Drifter

About

Drifter is a single player simulation game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Celsius Game Studios and was released on March 4, 2014. It received neutral reviews from players.

"Drifter" is a single-player Sci-Fi Simulation game with exceptional gameplay, set in a procedurally-generated galaxy of 100,000 light years. As a spaceship captain, engage in trading goods, pirate hunting, mining, or piracy, with an original soundtrack by Danny Baranowsky. It takes around 6 hours to complete game's main storyline.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

56%

Audience ScoreBased on 184 reviews

story5 positive mentions

stability5 negative mentions

Drifter offers a simple and enjoyable 2D space exploration experience, reminiscent of classic space games.
The game has a lot of potential with engaging gameplay elements like trading, mining, and combat, making it a fun distraction.
The developer is responsive to community feedback and shows promise for future updates, which keeps players hopeful for improvements.

The game has been in early access for many years with minimal updates, leading to concerns about its future and development progress.
Many players report technical issues, including crashes and a confusing user interface, which detracts from the overall experience.
The lack of content and repetitive gameplay can make the game feel empty and unfulfilling, especially after the initial excitement wears off.

story
45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
82%
7%
The game's story aspect is largely procedural and lacks a cohesive narrative, offering players a sandbox experience with basic missions centered around trading, mining, and combat. While there are various mission types, they tend to become repetitive quickly, and the absence of factions or dynamic events contributes to a sense of stagnation. Players appreciate the interactive elements and the potential for future content, but many feel the game currently lacks depth and direction, making it more of a platform for gameplay mechanics than a story-driven experience.
- “The game is well balanced, with simple missions to get you started, and more difficult missions after you learn your way around.”
- “Love exploring this galaxy and going on missions.”
- “Varied and engaging gameplay: mining asteroids, fending off pirates, being a pirate, and a surprisingly diverse set of mission types.”
- “Even if there's no plot (it is a procedurally generated sandbox galaxy after all, see that as a 'feature'), the lack of implemented factions and the lack of any events in space that could surprise you or make it come to life, make this game experience stale after you learn how things work.”
- “Currently in version .61 there's really no direction or story for you to follow, it's all do whatever you want: mission, mining, or whatever.”
- “No storyline, no quests, just 8 ships you need to grind to purchase and some basic shoot and/or fetch missions.”
graphics
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
76%
12%
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the simple yet effective design that runs well on low-spec machines, while others criticize the repetitive interiors of space stations and unfinished elements, such as placeholder graphics. Overall, while there are moments of impressive visuals, many users feel that the graphics lack polish and variety, indicating a need for further development.
- “The graphics are simple but work really well, and the game can be played on low-spec computers (it runs great on my laptop with Intel HD).”
- “I really like this game for both the graphic style and how simple it is.”
- “The in-game music is very nice, and the graphics are also very impressive!”
- “I mean the heck with it, even all space stations have the same interior graphics when you're docked (though some have more rooms).”
- “Yes, bits of it are playable, but the GUI, graphics, and overall feel of content are very unfinished.”
- “Most of the graphics are not in place and have blue cube placeholders - this makes using the marketplace tedious and difficult.”
gameplay
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
49%
13%
The gameplay of Elite Dangerous is praised for its vastness, streamlined mechanics, and engaging activities like mining and combat, making it suitable for casual players. However, some users find the universe somewhat barren and lacking in depth, with concerns about infrequent updates and a need for more engaging content. In contrast, Drifter is noted for its solid mechanics and addictive gameplay, though it is still in early development and requires further enhancements to become truly engaging.
- “Excellent sandbox space game for the time poor - you can get a lot done in a short space of time, and the gameplay is streamlined so things like travel, docking, etc. are very quick and easy.”
- “The gameplay is already great to play and it looks fantastic.”
- “This title offers addictive gameplay and has a pretty responsive development team.”
- “Updates infrequent, if non-existent....with a procedurally generated universe containing no gameplay to bind it together.”
- “Having a drifting mechanic with no method of lock-on to keep your ship pointing at an enemy makes it hard to do anything other than drive at them head on blasting your guns.”
- “I would arguably say it's the same gameplay as Freelancer.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The music in the game is generally well-received, featuring a pretty and evocative soundtrack by acclaimed composer Danny Baranowsky, known for his work on titles like "The Binding of Isaac." While some players find the music solid but not particularly exciting, others express a strong appreciation for the soundtrack, noting its enjoyable quality and connection to previous games by the studio. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's atmosphere and experience.
- “The music is also really good!”
- “I especially love the music, and the playstyle, which is reminiscent of Red Nova, another one of Celsius Studio's games, which I spend hours upon hours on.”
- “The only thing that's ok about the game is the music.”
- “It is set to a small but evocative soundtrack by the acclaimed Danny Baranowsky (Binding of Isaac, Crypt of the Necrodancer, etc.) and features a 2.5D game engine.”
- “- solid music, sound, and graphics”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
83%
The game demonstrates solid stability, running well on low-spec computers with only minor cosmetic glitches reported. While some bugs and user interface issues exist, they do not significantly detract from the overall gameplay experience. The developers prioritize quality over speed, ensuring that new content is thoroughly polished before release.
- “The graphics are simple but work really well, and the game can be played on low-spec computers; it runs great on my laptop with Intel HD.”
- “It has some user interface issues and a few glitches getting into starbases. Also, it's lacking content, but I can see how populating a whole galaxy might take a bit of time.”
- “Keep in mind when purchasing this game that many items are still placeholders and there are bugs and glitches.”
- “While there are some glitches, most are minor and generally just cosmetic.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its excellent optimization, delivering impressive performance across various systems.
- “Awesome performance!”
- “The game runs smoothly on my system, even at high settings.”
- “I love how well-optimized it is; no lag or stuttering during gameplay.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly due to a cumbersome user interface that complicates mission tracking and trading. The presence of placeholder graphics further detracts from the experience, making navigation and marketplace interactions frustrating. Improvements in these areas are highly desired to enhance overall gameplay.
- “Would like to see more improvement on the UI, especially regarding the active missions, like having a feature to automatically plot the course to your objective rather than manually finding it, which gets very tedious.”
- “Trading seems tedious due to the hard-to-read UI.”
- “Most of the graphics are not in place and have blue cube placeholders; this makes using the marketplace tedious and difficult.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers indicate that while some elements of the game are playable, the unfinished graphics and user interface detract from its overall replayability, making it less appealing for repeated playthroughs.
- “The game feels like a one-time experience; there's little incentive to replay it after finishing.”
- “Once you've completed the main story, there's not much left to draw you back in.”
- “The lack of meaningful choices and consequences makes replaying the game feel pointless.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is derived from its lighthearted approach to space combat, which players find amusing due to its simplicity and lack of difficulty.
- “The space fights are kind of funny because they're not really hard.”