This gets a VERY enthusiastic thumbs up.
The primary gameplay loop is very engaging. You'd think having to spin so many little fiddly plates would be overwhelming, but the UX/UI design is stellar, with controls being intuitive enough to memorize easily, yet just imprecise enough to be screwed up if you're panicking.
This is Pacific Drive's greatest strength: it is very psychologically effective. It pairs a naturally eerie scenario with cryptid-creep and uncanny-valley weirdness to great effect, teaching you to be a little freaked out and even getting you to panic, but never actually trying to terrify you. I'm not a fan of horror games and was able to get through this one with no issues.
The story leans heavily on gamifying its sole player-relevant plot point: you are a delivery driver who has been bonded with a supernatural station wagon. These scientists explain you are destined (doomed?) to become obsessed with it. However, the game doesn't force you through story elements or cutscenes to become obsessed in any way; it's just a coincidence that all of the upgrading and maintenance you do could easily be explained by this alleged obsession. And hey, customizing your car with the wide array of optional paints, decals, and doodads, well... it's not a terrible way to pass the time waiting for sunrise (since there's a day/night cycle mechanic that can't be fast-forwarded). So, it works.
Sadly, it's the only part of the story that involves the player. Beyond the clever trick of getting you to roleplay your alleged affliction organically, the player's avatar is trapped somewhere between "errand boy" and "fifth wheel". The last chapter & ending in particular come across like old friends having earnest tearful goodbyes in the back seat of an Uber before all but one of them going their separate ways, with the remaining passenger now expecting you to be his best friend (without even bothering to learn your name). I feel like something similar to Star Trucker's CB radio would have fit into what this game was doing, and gone a long way to alleviate this one pain point. Plus it'd be nice to know what the heck the avatar was doing out there in the first place, before getting sucked into the Zone.
Also on a minor note, you can beat the game just fine without unlocking a lot of the tech tree. There's end-game tools & resources I never even had the means to collect or build, much less use. Ironically, my main challenge at the end was the same challenge from the very beginning: having enough gas to reach your destination. I laughed my ass off approaching the final area, having to stop frequently to siphon vroom-juice from every derelict car along the way.
At some point I'll get the DLC and continue my adventures in the zone, I'm sure of it. Just a thoroughly enjoyable experience, with few things to complain about and a lot that's gonna stick with me. The soundtrack in particular added at least a dozen new songs to my playlists. Amazing work and I can't wait to see more from Ironwood.
