I normally don't comment on games, but I have had my hand forced by this game.
tl;dr; buy this game, I have no affiliation to it, just buy it and your welcome.
The itch version of this game is absolutely horrible in the way that every game developer hopes their demo will be, in that it makes me want to know what happens next and makes me want to pay to do so.
The great parts of the demo:
it's engaging and well paced, with a gentle intro to the mechanics
the art work is brilliantly executed showing a beautifully rendered world in a pixel aesthetic
the voice acting is nicely synced to the actual animations and carries the personality of Mick well
the story line has a good pace with when information is revealed
the main character isn't 1 dimensional and has depth shown through effective environmental story telling, dialogue, his internal monologue and the narration.
the post edit scenes showing the gameplay set a nice tone of what is to come.
Super controversial part: All the voicing and the backdrop is Australian, and being an Aussie, and one who knows Sydney, makes me very happy.
With all those compliments, there were a number of small things that I felt could be done better but don't detract from the overall great quality and polish of the game. Even if these small quirks weren't changed I wouldn't hesitate to buy this game still, so ignore this if you want (but I do try to give constructive feedback where I think it isn't obvious):
No option to go back to the main menu was a bit frustrating
honestly I wouldn't have noticed had I not decided to do this comment and needed to restart the game a bunch to double check I'm remembering stuff right
Black screens instead of animations, there were several times when a black screen is used to transition to the scene after Mick has done a thing, this did feel like it broke the flow of the scene at times. An example without spoiling anything is when you remove the tarp at the beginning.
I recognise this is likely a limitation of dev resources, drawing up all the frames is costly in both the art and the time to add the animations and transitions, and I say this all to make it clear I understand the reasoning, I just think omitting it is disingenuous.
This may just be me, the help arrow at the beginning to denote where the inventory was, I mistook the arrow as the border of a hot-zone initially expecting the inventory to come from the corner.
Since it could just be me, the only fix I would thing is making the arrow point slightly wider.
The help arrows for when you use your first item I feel have 2 friction points:
The arrows move with the inventory drawer, which can impact readability a little.
They disappear when you click on an empty space, so it's possible to miss them through a mis-click (guess who did that). I think ideally for UX this could be rendered:
When you click on the item in your inventory when there isn't the chance to use it on anything.
When you click on the item in your inventory when there is a chance to use it on something, and keep the help text till you use it
I accept this is being a PITA and I only noticed since I have been replaying it a bit to write these comments, the backpack in the car, vs the one that's torn, the fact one is a duffel and one is a backpack is something I can no never unsee.
No need to change it, minor continuity error isn't the end of the world :)
The colour scheme used for the torn pack and the ground after the car makes it blend into the background, where I did't even notice it until I needed it, though when looking for it it wasn't hard to identify.
This comment is more along the thought the backpack could benefit a very small bit from being a fraction brighter to contrast better against the ground.
Being unable to recover dialogue already said can be a bit frustrating, it does help to not let the user go over the dialogue repeatedly expecting something different, but it would be nice if there was a way to "flashback" or get conversations repeated.
I do recognize that hovering over the option gives a summary from Micks point of view but having maybe a tab at the top of each option with a repeat icon to rerun the dialogue would be nice with a help text explaining it's purpose on first display
It would be nice if there was a way to make Mick run or walk faster within a scene
This is more for navigating a scene, rather then moving between scenes which I recognize has the double click feature
Going through the accessibility options to figure out what was available, I noticed the Lock Cursor defaulting to on, was annoying, especially when using on window mode.
Also it didn't feel like it's an accessibility feature.
Not 100% sure why having the end-periods is a thing
To those unsure what it does, it did exactly as I though, in the subtitles, when enabled, it makes it so that sentences where appropriate end in a full stop
The Options interface is probably the weakest part of this game, which is not bad. Things that probably could be done better:
Accessibility isn't really Accessibility, it's a "more" option which has accessibility features and more audio controls
Changing the language only changes the text, not the audio
This is again likely limited dev resources, and is understandable and forgivable by all measures, just something noted
Inability to map the hotspot highlight button is frustrating, as I can see this being a big accessibility pain point given you can't guarantee the device someone is using has either the H key OR a middle mouse button
Potentially when enabled request to set with a sensible default
End-Periods is such a weird option ... I don't hate it, and don't want it removed, but ... weird
Font scaling would be a useful accessibility feature that I'm surprised wasn't included in the HD dialogue font.
No confirmation when restoring to a save meaning you could accidentally restore to the wrong save
Not the end of the world, but could also be bad for those who click quicker then they thing and accidentally lose progress.
I haven't gotten to the full game, but I have high hopes and look forward to continuing the story and if it carries on the quality of the demo (which all the steam reviews suggest it has) I know I have a good time ahead.
