The Drifter

The Drifter is a great entry in a genre that doesn’t really see too many of them these days. What it lacks in obtuse puzzle difficulty it makes up for with a smart, pulpy narrative that kept me engaged the entire time, with characters endearing enough that many players will likely return for a second or third lap.

The Drifter deserves all of your attention. It certainly earns a space within the Australian pop culture zeitgeist. I hope we’re talking about it for years to come.

One of the most emotionally gripping and atmospherically rich games I’ve played in a long time. It’s got heart, horror, puzzles that actually made me feel smart without being frustrating, and a story that had me hooked from start to finish. Powerhoof has made something special here, and The Drifter absolutely deserves your attention.

Action doesn't usually integrate well to point-and-click titles, but The Drifter is an exception. It holds its own with both its calm sections and its hectic moments. It feels like an interactive audiobook that you don't want to put down. A captivating summer paperback.

Deserving of a place in the point and click hall of fame, The Drifter is a pulpy thriller with fantastic storytelling, excellent puzzles and truly stand-out voice acting. Undoubtedly one of the highlights of 2025, make sure this is on your radar if you're a fan of adventure games with unforgettable narratives.

The Drifter combines everything we love about point-and-click adventure games with modern storytelling, clever controls and the kind of style and character that few adventure games have had since the Lucas Arts classics. This is more than just life support for a genre that has long been said to be dead, it's a highlight for anyone who loves captivating stories.

Belying its leisurely point-and-click gameplay, The Drifter is an incredible action-packed thrill ride with a riveting storyline that unfolds hard and fast.

If The Drifter were a book, there’s no way I’d stop turning pages. If you like delightfully tropey characters, chunky pixel art, puzzles that aren’t too obtuse, and excellent voice acting, then I fully recommend giving it a go. It’s enjoyable, engaging, and accessible for those who love and those who are new to the point-and-click genre.

The Drifter has everything you want from a modern point-and-click adventure – a banging story, excellent characters that are unabashedly Australian, and expertly designed puzzles. It’s one of the best adventure games you’ll ever play and it feels like an evolution for the genre, and Powerhoof deserves all the acclaim about to come its way.

The Drifter is an amazing point-and-click adventure game that forces you to think fast in order to save the protagonist from a deadly fate. Aside from engaging puzzles, the game stands out thanks to its thrilling story, full of mystery and emotion.

After tons of time squinting at my monitor trying to solve whodunits and twisting my iPad around to see if my puzzle will cooperate, The Drifter has been the refreshing and innovative experience I’ve been looking for. You’ll find me hard-pressed to find any glaring flaws, as it excels in its characters, writing, puzzling, and everything else. It’s a thrill ride from start to finish that I’d recommend to anyone.

The Drifter stands out as a modern take on the point-and-click adventure genre, blending a gripping narrative with smart gameplay design. Its intuitive controls, immersive voice acting, and strong character development create a rich and engaging experience. While the pixel art could be more detailed and localization is limited, the game’s storytelling, atmosphere, and clever mechanics make it a must-play for fans of narrative-driven adventures.

The Drifter's lovely art, excellent voice acting, and great writing make it a treat to play. It even has exciting gameplay, even if it can't escape all the foibles of the genre.

The Drifter is a new standard in point and click adventures and deserves to be spoken about in the same breath as the very best the genre has to offer. The look, sound, and feel of the game are all superb and it tells a story that never stops being thrilling. All in all, it’s an essential purchase for anybody who has even a passing interest in the genre.

The Drifter is not only one of the best games of the year, so far, I’d consider it one of the best adventure games period. Not only does it buck the genre’s conventions through new, bold ideas, its story is a start-to-finish thriller that blends mystery, horror, and science-fiction while effortlessly dripping cool.

The Drifter is a practically essential graphic adventure for any fan of the genre who wants to enjoy a good story with a fast pace, intriguing mysteries, and good puzzles. An absorbing thriller that grabs you from the first minute and doesn't let go until you finish. And if that weren't enough, it comes with a truly luxurious audiovisual presentation that is a joy to behold. It's a shame the texts haven't been translated into Spanish, although if that's not a problem for you, don't hesitate to pick it up.

Be prepared should you decide to take the plunge into this fast-paced, conspiracy-ridden epic. If it can win over even me, it’s surely doing something right. It has the odd issue and stumbling moment, but on the whole, this is one of the better indie games you’ll likely play this year. Me, enjoy a pixel-art point-and-click game? Madness.

A brutal, lightning-paced take on the point-and-click adventure, The Drifter stands confidently among the greats of Australian horror fiction. Building a uniquely unsettling atmosphere with its chilling prose and narration, it presents a compelling supernatural mystery that will satisfy any adventure game fan. With gorgeous pixel art, killer voice acting, a soundtrack full of bangers, and an engaging gameplay loop, The Drifter is a home-grown triumph.

The Drifter is a perfect example of a game that just clicks (pun totally intended, in case you're wondering). Powerhoof has managed to revive the once considered dead genre and added a tuft of Carpenter/King storytelling, a pinch of dark synth music, and a beefy chunk of stellar voice acting to make this point & click game go down like a smooth cuppa tea. If you're in the market for a nifty retro-like adventure with plenty of challenge and an ingenious take on trial and error, The Drifter is one game you won't regret sinking your time into.

