Dead Static Drive

In Dead Static Drive, top-down driving meets survival horror in a way that’s never quite been done before. The indie effort from developer Fanclub is a post-apocalyptic venture that focuses on looting, resource-gathering, meter-management, and of course driving, as players and their humble group of survivors do whatever it takes to make it out alive.

Scares in America

Riding through rural americana, players in Dead Static Drive will travel their way through the game’s various levels and areas gathering loot, finding fellow survivors and battling supernatural enemies. While the game initially has a zombie feel, it quickly develops into much more of a Lovecraftian theme of mythical creatures and elder gods.

Self described as moody and artistic, Dead Static Drive evokes the same rural meets supernatural spookiness that can be found in Twin Peaks and Alan Wake. The setting does wonders for the overall experience, and the deliberate choice to contrast the game’s unsettling enemies with the quaint, sleepy towns of rural America is definitely welcome.

Out On the Open Road

The game offers a unique game mechanic with its driving. While lots of survival games have incorporated driving mechanics in the past, Dead Static Drive creates a much more intimate relationship with your vehicle, which is one that is much more suited to its old school, top down point of view.

The control scheme for driving in Dead Static Drive is incredibly reminiscent of classic video games like Micro Machines, and the game adopts a tankie control that adds weight, but also a lot of finesse to driving your monster-killing roadster.

Players also need to watch the condition of their vehicle, and will find themselves swapping from regular cars, vans and even police vehicles to keep themselves moving. Fuel is also an important factor, and there are various ways to acquire it such as stopping off at gas stations or utilizing vehicles you find on the road.

Pack Light

There are many overlapping layers to the game with inventory, collecting, environmental interaction. As the game is what is essentially a road trip, luggage and travelling are very big parts to the game. The player can carry many different combinations of luggage in their hands and on their back, but you can very quickly use valuable slots for weapons and other items that are useful in sticky situations. This is where resource management comes into play, and Dead Static Drive constantly asks the player to question what they need to bring with them on their cross country trip.

The world is also an important part to Dead Static Drive, as illustrated by its grounded approach to NPCs. In the game, every car you can interact with is actually owned by an NPC in the game. It’s up to you to decide how you want to gain access to their vehicle, but with every car-owner also being equipped with a set of keys, players can quickly imagine how to get their hands on whatever vehicle they want.

PROS

• Eye-catching art style
• Unique setting, mechanics and top-down view
• Rich and detailed world with lots of different game mechanics

CONS

• Lots of resource management
• Gameplay focuses a lot on balancing health meters