You can use either mouse, or a gamepad. Gamepad has left stick to walk, and right stick is a radial menu around the character to look around (like you do with the mouse)
Amazing game. I usually don't play point-and-click games but the interactions were interesting and creative. The art is immersive and intense! I added it to my wishlist, I hope I can see more soon. I'm providing free Korean translation as a hobbyist translator, so let me know if I can be any help.
Played through the first chapter and almost cried when it was over lol. I was having a GOOD time playing this one. The mood is perfect, and the art style is just all sorts of nostalgic for me. I'm so excited to see more modern point and click games coming out! INSTANT wishlist for me.
I'm really excited for the full game to come out, mostly because I recognized the voice actor from Peridium, also I watch Markiplier so that's where I kind of have a nostalgic feeling I guess. Anyways can't wait for the game. Love it!
my kinda game! very excited to play when it releases; however Dev, i had issues with items auto selecting which made the last scene tricky for me. hope to see that resolved in the full game. can't wait to play!
Been keen for this since sxsw '23, from the art to the writing every part of this game is packed with atmosphere, truly a game you can sink your teeth into!
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Perfection!
That was incredible.
Hands down one of the best point and click games I have played in a long time. The mystery horror really sucks you in immediately!
Tried out the demo and just wondering if there's a Borderless Window option in full release?
Yeah the default "Fullscreen" option in there is Fullscreen Window (borderless).
A Game I would buy but not on Steam... make it available here on itch.io!
Yup. Some of us like to own games instead of renting them for an unknown period of time. :)
I normally don't comment on games, but I have had my hand forced by this game.
tl;dr; buy this game, I have no affiliation to it, just buy it and your welcome.
The itch version of this game is absolutely horrible in the way that every game developer hopes their demo will be, in that it makes me want to know what happens next and makes me want to pay to do so.
The great parts of the demo:
With all those compliments, there were a number of small things that I felt could be done better but don't detract from the overall great quality and polish of the game. Even if these small quirks weren't changed I wouldn't hesitate to buy this game still, so ignore this if you want (but I do try to give constructive feedback where I think it isn't obvious):
I haven't gotten to the full game, but I have high hopes and look forward to continuing the story and if it carries on the quality of the demo (which all the steam reviews suggest it has) I know I have a good time ahead.
Loving the art style! The story sounds thrilling.
Super cool all around!
This is incredible pixel art!
This game is a definite 10/10. Check out the demo for yourself. Here is our full review of the full game: https://geekgasm.org/2025/07/17/the-drifter-review-a-modern-classic-in-point-and...
Grats on release!
Full Demo NO Commentary
Bought with soundtrack as well!
Let's goooooo
ps. Any chance to get the OST in FLAC??
incrivel mano is fine
I have really enjoyed the demo! Great visuals, story, voice acting, music, gameplay. Looking forward to the game! Wishlisted!
What do you mean by "unique twin stick controls"?
Does that mean the game uses both WASD and mouse movement?
You can use either mouse, or a gamepad. Gamepad has left stick to walk, and right stick is a radial menu around the character to look around (like you do with the mouse)
Great game and story! Loved the voice acting!!
Great vibes, cool hook. Wishlisted. Good luck!
This is awesome! Cannot wait for the full release!
Amazing game. I usually don't play point-and-click games but the interactions were interesting and creative. The art is immersive and intense! I added it to my wishlist, I hope I can see more soon. I'm providing free Korean translation as a hobbyist translator, so let me know if I can be any help.
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this is so cool
keep on man
Really good game.Wishlisted it on steam and cant wait for full release.
it was such a good game, games like these are so hard to commentate over bcs nothing ill say is more interesting than the game
I haven't played this but it looks dope. I love games that don't follow some of the industry slop that most devs sadly feel like they have to follow.
Amazing, just saw the trailer and it's straight to the wishlist
Very cool game. Love the visuals, dialogues and plot.
This was so fantastic and I cannot wait for the full release! Really one of the best demos I have seen in a long time! Amazing job!
Played through the first chapter and almost cried when it was over lol. I was having a GOOD time playing this one. The mood is perfect, and the art style is just all sorts of nostalgic for me. I'm so excited to see more modern point and click games coming out! INSTANT wishlist for me.
Love this so much. Both the trailer and demo were top-notch. Definitely getting this when it comes out.
Animation & PixelArt are top-notch !
I'm really excited for the full game to come out, mostly because I recognized the voice actor from Peridium, also I watch Markiplier so that's where I kind of have a nostalgic feeling I guess. Anyways can't wait for the game. Love it!
Amazing pixel art!
Nice demo! Interesting story.
So excited for release Powerhoof. Keep up the great work
Been keen for this since sxsw '23, from the art to the writing every part of this game is packed with atmosphere, truly a game you can sink your teeth into!