The Drifter is much more than a classic style adventure game. It is one of the best psychological thrillers of recent years. Giving us a powerful and intense narrative that never lets go, accompanied by a visual and sound style polished to perfection. And a plot twist that will make you throw your hands to your head.

The Drifter is a pixel-art point-and-click adventure that marks a compelling return to the genre, with a modern and fast-paced narrative style. Created in Unity with the PowerQuest extension, developed by the same development team, it offers dark and detailed environments, dialogues managed through thematic icons, and a fast-paced narrative with no dead moments. The puzzles are logical, never distracting, often contained within single screens in an escape room style. Excellent voice acting and a cynical narrator complete an experience that demonstrates how adventures can still be meaningful, when crafted by skilled hands.

The Drifter is a great point-and-click adventure that keeps you engaged throughout, with smart puzzles and great characters.

The Drifter is another adventure of merit, a "must play" for every fan of the genre. Especially those who have a soft spot for thrillers and the atmosphere of old horror movies will probably love it a little more.

The Drifter is an excellent adventure game with a fantastic story, excellent sound, and lovely pixel art, though sadly it drags a bit here and there.

The Drifter is a loving ode to Sierra's golden age of adventure games. With its B-movie-style writing, pulpy 80s action aesthetic, excellent voice acting, and clever puzzles, it’s a throwback worth playing. Despite some limitations that reveal the small team’s resources, it will delight fans of classic adventures and 80s action movies alike.

Adventures can be so cool: The Drifter is an exciting pulp thriller with a great atmosphere.

John Carpenter and Ron Gilbert can be proud of Dave Lloyd. The Drifter is a successful combination of retro point'n'click and 1980s sci-fi horror - and how paradoxically fresh and modern it all is.

Parts of The Drifter don’t fully come together in the end, but the journey to get there is one of the best I’ve experienced in a point-and-click game in years, and its setup for playing on a controller should become the new baseline for the genre. Add in excellent voice acting and killer atmosphere, and this is a game that anyone who enjoys the genre should absolutely check out.

The Drifter exudes respect and passion for its inspirations, from pulp magazines to the point-and-click genre itself, while simultaneously establishing its own identity by combining these elements with unparalleled success. With an engaging, precisely paced narrative and a well-crafted noir atmosphere, the game proves to be not only an intriguing experience, but also an accessible and fluid one. Knowing how to work with its influences, it understands the value of conciseness, both in progression and design, and, like its drifting protagonist, it never allows itself to stagnate, leading the player through a memorable mystery of death, paranoia, and acceptance.

Will this old-school odyssey become the new Monkey Island class leader in the click-along segment? Not at all! But a damn pixelated grindhouse movie to play along to has been born – with a hero like a whip crack.

If concepts like Stephen King, John Carpenter, and low-budget 80s horror films hold a special place in your life, you’ll absolutely love The Drifter.

By juxtaposing a hero who retreats in denials against an antagonist who'll go to any lengths to change the past, The Drifter offers a poignant take on trauma, and the ways it keeps gnawing at the soul the longer we refuse to process it. [Issue#414, p.123]

The Drifter is a messy first attempt at the point-and-click genre from Powerhoof. The story can be frustrating at times, which can extend to the puzzles that leave you confused when returning after a long break. However, the story comes together beautifully, making the mess seem intentional and worth your time.

The Drifter is brimming with potential. It’s clear that a lot of love and care went into making this game. It’s especially evident in the voice performances and beautiful 2D environments, but it’s ultimately held back by weird design decisions and some unintuitive puzzles.

The Drifter is a gorgeous and moody point 'n' click adventure with impeccable art, but its pulp leanings undermine its best qualities.

Clever bits of streamlining aside, then, The Drifter still falls victim to the adventure genre’s usual hang-ups. There are still a few moments where you’ll be at a complete loss for what to do, hoping to blunder into some inscrutable use for an item by selecting anything and everything in the environment. These moments of stalled progress are particularly noticeable whenever Mick is in peril; The Drifter may turn his heat-of-the-moment failures into a central plot point, but they bog down the pacing just the same whenever you don’t know how to proceed...What stumbles there are, though, do little to loosen The Drifter’s sturdy grasp of the genre. With a steady stream of plot twists and storytelling intrigue, the game is a propulsive and polished example of the form, every bit the satisfying pulp adventure it sets out to be.

An inspired new point ‘n’ click adventure that proves impressively daring with its dark storytelling and retro style presentation.

Despite my irritations with flat writing and stereotypes in The Drifter, I was deeply impressed by its puzzle design, look, and deliciously eerie atmosphere. That’s why I’m disappointed I can’t recommend it whole-heartedly, because there’s a lot in here that’s truly special. But for a group of designers who claim to be heavily influenced by Stephen King, The Drifter is surprisingly superficial when it comes to the core traits of its ensemble cast. King doesn’t always manage to avoid stereotypes himself, but his best works are celebrated for including fully-realized characters who don’t fall neatly into expected roles. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on what the creators of The Drifter do next; I imagine that, much like Stephen King, they’ll continue to grow and make even more creative games in the future. But until then, I’ll be wishing that The Drifter had gotten just one more draft.