TL;DR
The Drifter is a gritty, retro-inspired point-and-click adventure that plunges players into the nightmarish life of Mick Carter, a drifter framed for murder and haunted by his past. Drawing heavy inspiration from icons like Stephen King and John Carpenter, the game blends a surreal narrative with clever mechanics where death itself serves as a tool for solving puzzles. While the title boasts impressive technical performance on the Switch 2 and superb voice acting, it occasionally stumbles with jarring black screens and abstract puzzles. Despite these minor flaws, its unique controller-focused gameplay and gripping six-hour journey make it a standout title for fans of psychological thrillers. If you are ready to navigate a world where reality and madness collide, dive into our full review to discover why this haunting indie gem is a must-play.
In The Drifter we play as Mick Carter. He is unemployed, homeless, and drifting in search of work. Now he has returned to his hometown to attend his mother’s funeral. Even on the train, strange and terrifying things begin to happen around him. Soon he is wanted for a murder he didn’t commit, he sees his long-dead son, and just about everyone seems to be after him. Mick finds himself in a life-threatening situation where reality, fantasy, and dreams merge as he falls deeper into madness.
Tone, influences, and presentation
The Drifter bears clear traces of Stephen King, Michael Crichton and John Carpenter. It is evident how strongly their works have influenced the developers. The story throws us straight into the action without much background information. I had neither seen a trailer nor heard of the game before, so I wasn’t prepared for how bloody and graphic it actually is.
The graphics and layout have a wonderfully retro style. It’s pixelated in the right way and is reminiscent of the late ’80s and early ’90s, with games like Police Quest II and the later King’s Quest titles.
Point-and-click and personal memories
Point-and-click was one of the first adventure genres I played, but back then they were text-based and required typing in every command. “Look pigeon hole” is a phrase I still remember nearly 40 years later from Police Quest on the Atari 1040ST. It taught me English, and I still remember the rush when I solved a puzzle and progressed.
Gameplay mechanics and control scheme
The Drifter uses a variation of point-and-click that I haven’t encountered before, clearly adapted for controllers. You move the character with the left thumbstick, and with the right thumbstick, you open a circle showing everything in the room you can interact with. Depending on the object, you get icons for touching, talking, or looking.
With the bumper buttons, you select items in your inventory. You don’t have to sweep across the image with a mouse cursor, and you also lack the classic “cheat button” that reveals all interaction points. Furthermore, you must stand close to an object to notice it, even if it’s visible on screen.
Story, sound, and voice acting
Besides clever gameplay mechanics, the game’s story is both different and really cool. The music is superb and all characters have recorded voices. Mick is played by Adrian Vaughan, who according to my research has only done voices for games.
A neat detail is that death in the game is part of the story. Mick remembers what happened last time, which sometimes opens up how you should solve the next puzzle.
Platforms and versions
The Drifter was released about a year ago on PC, but is now coming to Switch and Switch 2 as the first consoles. It is also set to be ported to Xbox and Playstation later, but without confirmed dates.
There is no price difference between Switch 1 and Switch 2, and if you plan to buy a Switch 2 later on, you can download the Switch 2 version at no extra cost.
Technical differences
Based on the information I’ve found, The Drifter can run at 120 FPS and native 4K in docked mode on Switch 2. On Switch 1, it’s 1080p and 30 FPS.
On the Switch 2’s built-in screen, the frame rate drops to 60 FPS and the resolution to the screen’s maximum of 1080p. I have no specific info about the Switch 1’s handheld mode.
Playability and length
There are no issues seeing details or reading text on the built-in screen, so the game works just as well docked as it does in handheld mode. The playtime is around six hours if you don’t get stuck, which is a suitable length for this type of adventure. The story keeps you interested all the way.
The lack of cutscenes
There’s really only one thing that bugs me significantly: the lack of animated cutscenes. In several places where a sequence should be shown, like at the beginning when you escape from a freight train and roll down a slope, we instead get a black screen while Mick narrates what’s happening.
At first, I thought it was a narrative device, but it continues throughout the game. As soon as something is supposed to happen without our control, the screen goes black, sometimes for quite a while. It eventually becomes frustrating, especially since some animated sequences do actually exist, for example when you die. It gives the impression that the developers didn’t have the time, ability, or budget to animate everything, rather than it being a conscious stylistic choice.
The rating is high, but it’s not a must-have. The recurring black screens drag down the overall impression too much. Additionally, some puzzles are unnecessarily far-fetched and require specific items even though you logically should be able to solve them with what you already have.
But on the whole, The Drifter is one of the best point-and-click adventures I’ve played, partly thanks to the clever game mechanics, but primarily because the story is so different and entertaining.
Powerhoof sent a review code for this test. Senders of material have no editorial influence on our reviews.
