Ironwood Studios returns with a first look at the gameplay of Pacific Drive

It’s good to be back in the Zone! I’m Blake from Ironwood Studios, and I’m here to show you a little more of what’s happening out in the wilderness of Pacific Drive.

Life inside the wall is extremely dangerous, you’ll have to rely on a trusty station wagon when you venture out from the old auto shop. Be sure to fill up on gas before you head out on each trip into the Zone: letting your tank run dry out there is a good way to meet a bad end. Explore twisted landscapes and long-abandoned facilities as you scrap and scrounge for resources to keep your car running long enough to make a safe return. Make it back in one piece and use your haul of collected materials to repair and upgrade your wagon before you head back out for more.

As shown in our newest trailer, you’ll encounter all sorts of strange Anomalies, most of which aren’t too friendly. There are warped towers that arc out heavy bolts of electricity at anything that accidentally wanders too close, and underground hunks of metal ripping across the ground, shredding both earth and your tires. When collecting supplies you’ll want to stay close to your car, one of those menacing flying junk piles could sneak away with it without you noticing. You’ll need to closely observe and understand these Anomalies to figure out what you need to build to survive the next encounter. Kit out your car with gear to resist their attempts at ending your runs, and upgrade car panels from bare sheet metal all the way up to specialized armor plates that protect against the worst of the Zone’s elements.

When it comes to modifying your car, it’s not just about the fortifications. Add new racks to your car and strap them down with extra gear for the road: fuel tanks, wind-power generators, and automatic parking brakes. You’ll want every little edge you can get when you’re out in the Zone. Everyone needs extra space to store their junk on the roof rack, but you can also mount a controllable spotlight, a lightning rod to keep your battery charged when it gets a little extra stormy, or classified gadgets based on the experimental tech you find out on your runs.

As you chart the Zone, each expedition brings you deeper and deeper behind the walls. Your journeys will take you across challenging terrain, each area home to its own suite of nightmarish Anomalies. With these new risks come new rewards: certain resources can only be found in dangerous places. Just make sure your car is equipped for the task: if you’re heading into the muck of the marshes, you’ll want to change to some wheels that can handle mud and water. If you’ve got to cross an eternally-dark valley, some roof-mounted lights to illuminate the way forward are going to be pretty important. And if you’re like me, maybe you find yourself getting caught by lightning a few times too often – a high-tech engine upgrade solves that ‘can’t get out of here fast enough’ problem pretty quick.

Speaking of terrible weather and strange cataclysmic events in the Zone, we need to talk about the Zone Storms. These sweeping maelstroms rip apart the map, re-shaping the wilderness, and doing massive damage to anything (or anyone) caught out in them. Radiation is a common concern while trundling through the forest but once a full-force Zone Storm hits, it’s better to try and outrun it completely than to be blasting through the trees, hoping your car holds up as you watch your dashboard melt to pieces around you. Keep that gas pedal floored and the car pointed at the Gateway—each successful return is one step closer to escaping the Zone.

Scavenge resources, explore abandoned facilities, upgrade your garage and your ride — then go deeper into the wilderness to solve the mysteries and urban legends of the Zone. The utopian hope of strange new technologies might be gone, but their remnants still linger.

Pacific Drive is coming to PlayStation 5 in 2023.