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Pineview Drive

Pineview Drive Game Cover
45%Game Brain Score
story, atmosphere
gameplay, optimization
47% User Score Based on 245 reviews
Critic Score 40%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

Nintendo SwitchLinuxPCWii UPlaystation 4WiiXbox OneXboxWindowsPlayStation
Pineview Drive Game Cover

About

Pineview Drive is a single player survival action adventure game with horror and mystery themes. It was developed by VIS-Games and was released on July 31, 2014. It received negative reviews from critics and neutral reviews from players.

In "Pineview Drive," you take on the role of a investigative journalist who must uncover the dark secrets of a haunted mansion. Using only a lantern and your wits, you'll explore the mansion and its overgrown grounds, avoiding various supernatural threats and piecing together clues to solve the mystery. With a focus on atmosphere and exploration over combat, this game offers a unique and suspenseful take on the horror genre.

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47%
Audience ScoreBased on 245 reviews
story23 positive mentions
optimization9 negative mentions

  • The atmosphere and environment are well-crafted, creating a genuinely creepy experience.
  • The game features some effective scares, with a mix of jump scares and subtle spooks.
  • The unique 'fear' mechanic adds an interesting layer to the gameplay, tracking player reactions to scares.
  • The exploration can become tedious, as players often find themselves wandering aimlessly to find keys and unlock doors.
  • The game suffers from poor optimization, leading to low frame rates and performance issues even on capable hardware.
  • The story is vague and lacks clarity, leaving players confused about the plot and the ending.
  • story
    149 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story in the game is widely criticized for being vague, poorly explained, and lacking cohesion, with many players relying on external sources to understand the plot. While some found the premise intriguing, the delivery through scattered notes and repetitive gameplay detracted from the overall experience, leaving many feeling unsatisfied with the narrative's resolution. Overall, the game fails to provide a compelling story, often feeling like a tedious chore rather than an engaging journey.

    • “The story has you (the main character) attempting to figure out what happened to your wife and why she went missing at the mansion.”
    • “The fear meter mechanic is unique, I really love the atmosphere, the mansion is insanely convoluted which is both a pro and a con, and the story is at least intriguing throughout the game.”
    • “The only reason I know what the story is supposed to be is because I read a YouTube comment where someone had posted the story from a Facebook comment that the dev posted years ago.”
    • “It fails as a horror, it fails as a story, it fails as a game.”
    • “The story is delivered in single sentences and is, so far, too vague and without unity to be engaging.”
  • atmosphere
    91 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its creepy and immersive qualities, with many reviewers highlighting the effective use of sound design, lighting, and environmental details that enhance the horror experience. However, some players note that the atmosphere is often undermined by repetitive gameplay mechanics and a lack of variety in scares, leading to a mixed reception overall. While the game excels in creating a tense ambiance, it struggles to maintain player engagement due to its gameplay shortcomings.

    • “The atmosphere, building, music, and sounds fit the game perfectly.”
    • “Pineview Drive is one of the most atmospherically frightening games I have ever had the pleasure of playing.”
    • “The game successfully creates a creepy atmosphere with a combination of elements in all the right places - statues, paintings, objects, everything makes the player feel like everything is observing him/her or that everything could be a trigger for a jump scare.”
    • “Instead of relying on the honestly remarkably tense atmosphere of wandering an 'empty house', it throws repetitive jumpscares that do random amounts of damage at you constantly!”
    • “Game doesn't run on new computers; every time I press play, it crashes without even loading the intro. Also tried all resolutions and nothing works. The game is dead and isn't worth buying. The atmosphere is repetitive, not scary, and all five sound effects are on repeat non-stop for all 30 days of the same boring gameplay. Pass at all costs.”
    • “The atmosphere and darkness are indeed creepy, but the pacing was terrible, and the scares were so laughably unfrightening, few and far between that it felt like a poor reward for all the aimless circling (done at a snail's pace walk) to obtain them.”
  • gameplay
    77 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of this game is largely criticized for its repetitive and tedious mechanics, primarily revolving around finding keys to unlock doors, which many players found unengaging and frustrating. While the atmosphere and unique fear mechanics show potential, they are often poorly executed, leading to a lack of depth and enjoyment in the overall experience. Despite some interesting elements, the gameplay feels outdated and lacks the innovation needed to elevate it beyond a subpar indie horror experience.

    • “The gameplay revolves around finding keys, unlocking rooms, and gathering small bits of information about the mystery engulfing this cursed building.”
    • “The aware-of-your-fear mechanic is also really, really cool.”
    • “Gameplay is simple as it revolves around finding things and exploring the place, but the experience is there and can get very tense.”
    • “You could feasibly excuse this game as a subpar indie horror experience that heavily relies on atmosphere, even if the moment-to-moment gameplay is about as deep as a day-old puddle.”
    • “Believe it or not, that's basically everything your journey entails from the gameplay point of view: ahead of you are hundreds upon hundreds of same-looking doors in need of unlocking and hallways of the sprawling interiors to navigate; it's safe to call the whole game a key-search simulator.”
    • “But the tedious gameplay (plan to walk through pretty much every room in the house, multiple times, every day, looking for keys or journal entries), the overused scares, and the lack of a compelling story quickly drained both fear and enjoyment from my experience.”
  • graphics
    47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players noting that they appear dated and suffer from optimization issues, leading to lag and low frame rates. However, others appreciate the atmospheric design, lighting effects, and overall visual detail, particularly in creating a suspenseful environment. While not groundbreaking, the graphics are generally considered decent for a horror title, with some praising the artistic elements despite technical shortcomings.

