The Drifter Review – He Died. He Clicked. He Conquered.

Point and click is a divisive game genre. The obtuse, often illogical puzzles, the seemingly endless stream of dialogue options—it's just not for everyone. And yet, for its many flaws, I still love these games. Maybe it's the humor and charm that so many of these titles offer, or maybe I get some sort of sick satisfaction out of pixel hunting and stumbling into answers.

Now, in fairness, the genre has improved on many of its faults over the years. The ability to highlight items, better hint systems—the list of quality-of-life improvements goes on and also leads me to the topic of today's video: The Drifter—a game that feels like a celebration of everything great about point and click adventures. It features the irreverent humor of past releases such as Tim Schafer's legendary Grim Fandango, yet offers a serious tone at times rooted in Aussie grindhouse that works to tremendous effect. I can't wait to tell you all about it.

In The Drifter, you play as Mick Carter, the titular drifter, who is heading back home to attend his mother's funeral. Hitching a ride on a boxcar, Mick suddenly finds himself on the wrong end of gunfire as the train is ambushed by mysterious masked soldiers. Mick is able to narrowly escape, but what happens after his near-death experience makes him question life in general. Our anti-hero finds himself tangled in a web of conspiracies, neuroscience, and mysterious happenings that I certainly won't spoil here. Let’s just say that death might not be as final as we were led to believe.

The Drifter's narrative impresses on all fronts, brought to life by one of the most talented casts of voice actors I've come across in a video game in recent memory. Mick’s gruff Aussie accent is perfect, but the supporting ensemble does the game’s many fascinating characters just as much justice. The Drifter's multitude of dialogue is fully narrated, including Mick’s inner thoughts, which makes the game feel more like an audiobook than your typical pixel art adventure. The writing is gritty and dark, but offers levity at times in the form of smart quips and black comedic notes. While verging on the absurd, the story heads in many different directions, keeping the player on their toes at all times and providing that extra push you need to press forward. The narrative is broken up into chapters—nine of them in total—further making The Drifter feel more like a novel.

Yet, as a game, The Drifter feels like it has a much quicker pace than your standard point and click adventure. This is due in part to answers that are almost always within your grasp, though still require some degree of thought. The game does an excellent job of doing away with much of the wandering and meandering that the genre is notorious for, allowing the story to shine through and flow more freely. For example, the game’s action sequences require the player to think on their feet; however, there is no fail state. Rather, you learn from each mistake, and some of your mistakes actually progress the story. Some of the detective work will have you running back and forth a bit, but the solutions are surprisingly logical, and a handy memo pad serves as an excellent reminder of your current tasks at hand.

Another interesting feature of The Drifter that sets it apart from many of the point-and-click games I've enjoyed in the past is that it is surprisingly functional on a controller. Using a dual-stick mechanic, you can use your right stick to find interactive points in the environment and then use your right trigger to select the desired action. It sounds clunky, but it’s actually quite effective. To my shock, I ended up preferring using my controller over my keyboard and mouse, but both are perfectly playable.

You are able to take full control over Mick, guiding him through his environment either by using your left stick, clicking around the screen with your mouse, or by the classic WASD movement controls. Interactive people and objects are easy enough to identify, especially on controllers, and items are added to a straightforward inventory system, where you can also combine items Resident Evil herb-style. Doing so will allow you to solve puzzles, which are not the most complex I’ve encountered but are certainly satisfying to unravel. In fact, if you are going to knock The Drifter for anything, it may be for a lack of overall challenge. Alas, sacrifices must be made when you have such a fast-paced and gripping story to tell.

If you’re a fan of pixel art, you’re going to be very pleased with the visual offerings on display here. The Drifter successfully captures the dark tone of the storytelling in picture form, while maintaining a classic charm that is reminiscent of earlier games from this genre. As the developers cite on their Steam page, there is a dash of John Carpenter, Stephen King, and a sizable portion of 70s grindhouse present in this game—visually and narratively. In fact, these influences carry over to the sound as well. There is a mix of eerie synthwave and environmental oddities that wouldn’t feel out of place in a classic slasher flick. All of this is to say that the visual and audio presentation are top-notch and perfect for scene-setting.

Performance was good as well, though I did encounter one bug where I was unable to move or perform any actions. A simple reload fixed this, and I did not run into any further issues moving forward. The game performed well on Steam Deck during my brief test for functionality, and seemed to perform at a pretty steady 60FPS. Do note: I did not play the majority of the game handheld, but it certainly seems like a fine option, as it is not a particularly demanding title.

If you enjoy point-and-click titles but would prefer them without the frustrating pain points that slow down the pace of gameplay, The Drifter is an excellent option. The dark story may put some folks off, but I found it riveting and endlessly entertaining. The visual and audio presentation is second to none in the genre, even if you will do some backtracking and hear some of the same lines over again. Ultimately, point-and-click games don’t get any better than this, and it should be experienced by anyone who has even the slightest curiosity as to what the genre offers.

GOLD - ESSENTIAL