ADR1FT
- March 27, 2016
- Three One Zero
- 3h median play time
ADR1FT makes you an astronaut and then, tries to kill you. Survive, find out what happened, and figure a way back to Earth.
Adr1ft is a single-player, science fiction adventure game with a deep and emotional story. The game is highly atmospheric, featuring stunning graphics and a great soundtrack. As a lone astronaut fighting to survive in the wreckage of a destroyed space station, you'll explore and gather resources, all while trying to solve the mystery of what caused the catastrophic event. Critics have praised Adr1ft for bringing the childhood dream of being an astronaut to life, with its breathtaking and mesmerizing depiction of open space.
Reviews
- Visually stunning graphics that create an immersive experience of being in space.
- Unique concept of managing oxygen while navigating a damaged space station adds tension to the gameplay.
- Atmospheric sound design and music enhance the overall experience.
- Repetitive gameplay with similar objectives that can become tedious over time.
- Controls can be clunky and unintuitive, leading to frustration and potential motion sickness.
- Lack of a compelling narrative and character development makes it hard to connect with the story.
- story495 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The story of the game is generally perceived as thin and fragmented, primarily conveyed through audio logs and collectibles that players must piece together, which can lead to a lack of engagement with the narrative. While some players appreciate the atmospheric setting and the initial premise of surviving a catastrophic event in space, many criticize the repetitive mission structure and the underdeveloped character arcs, resulting in a narrative that feels more like a tech demo than a compelling story-driven experience. Overall, the game offers a visually stunning environment but falls short in delivering a cohesive and engaging storyline.
“Actually, the story will reveal a tragic turn on top of the already disastrous start.”
“The story is very intriguing and the game itself is very intense when the entire time you are doing all these tasks to get yourself home, you start to wonder and even get to the point of doubt if you'd ever make it back, listening to your fellow humans and command below doing everything in their power to help, only to realize you're up there and they're not.”
“An intriguing story, striking orbital vistas, and clever puzzle design that makes traversing the disintegrating ship a tough but fair challenge.”
“The game is just a simulator to immerse yourself without any real story.”
“The plot is rather non-existent, and I never really felt compelled to uncover the backstory behind the catastrophe that struck the station, since all the information that is fed to the player is not engaging in any way, and so are the characters.”
“There are no puzzles, no problem solving and no thinking involved, no events, no conflicts, the game just drags you from a point to another to press a simple button while finding and playing some audio recordings that tell a bit of the story and systems of the space station re-activate and animate as you repair them, that's it.”
- graphics371 mentions
- 68 % positive mentions
- 28 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The graphics in "adr1ft" are widely praised for their stunning visuals and immersive atmosphere, particularly in VR, showcasing the capabilities of the Unreal Engine 4. Many players describe the graphics as breathtaking and a highlight of the game, although some note that the visuals can become repetitive and are not enough to compensate for the game's lackluster gameplay and frustrating controls. Overall, while the graphics are a strong point, they are often overshadowed by issues with gameplay mechanics and navigation.
“You really do feel like you're an astronaut, and the visuals are just stunning.”
“The daunting vastness of the open environment coupled with the crisp graphical power of the Unreal 4 engine makes the game a pure pleasure to explore and observe.”
“The visuals are stunning in VR, and there's no feeling quite like simply being lost in space.”
“No graphics options.”
“But sadly even though the graphics are stunning, the gameplay gets boring after 30 minutes and just makes you want to run out of oxygen just to wake yourself up from sleeping through this short boring game.”
“For someone that is experiencing framerate issues, the lack of graphics options to tweak is maddening.”
- gameplay355 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 74 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Adr1ft is characterized by its repetitive mechanics, primarily involving navigating a damaged space station while managing oxygen supplies. Players often find the controls unintuitive and frustrating, leading to a sense of monotony as they complete similar tasks without much variation or challenge. While the game boasts stunning visuals and an immersive atmosphere, many reviewers feel that the gameplay lacks depth and can become tedious over time.
