While the genre has never returned to the heights of the Lucasarts and Sierra boom of the mid-90s, point and click adventure games have never gone away. Every now and again one will break through (such as Excavation of Hob’s Barrow or Kathy Rain) but a devoted community of developers and players continue to enjoy their gripping storylines and challenging puzzles. I often go back and check out recent releases and am always excited to find one that blends in my fondness of the dark and mysterious. The Drifter is a game that ticks all my boxes, ending up as a real standout entry in the genre.
Powerhoof, the devs behind The Drifter, have made the game through their own custom designed Unity point and click creation tool, called Powerquest, with the ending credits including an invocation for players to tell their own stories through this. This passion for the form really shines through in the game, which is a love letter both to gritty pulp science fiction and adventure classics. There is more here than tribute and nostalgia, though, as the quality of the writing, voice acting, and storytelling are all extremely high.
The opening to the game immediately strikes you with its gorgeous pixel graphics and animation, alongside the superb voice acting of the main character and narrator, Mick Carter by Adrian Vaughan. Other characters are all professionally voiced but it is Mick’s story to tell and the rough Aussie voiceover fits the style of the game to perfection. There is a grittiness to Vaughan’s acting here that elevates the story to a level of polish that is rare to see.
We first meet Mick stowing away aboard a freight train en route to the home he abandoned under mysterious circumstances. He is returning to attend his mother’s funeral, but it is clear that there are layers of regret and sorrow beneath his rough exterior. Immediately upon arriving at his destination, a fellow stowaway is murdered in front of him and the narrative of intrigue and terror begins.
The opening section (which is also in the demo if you want to get a taste of the game) sets out the broad outline of the story, introduces several characters and takes you through the familiar point and click controls. Everything is carried out through a highly intuitive graphical interface that is tailor made for either mouse or controller. I played the game through on desktop, but it is designed to work just as well on console or Steam Deck. With mouse you follow the familiar point and click whereas on controller you can scroll through interactive points which removes some of the frustration of pixel hunting or lesser accuracy of an analogue stick.
At the end of the first chapter, Mick has been drowned (with a clear nod to Guybrush Threepwood in both setting and a hidden achievement) and come back to life. The remainder of the game sees Mick try to find out how he has unlocked this new found ability, survive against sinister plots, and rescue those closest to him. The narrative zips along at a thrilling pace, with each chapter building and escalating to create an emotional crescendo that is surprisingly affecting. These chapters could be taken individually to give an episodic feel that would be well in keeping with the pulp thrillers that have influenced the game, but I felt compelled to binge the game in two sittings.
So, graphics, voice-acting, and narrative are all excellent, but what really matters with point and click adventures is the quality of the puzzles. The Drifter focuses on item-based puzzles, with dialogue furthering the story at times or revealing new areas to investigate. There are none of the overly complex dialogue trees that can prove frustrating as you repeat lines multiple times to try and find the one path that opens up new information. Instead, all conversations are clearly laid out with icons representing the subject, and these light up when they haven’t been discussed or when new information is available. This is one of the most intuitive dialogue systems I’ve seen and shows just how refined the Powerquest engine is.
Inventory manipulation is the main area for puzzles and you’ll pick up the traditional array of items, many of which would never fit in a real pocket. Puzzles either involve combining items to create new ones, or interacting with the environment with others. Stripped down to that basic description, this mechanic always sounds somewhat limited, but the skilful design of puzzles, alongside the ever-present threat of death (albeit with a swift return) constantly keep you on your toes. There are some memorable moments where you have to quickly react to threats to survive whilst some late game puzzles involving deliberately dying and resurrecting bring in a level of depth and time travel that reminds me of peak Day of the Tentacle (with a much darker aesthetic).
