If you aren’t playing the first-person driving survival game Pacific Drive yet, what are you doing? And if you are playing Pacific Drive, then chances are you’re encountering problems. Lots and lots of problems – which almost all concern your car.
And I don’t need to tell anyone just how annoying car troubles can be, whether in-game or not.
However, as in life, every problem has a solution, which is where this handy dandy guide comes in. We’ve been problem-solving our way through hours of Pacific Drive so that you can have the supernatural road trip of your dreams, not nightmares.
So with that, if you’ve got three or more tyres, hopefully, a working headlight and a trunk full of junk, you’re ready to get started with NAG’s guide to making your way through Pacific Drive… alive.
And whatever you do, remember always to put your car in park before you leave because you know what’s a problem you don’t want on your plate? Having to sprint down a hill, anomalies closing in, trying to catch up with your car racing to an inevitable demise.
Cars Are Made For Driving, And Legs Are Made For Kicking
Don’t forget you can kick. It is a tip that will seem redundant if you just started playing the game, but trust me, it’s so easily forgotten that you’ll be kicking yourself a couple of hours in… or not.
In the tutorial, you’ll kick a tree branch away, but after that, you’ll only use your legs to walk or run. However, kicking is one of the best moves you have.
If your car is stuck somewhere, try kicking it. Is there an anomaly clinging to your car harder than your ex to your relationship? Kick it. The anomolie, not your ex.
But seriously, kicking is super handy, and it’s a great idea to keep it in mind while playing the game.
Listen To your Mom And Vacuum, Always
If there is one downfall to Pacific Drive, it’s the struggle to keep track of where all your things are. Especially while you’re busy crafting, chances are you’ll put a door here, a sealant here and some much-needed junk there.
But then, when you need that door, you won’t be able to find it again, even though you only put it down a second ago, which is where the vacuum comes in.
Activating the auto-vac in your garage will make sure that any stuff you had left lying around will be sucked up into one convenient local for you to collect it from. The same applies to the little handheld vacuums you can craft.
Instead of wasting valuable time picking up a hundred little things while out on a drive, the vacuum can suck it all up for you making sure nothing gets left behind.
Electrician’s Kit Isn’t Just For Electricians
Throughout playing Pacific Drive, you’ll find yourself armed with various types of kits, from repair kits for repairing things to Mechanics kits for repairing mechanical things to sealing kits for sealing things.
But the most versatile of all the kits you’ll encounter in the game is undoubtedly the electrician kit. While you might think that its only use would be fixing up things like your card’s electrics, it can also open doors.
While many of the doors you’ll encounter will need a prybar to open, some doors are sealed with an electronic keypad. If you’re like me and spent many hours trying in vain to find a way to open these doors, all you need to do is use your electrician’s kit and bam – close the door no more. You’re welcome.
Don’t Believe The Lie; Prybar’s Are For Prying – Not Smashing
If playing games or watching movies has taught us anything over the years, it’s that a good crowbar is often the only tool you need – regardless of the job.
However, in Pacific Drive, you have a Prybar, and it’s for prying and prying only. While the game will still let you smash things with the bar, it will also significantly damage the prybar at itself and believe it or not, they aren’t that easy to come by, considering how easily breakable they are.
So, pro tip: if you have a door or a trunk that needs opening, the prybar is the tool for the job. If you want something scrapped, use the aptly named scrapper instead.
You Shouldn’t Have Trash Friends, But You Should Be Friends With The Dumpster
Pacific Drive isn’t a game filled with many friendly faces. In fact, it isn’t filled with any faces at all. However, that’s not to say there aren’t friends, and the dumpster outside of your garage is a hard friend to beat.
This dumper will not only be an excellent source of junk like scrap metal, plastic, rubber, and even the occasional vomit of plasma, but where it shines is in the presents that it will spit up for you after a journey.
Basically, the dumpster can know what your car needs when it needs it most. Visiting the dumpster after returning from a trip will likely see a headlight or a door spat out for you – saving you the cost and effort of crafting one yourself.
Scan, Scan, And Then Scan Some More
While instinct will probably tell you to run or drive away from danger without looking back – that might not be the best way to play Pacific Drive.
Instead, you’re going to want to pretend that the nightmare fuel known as anomalies are, in fact, bears, and you’re going to want to stare them down. Just so long as you’re using your scanner while staring.
Scanning anomalies will identify them, add them to your logbook, and help you figure out how to protect yourself and your car from them.
And if that wasn’t enough to make you stop running, then this might; certain anomalies need to be scanned for you to unlock certain types of crafting blueprints, and there is nothing worse than having to backtrack your way across the woods at night, hoping and praying for a very specific nightmare to pop up because you didn’t scan it back when you had the chance.
Almost No Anomalies Are Good, But Not All Anomalies Are Bad
While there is no denying that almost all the anomalies you will encounter are bad news, some of them are surprisingly pleasant.
If you’re driving around with your car worse for wear and see a kind of green glow coming from the woods, you’ll want to fight your all-natural instinct and go towards the light. Trust me on this one.
Eight times out of ten, the green light will be a special anomaly called a Beating Heart. This anomaly poses itself as a plant, and if you pull your car up close, it will start to heal some of the damage your vehicle has taken.
Or it will be another kind of anomaly, and you’ll die. It’s a risk you’ll have to take.
The Roads Aren’t A Lie, But Everything Else Is
Now, I’m not going to lie and pretend I’m not terrible at directing myself at even the best times. Still, when it comes to Pacific Drive, I’m just hopeless.
But if you want to make the best of your trip through the game, you will want to be better than me. A lot better.
Now, Pacific Drive is a mixed procedurally generated game, meaning that your roads will always remain the same, regardless of how many times you drive them. However, everything else, from landmarks to buildings and exits, will change with every drive.
I’m not sure how knowing the roads in an ever-changing world will help you – but I am sure that not knowing them will not.
Always Make Sure You’ve Packed The Necessities – And Some Sick Tunes
Pacific Drive is a game about making fast decisions that can spell the difference between a successful road trip and one ending in your death.
To help tip the scales in your favour, you need to channel your inner Boy Scout and ensure you’re always prepared for everything and more.
To that end, ensuring you have a full gas tank, some extra in case, a spare tyre or two in your trunk and even a few additional headlights is always a good idea.
After all, you don’t want to find yourself having to get out of a tough spot and realize you’re two tyers down with no replacements in sight.
Make Sure You Have Everything You Need, But Also Travel Light
While many survival games focus on inventory management, it’s never been more essential to pack effectively than in Pacific Drive.
While you always need to ensure you have everything you need, and some extras, before your journey, you also need to make sure you have enough free space so that you can be the very best pack rat you can be.
There is a delicate balance between being well enough equipped to survive your trips to the unknown and returning to your garage at the end of it with as much loot as possible.
This is a task that will never be easy. Still, you can make it a little less daunting by remembering you can always rotate the items in your inventory to make them fit more effectively and build lockers. Build all the lockers.
If you find this Pacific Drive guide helpful, you can find some essential tips and tricks before you climb behind the wheel here. Also, remember to check back soon for our full review.
