Not a g’day to come home
Ah, the point-and-click adventure. Maybe the one gaming subgenre named after a repetitive control input! An accurate one, as when stuck, usually you’ll end up poking at every pixel of geometry hoping for a new interaction to crack open a devious roadblock. A genre that was dormant until the recent indie revival that has led to several fantastic new titles. However, it has taken until The Drifter to tackle an incredible new angle: what if Australia?
Of course that’s an intentionally silly question, but it’s hard to overstate what wonderful personality a new setting brings to the table. Thrust into the role of Mick Carter, the eponymous drifter riding back to town as a train stowaway, the narrative immediately grabs you by the throat. An act of sudden and brutal violence and a manic escape, kidnappings, murders and a paranormal inability to die- all the makings of a cult classic TV show are heaped upon you. All the while, the beautiful pixel visuals evoke John Carpenter’s beautiful compositions from his 80’s classics, a real Prince of Darkness vibe that intoxicates and repulses. Superb and authentic vocal performances sell this two-dimensional world as well as some rad synth tunes.
Down Under-tale
Playing on the Switch 2 and it feels like a perfect fit for the genre. The detachable mouse controller gives you the ability to comfortably play by even using your upper leg as a mouse mat; it’s pretty shocking how good it feels to play this way. Otherwise, the standard controller support is terrific too, a radial wheel around Mick pointing to interactive elements. No annoying aforementioned clicking everywhere; there’s a clarity to the proceedings that makes for a wonderfully smooth experience. Some puzzles have some brilliantly exciting scenarios to add tension to the proceedings, such as escaping a train carriage under fire by villains or hastily crafting a molotov cocktail to defend against a lone gunman.
That’s not to say you won’t get stuck, but there’s definitely a more straightforward logic to these puzzles that avoids just trying to randomly combine every item in your inventory. The game never gets in its own way, where even some of the greatest in the genre have notoriously horrible parts. The Drifter is beautifully curbed towards player enjoyment without being a brainless experience. On top of an already brilliantly compelling story, this could be the beginning of a true cult classic.
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