My personal game of the year, but as a big fan of Crabs, I may be a bit biased

It's just so coddamn charming. The vibrancy of the world, the ocean related puns, the way it doesn't take itself too seriously until it needs to; thinking about this game and the little moments therein just brings me so much joy. There is so much creativity on display here. Yeah it's a 'souls-like' but the difficulty doesn't get in the way of the vibes at any point. And if it ever did, there are robust accessibility options available.

Aggro Crab created a truly enriching game here. The mechanics are tight, enjoyable, and fresh in implementation. The level design is charming, but also very engaging. The story is goofy, but keeps building into something compelling the deeper you go. And the soundtrack doesn't get enough love. There are so many bops that set the vibe without being too distracting. They really nailed the audio design as a whole.

If you think you want this game, do yourself a favor and buy it. It is such a memorable experience. Even if you don't love it as much as I did, I still believe you'll be glad you played it if nothing else.

I hope Aggro Crab does more with this world. It's a shell of a ride

Pacific Drive sees you making your way through the Olympic Exclusion Zone, taking in the sights from your station wagon and stopping by abandoned houses and vehicles to go on foot and gather resources. All is calm.
Until it isn't. Suddenly, alarms blare and over the horizon comes a massive radiation storm. You race back your car, fumble with your equipment to open a portal to safety, and take off as fast as you can toward a pillar of bright light in the distance. To your left, a massive mountain of acidic slime launches acrid spittle at your car. To your right, small tumbleweeds imbued with dangerous levels of electricity gallop alongside you, matching your vehicle's pace, at times throwing themselves toward and latching onto your roof. Not ideal, but you're still on track to make it out. Then, the sound of something falling. You see the shadow on the ground in front of you grow rapidly larger. As a humongous chunk of stone and radiation crashes directly in your path, you pull the wheel hard to avoid colliding, spinning yourself out in the process. Now you're turned around and the storm is gaining fast. Thinking quickly, you slam into reverse and hit the hand brake as you turn the wheel, sliding back into place facing the beam of light that will bring you out of here.
You're nearly there now, maybe 200 feet before the exit, but the storm is beginning to overtake you, corroding the paint off of the hatch to your trunk. Pushing the gas down as far as it will go, you press a little button on the dashboard as a surge of nitrous sends you careening into the light column. Orange and pink light envelops first your car, and soon you as well.
With deafening static and a blinding flash, you open your eyes to find yourself back at Oppy's Garage. A voice on the radio congratulates you on a job well done, and you get to work repairing your vehicular companion. With the steel you gathered on your excursion, you are able to fashion brackets to fasten an extra battery to the side of your car. Looking great!
After fueling up you head to the map and chart course into the blistering woods to find more steel. The route is different this time as you are careful to avoid the instability cause by your close call with the storm on the last expedition. If all goes well you can finally build that fancy new insulated door to better disperse the electric shock from the overloading powerlines along the road. A quick power nap, and you're ready to hit the road again. Hopefully things go a little smoother this time.
You start the car and pull out onto the road that leads you toward whatever new wonders the Zone has in store for you this time. You turn on the radio and let the entrancing melodies of Smokey Brights carry you into the unknown.
Just one more drive...