A point-and-click adventure with strong horror themes and a gorgeous pixel-art aesthetic, The Drifter is something of a lovechild between Twin Peaks and Wolf Creek. Developed by Melbourne-based studio Powerhoof (the team behind asymmetric multiplayer dungeon-crawler Crawl), this title is described as a “pulp adventure thriller” and has had the Checkpoint Gaming team shivering with anticipation since we first encountered it at PAX all the way back in 2019. A fascinating, action-packed take on the adventure genre, I’m delighted to say that The Drifter has been well worth the wait.

The Drifter’s protagonist, Mick, is a nomad, eternally on the move without a fixed address, making the most out of anything he can scrounge on the road. The story begins as he’s hitching a ride on a boxcar back to his hometown for his mother’s funeral. A whole history and family that he hasn’t seen in years awaits; however, during the journey, he witnesses a violent shooting and is pursued by aggressive soldiers, before being drowned in a reservoir. After dying, a supernatural force sends him back in time to reawaken moments before his death, sparking an intense series of discoveries that take him all over the city into a winding web of conspiracy.

The game features full voice-acting, with a standout performance from Adrian Vaughan as Mick. His earthy speech narrates the action with beautiful, visceral prose that occasionally dips playfully into poetry, and he provides texture and warmth to the emotional highs and lows of Mick’s journey. Each of the performances is excellent, nailing an Australiana aesthetic that wouldn’t feel out of place in a David Williamson play. The characters themselves are written incredibly well and dripping with dry wit, from the bitter, chain-smoking receptionist to the utterly terrifying Butcher.

Point, click, try not to die

The core gameplay loop is typical for a point-and-click adventure, tasking you with exploring each location for clues and using items at the right time to solve puzzles. Mick keeps track of the game’s various mysteries in a dedicated summary menu, allowing you to ask characters about each topic. You’re also able to combine inventory items to Macgyver your way out of sticky situations. The puzzles are well-balanced, avoiding the “try every item in every location” pitfalls often encountered in the genre and generally making you feel clever without getting frustrated. During my playthrough, the only times I truly struggled to figure out a solution were when I couldn’t think straight from adrenaline.

Cleverly, these sequences aren’t time-based. The scene only progresses once you take an action, giving you time to breathe and sort through possible solutions. You’d think that knowing you’ve got time to make a decision would remove some of the dramatic tension, but the combination of grisly horror and blood-pumping soundtrack keeps you on the edge of your seat. It’s executed beautifully, and all without breaking from the flow of point-and-click gameplay.

Home-grown horror

Right away, The Drifter comes across as at once utterly gorgeous and quintessentially Australian. It’s presented in the pixellated style of classic adventure titles like the King’s Quest series, but with a ton of modern polish in its lighting and detailed artwork. The direction of each scene is framed with incredible precision, taking advantage of the 2D environments to highlight interesting features and frame the action in beautiful and often haunting ways. This is to say nothing of an absolutely phenomenal soundtrack from Mitchell Pasmans and Louis Meyer. It begins with a synth-core main theme that would feel right at home in Twin Peaks or Stranger Things, setting the game’s tone beautifully and allowing the pulse-pounding beats in action sequences to ramp up the tension. Combined with its high-quality voice acting, The Drifter’s production alone is impressive even before stepping into any gameplay.

You can feel the influences from classic horror fiction throughout The Drifter’s various vicious scenes, often with a strong Australian flavour. While encounters with stalking monsters hearken back to the Alien franchise and there are many nods to Stephen King, it’s the brutality of Mick’s many deaths that feel right at home alongside films like Wolf Creek or Saw. The game does not hold back: Mick gets stabbed, shot, suffocated, brutalised, electrocuted, drowned, you name it. There’s even an utterly gut-wrenching torture sequence that makes you question how little pixelated characters can make your skin crawl. It’s strangely non-gratuitous, however, always leaning into Mick’s death-defying ability and reinforcing the urgency of his situation. Occasional hallucinations also make you question the reality of every moment, playing with your expectations and keeping you on your toes.

With each chapter of the story, Mick discovers more about the game’s many mysteries, piecing together an overarching conspiracy that encompasses kidnappings, murders, and the epidemic of violence across the city. There’s a solid drip feed of information throughout the game, but the final act does sacrifice a little depth in order to move the plot along. The focus narrows to the game’s core conspiracy at the expense of waving away some of the secondary characters’ motivations, which did feel a little jarring compared to the rest of the game’s detailed throughlines. However, this is a minor blip at the end of a complex web of secrets and lies that does eventually end up coming together in a satisfying conclusion.

At its core, The Drifter is a story about the different kinds of grief that you encounter over the course of a life. Different intensities, different contexts, each taking a different amount of time and work to process. While playing through the game for this review, my uncle passed away. You could describe him as a gentle giant: he was quiet, incredibly kind, and always ready with a cheeky grin. His funeral was absolutely packed with friends and family, that bittersweet mixture of a sad event where you’re grateful to be able to catch up with people you don’t see often enough. It’s the nature of a funeral – you’re all grieving in different ways, but together.

There’s always something a bit special about seeing your culture portrayed in media, but having it featured in a horror setting in particular allows for exploring complex themes with any pretensions stripped away. The Drifter’s urban Australia is gritty, rough, ugly and truthful, struggling with its dark past and working desperately to improve the future. It’s at once confronting and hopeful, reflected in Mick’s struggle with his own layers of grief throughout the story.

Between its stunning presentation, heart-pumping horror, and compelling action-packed take on the traditional point-and-click adventure, The Drifter is a phenomenal ride from start to finish. Not to be missed.