“Gameplay-wise, you'll be trying to navigate set routes in your spacesuit, which is (purposefully) difficult to control, exploring portions of the broken station to collect items for backstory or suit improvement, avoiding dead ends and hazards, and ultimately trying to save yourself.”
“What makes the gameplay unique is that you have 6 degrees of movement in zero gravity.”
“Despite its simple gameplay, Adr1ft is well worth the experience and I highly recommend it if it sounds like your kind of game.”
“The controls and mechanics are not as intuitive as one might hope, adding frustration to the mix as you struggle to navigate through the wreckage.”
“The gameplay consists of going to point A where you are told something is broken and you need to go to points B, C, D to repair the broken thing by simply pressing a button in each of those places, getting to each place takes 5 minutes or more of just slowly and painfully floating around while sometimes looking for oxygen canisters to refill your space suit in order to survive and waiting for doors to slowly open.”
“Pressing a button is not gameplay and having the player going from point to point to do the same button pressing for hours is not compelling nor fun and it's borderline insulting the player's intelligence.”
- atmosphere95 mentions
- 69 % positive mentions
- 27 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in "Adrift" is widely praised for its stunning visuals, immersive sound design, and the effective portrayal of isolation in space, creating a captivating experience for players who appreciate atmospheric storytelling. However, some reviewers noted that the intended sense of immersion can sometimes lead to feelings of boredom, particularly due to repetitive gameplay mechanics. Overall, while the atmosphere is a standout feature, it may not compensate for the game's other shortcomings.
“Adrift is a slow-paced, atmospheric space sim where you play as astronaut Alex Oshima, stranded in space after a mysterious disaster leaves your space station destroyed.”
“The atmosphere really does it for me, and this truly is an atmosphere-based game from the core.”
“Amazing atmosphere, with stunning graphics!”
“The isolation, intended to enhance the atmosphere, often translates into a sense of boredom rather than immersion.”
“The atmosphere is there and the graphics look very pretty, but the audio is absolute torture with a woman constantly breathing heavily into your ears and gasping for air.”
“Vr enhances the atmosphere in meaningful ways, but it can't solve the repetitive gameplay problems.”
- music94 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it repetitive and at times overwhelming, detracting from the overall immersive experience. While some appreciate the atmospheric qualities and fitting choices for certain moments, others criticize the inconsistency and inability to disable the music, leading to frustration. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as a missed opportunity, especially given the game's impressive visuals.
“The visuals and music are definitely the most enjoyable thing about this, which is good.”
“Sound is awesome, with very atmospheric music that really draws you in.”
“Absolutely beautiful graphics, atmosphere and music with great voice acting.”
“Equally boring and repetitive music for long stretches of the game.”
“However, the overall lack of story and annoying music in this game makes me come to the conclusion that I would not recommend playing this.”
“Horrible music in many parts of the game that actually takes away from the immersive experience (you will want to turn this down or mute it completely).”
- grinding37 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for its slow pace and tedious mechanics, making the experience feel more like a frustrating chore than an engaging adventure. Players report that the controls are unintuitive and the repetitive nature of the objectives leads to a lack of excitement, with many feeling that the game becomes excessively tedious after a short period. While some appreciate the concept, the overall execution leaves much to be desired, resulting in a disappointing experience for many.
“The game’s slow pace and lack of engaging objectives can make the experience feel more like a tedious float through space rather than an exciting survival adventure.”
“Super frustrating to control (fine motion) and quite tedious; nice graphics and VR support aren't enough to make up for that.”
“I really liked the concept of this game, and I really tried to give it a fair shake but it suffers from too many tedious and frustrating game elements.”
- optimization24 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game's optimization receives mixed reviews; while many players praise its smooth performance and impressive visuals, others report significant issues, particularly in VR, where they experience glitches and stuttering. Overall, the optimization is considered fair, with some users highlighting it as a strong point, while others note that it falls short in VR movement.
“Good looking game, that seems well optimized and runs smoothly.”
