The Drifter Review: I Hope This Brolly Comes in Handy Eventually

I’ve played a lot of point-and-clicks over the last few years and many of them are so different from each other. Many manage to impress while others tend to be more frustrating than anything. The Drifter from Developer Powerhoof managed to make a fantastic first impression when I played the demo last month so I was really looking forward to jumping into it again. 

The Drifter is a point-and-click thriller. You play as a drifter named Mick Carter who, after witnessing a murder, is suddenly pursued by soldiers and thrown into a reservoir to drown. Mick is sure that he’s dead, but just moments before he feels his life fade from him, he wakes again in the exact same spot. He manages to escape his confines only to discover that he’s being framed for murder.

If you’ve played point-and-click’s before then you’ll be familiar with the main mechanics of the game. Mick, at first, is just trying to make it home for his mother’s funeral so he’ll need to do simple things like fix a car to charge his phone. As you progress, you’ll have to be clever and think faster in order to avoid death and, in turn, spawn again so that you can try something different. You may need to combine two items together, exhaust dialogue options with character or even die on purpose in order to use a bit of trial-and-error to solve the situations ahead of you. 

For the most part I found that The Drifter’s puzzles were straight forward apart from a few that frustrated me so much, particularly in chapter four, where I considered quitting altogether. Some chapters are shorter than others and are heavily linear, making it pretty obvious where you’re meant to go. But, later on, more locations to visit will open up and there will be a lot to explore, more characters to meet and more mysteries to uncover. There were additional moments here and there when I was stuck where I had to hear the same voice line from Mick over and over again as I tried to figure out which item I needed to use to progress. I swore if I had to hear Mick say, “Brolly’s no good there” one more time I was going to start throwing things.

Where the game shines and what made me want to keep going was the story. On the surface, the story might feel like a classic mystery, but the more you uncover, you’ll realize that things are much more nefarious and strange than you thought. And the fantastic script, brought to life by the game’s cast, brolly quote and all, really brings it all together. Not to mention the game’s many intriguing locations. And despite the game’s serious story, there are some funny moments sprinkled in to help lighten the mood. 

Apart from one or two chapters, The Drifter’s pacing moves along quickly. Just when you think you have a moment to breathe, you’ll encounter a puzzle where you have to make very fast choices in order to survive. You’ll have a little bit of help along the way from some friends and unexpected allies, but this is very much Mick’s story and he is desperate to clear his name and get back to his quiet life on the road. 

The Drifter starts off strong and continues to impress the more you play. The amount of plot twists hidden in the story are fun and exciting and will make you want to quickly make progress so you can find out what’s coming next. Its characters are relatable, funny, interesting and very well-acted and that makes the occasional struggle with a puzzle, well-worth it. If you’re looking for a point-and-click that will remind you of the good old days, without any frustrating pixel hunting, I hope you’ll pick this one up. I’m truly glad that I did. 

Breakdown

Game: The Drifter

Developer: Powerhoof, Dave Lloyd

Publisher: Powerhoof

Availability: PC

Reviewed on PC via Steam Deck

Final Thoughts

The Drifter looks and feels like a classic point-and-click with the added brilliance of incredible voice acting and loads of twists and turns. Nothing feels overly convoluted, save for a handful of puzzles, so you won’t often feel like you're pawing around in the dark. Mick is an awesome protagonist and his story is one I won’t soon forget.