allá de repostar, -Todos los coches se sienten igual al conducir y todos tienen el mismo maletero. Da igual que lleves un Ford Mustang que una furgoneta de reparto que un sedán americano gigante. No hay ningún incentivo para cambiarlo. Lo lógico en estos juegos donde conducir es parte importante es que te haga pensar "me llevo la furgoneta para poder cargar más cosas a cambio de ir más lento, o me interesa el deportivo para llegar antes a mi destino?". Aquí da exactamente igual porque todos son iguales y además no necesitas ninguno de esos materiales u objetos. -Los personajes no reaccionan a las criaturas de pesadilla que salen por la noche. -Dichas criaturas nunca suponen un peligro a no ser que vayas a buscarlas, pero no hay ningún incentivo para ello ya que no necesitas lootear a no ser que busques pelea. -El sonido debe estar bugeado, porque ningún coche hace ruido más alla de los neumáticos rechinando de vez en cuando. La música va y viene también. -El sistema de diálogo no es nada intuitivo. -La interfaz es de las más cutres que he visto. -El sistema de inventario es tosco y difícil de maniobrar. Si tuviera fe en los desarrolladores aguantaría el juego un poco a la espera de actualizaciones, pero viendo para lo que les han servido 10 años prefiero recuperar mis 30€. Le ire dando una oportunidad de vez en cuando en Gamepass, ojalá se acaben redimiendo como otros tantos juegos, pero tiene mala pinta.

Ok, I am not sure what to rate this game at present. THIS IS EARLY ACCESS because if it isn't, they're in trouble. There is no tutorials, NO KEY BINDING (this game seriously needs it), conversation start up without you noticing and you only catch the last thing they said, so unknown if important. Ground items are fickle to pick up at the best of times and not noticeable. 20 minutes of kicking the crap out of the room you are stuck in with no idea what you're suppose to do was my first experience. I'll save you the trouble, the key is on the floor... at least the room is trashed. The kids? outside near the car said something to you to go rob a store for / with them for some reason. Those two characters shown their clothes only. No bodies. So thinking that's a bug and not actual ghost people. So went with the coat and boots that didn't animate. These are just some problems I encountered BUT all can be fixed. Once fixed I think this could be an absolute gem of a game. Devs Please stick with it and keep updates coming regularly and I'll be with you all the way. Keybindings so you have an idea of what controls are in the game is a must. I found camera rotation is 1 and 3 key for keyboard. Needs a target lock and next target and crouch toggle too. I'm going to recommend it with a caution, that this is early access and if you can't stand the wait for patches, wait a little longer but this has potential and could be a great game.

Clunky controls, multitude of bugs. Game throws you into the world, tells you to go find your parents and doesn't give you any other direction, controls, or instructions on what to do and where to find things. My car broke down from about 3 hits of light objects being hit into it. Character choices are very weird and seem to make no sense stats wise. The game also got flagged as potential Malware when I first tried to launch it. Such a huge shame about this as I was really looking forward to it. Seems to me that the devs just decided to get something out the door and to finish it later. Needs at least 2 more years in the oven.

I'm having a good time with the game- it's more or less exactly what I wanted. The music and aesthetics are great, there's a lot of fun little details. I like the characters and the story progression. It's not perfect, but it's great so far. I'm baffled at the negative reviews on here right now and gotta say- I'm having a blast. A couple people have complained about the lack of a story- but there is a story. It isn't just flavor text, it's there- there's a story. I dunno what to tell these people. Maybe it's too thin for their liking? But it unfolds like an old sci-fi/horror movie in my opinion. At the start of any of those films, you have just enough info to get you underway. So far, this feels like The Fog, or Road Games. Some people complained about the basic dialog, but the reviewer misread the whole tone of the scene he calls out for basic dialog. I found the whole exchange funny and sarcastic. Ditto for a lot of the car dialog with followers. Some of it was surprisingly heartfelt and well written. I'm not saying the game's winning any literary awards right now, Disco Elysium this is not- but it's not devoid of solid banter and narrative thrust. Sure the game has issues- I'd kill for a "take all" button, or to be able to take items back from people I've given them too, but beyond little technical hiccups like that which will inevitably be smoothed out in patches and whatnot, I'm pleased as punch. This is a fun little sandbox to play in and the vibes are immaculate. There's already an emergent sense of humor which I'm really fond of, and while it may seem low stakes for a hot minute- when the tension spikes, and your choices start to pile up, it gets very wild!

Game feels like it is in beta, the follower system doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Filling up your gas tank happens instantly (no dramatic tension) and the monsters just show up without being explained.

I was really looking forward to this game, as the art style is super cool. Unfortunately, it's in super rough shape and should have been released as early access at a lower price. - Very clunky controls - Buggy. Choosing dialogue options often goes out of whack or your friends suddenly die and need to be revived. - No real guide on what is going on and why there are already monsters around you. - No waypoint arrow within the mini map to guide you, so you just have to hope you are going the right way. - Lacking any real story or reason for anything you're doing, even after you get somewhere. This seemed super rushed to get released and needs waaaay more time being developed. Whoever gave this the OK to be released made a huge mistake. Best save your money on this one and wait to see if it improves.