“Wonderful graphics, a truly scary and believable atmosphere, great optimization and a well executed (unique) idea.”
“Adrift is really well optimized, the visuals and animations are looking really good, you get the 'alone in space' feeling in the game, so far I don't know what to expect story-wise of the game, as I haven't spoiled too much of it for myself, so it's just diving in, but it's high quality so far that's for sure.”
“I tried to play this game in VR, but it was a glitchy, stuttering mess that crashed repeatedly.”
“Once the full game starts, the stuttering turns into freezing and happens continually.”
“- poor VR movement optimization”
- replayability20 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
Overall, the game has been criticized for its lack of replayability, with many users noting that it offers little incentive to replay the story after the initial experience. While some players appreciate the atmospheric elements that draw them back, the consensus is that the game becomes boring quickly and lacks significant replay value, making it less appealing at full price for those seeking long-term engagement.
“It doesn't have a whole lot of replayability, but for some reason I always find myself coming back to this game simply for the dang near perfect atmosphere of space.”
“It's very fun but only somewhat replayable.”
“I'm not sure about replayability, but I could see how this could be a lot of fun with VR.”
“But as-is, it has zero replayability.”
“There's not much replayability, as the game gets boring fast with no point in replaying the story.”
“It's a charming little game with impressive visuals, a depressing story, and not much replay value.”
- emotional20 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional impact of the game is noted to be minimal, with attempts at deeper narrative failing to connect players to the characters or their struggles, resulting in a lack of emotional engagement. While the visuals are praised, technical issues such as motion controls and nausea detract from the overall experience, leaving players feeling disconnected and frustrated rather than moved.
“This lends additional emotional impact, but only enough overarching narrative to lend some emotional weight beyond 'oh fuck I'm gonna die in space'.”
“The final cut scene dives into this and attempts to be emotional, but with no clear connection to my character or the dead ones about the station, it falls flat.”
“Whatever and the person is nearly non-emotional in the scene in the beginning where the girl was receiving signals from mission control; she was just ignoring it, so how should they know she's in trouble?”
- stability16 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing significant bugs and glitches that hinder gameplay, particularly with waypoint navigation and HUD issues. However, others have noted that the game runs smoothly and visually impressively, with controls feeling responsive despite occasional choppy movement. Overall, while some players enjoy a stable experience, many report frustrating stability problems that detract from the overall enjoyment.
“Looks great, runs great, really flows well.”
“Game looks great, runs great.”
“Game looks great, runs great.”
“I barely managed to get past the homescreen with the bugs and glitches only to realize there are no VR controls.”
“I had to restart the game three times before I got through it due to waypoint glitches.”
“My last gripe with this game is the buggy game progression logic.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is derived from the absurdity of the player's interactions with the environment, particularly the comically fragile EVA suit that gets damaged by unseen obstacles. Players find it amusing that despite the game's visually appealing design, the VR experience leads to humorous mishaps due to the lack of visibility of the character's feet.
“It's funny that the whole scene looks nicely done, but with VR it's not usable.”
“Maybe this wouldn't have been as much of an issue if I were playing in VR, but often I would run into things that were off-screen, and though you can't see your feet, they do seem to catch on everything, which damages your hilariously fragile EVA suit.”
Critic Reviews
ADR1FT PC Virtual Reality Game Review
ADR1FT makes you an astronaut and then, tries to kill you. Survive, find out what happened, and figure a way back to Earth.
80%Adr1ft PS4 Review
Adr1ft has a great concept behind it, but like many others it fails to execute it quite right. The game's lack of urgency makes it hard to believe that I'm struggling to survive in the vastness of space. It’s bare bones gameplay may be fun for most, but its lack of interaction and simply drifting through the vastness of space is just simply boring. It can be beautiful to look at and its score is delightful when it's there. Adr1ft just doesn’t bring enough to the table to make it a great outer space survival experience.
55%Adr1ft Review
Adr1ft is a beautiful and isolating depiction of being stranded in orbit, but it struggles to build a game around that.
60%