    • “The main impressive thing about this game is the level of graphical detail.”
    • “The graphics are good, the atmosphere is good and the jump scares did make me jump quite a few times.”
    • “The sound design, atmosphere, and graphics are some of the most amazing I've seen in the horror game scene in a few years.”
    • “Is 10 years old by the time of this video, and that can be seen throughout the entire game; it didn't age well. Although the graphics wouldn't be a problem had the game offered something else, like engaging gameplay or a good plot, which, unfortunately, it hasn't.”
    • “I wonder if the extreme darkness of the game is a feature or a bug (it's a strong possibility, since there are other graphic bugs, at least in the Linux version).”
    • “There was so much texture tearing and glitchy shadows, but that might be because I had to play with PS2 graphics.”
  • music
    23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is generally praised for enhancing the atmosphere and contributing to the overall creepiness, with a variety of tense background tracks and sound effects that keep players on edge. However, some reviewers noted inconsistencies in how well the music aligns with in-game events, leading to moments where it feels out of place or repetitive, particularly after extended play. Overall, while the sound design has its strengths, it also suffers from amateur execution and a lack of variety as the game progresses.

    • “The sound, music, and ambience is everything in this game!”
    • “The music and sound effects are excellent and really add to the game’s creepiness.”
    • “A creepy background soundtrack also helps to create the tense atmosphere that empowers the basic 'don't get scared' catch of the game.”
    • “The sound design is amateur, with sounds being random and music played haphazardly, in spite of their quality.”
    • “However, the music is constantly there and it feels out of place at most times.”
    • “At times, the music will get intense as well, and loud noises will come out of nowhere, which again feels out of place most of the time and is overused in my opinion.”
  • optimization
    22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with players reporting severe performance issues regardless of their hardware specifications. Many users experience choppy gameplay, significant frame rate drops, and inconsistent performance, particularly when rendering shadows. Overall, the consensus is that the game suffers from poor optimization, detracting from the overall experience despite its intriguing story and decent graphics.

    • “Its probably an optimization issue, so you'll need to play with the settings yourself to see what works best for you.”
    • “Some optimization might be needed/patched to solve the framerate issues.”
    • “This game is not very well optimized, but I find the bit of story that is here rather intriguing.”
    • “The game is good but... I'm giving this bad review due to terrible optimization no matter how powerful your setup is.”
    • “Absolutely atrocious performance... can't be more than 10-15 fps no matter what settings I use.”
    • “For developers with assumingly little knowledge of how to properly work with the Unity engine, it's admittedly acceptable: the shadows tend to get a little funky whenever a candle is lit, there is some nasty texture flickering and the performance is simply horrendous regardless of the specs.”
  • grinding
    20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for its tedious and repetitive gameplay, primarily revolving around the monotonous task of finding keys to unlock doors. Players often feel that the lack of a compelling plot and the cumbersome mechanics, such as needing to interact with each door individually, detract from the overall enjoyment and immersion, leading to a frustrating experience. Many reviewers suggest that a walkthrough is almost necessary to alleviate the boredom caused by the game's grinding nature.

    • “You basically need a walkthrough, not because the game is difficult, but because it would just be so tedious otherwise.”
    • “The game itself is basically fetching key after key and trying to find the door that it unlocks to progress, which can be tedious at times trying to remember which ones you've yet to open.”
    • “But the tedious gameplay (plan to walk through pretty much every room in the house, multiple times, every day, looking for keys or journal entries), the overused scares, and the lack of a compelling story quickly drained both fear and enjoyment from my experience.”
  • humor
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is described as a mix of absurdity and irony, likened to the melodrama of a Spanish TV show, with a protagonist who takes an unusually long time to act. Players find amusement in the quirky situations, such as dealing with mischievous poltergeists and the comedic elements of navigating spooky encounters, including a cackling clown doll. Overall, the humor adds a lighthearted touch to the otherwise eerie atmosphere.

    • “I find it hilarious how it only took our hero a lousy 20 years to finally get his butt up and get on the case; doesn't sound like he was desperately clinging onto his second half.”
    • “Ha, then you will find this funny: this place is full of pesky poltergeists and they stole most of the keys, so I cannot give them to you.”
    • “Funny like watching a Spanish TV drama.”
  • replayability
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players appreciate the engaging story and hidden details that encourage multiple playthroughs, others feel that technical issues and a lack of substantial replay value detract from the experience.

    • “It was a really well put together story, with simple to understand events and great scares, along with hidden gems (like the pumpkins on the front porch during Halloween) that enhance the replay value.”
    • “The game offers a variety of choices that lead to different outcomes, making each playthrough feel fresh and exciting.”
    • “With multiple endings and secrets to uncover, I find myself coming back to the game time and again to experience everything it has to offer.”
    • “Twenty bucks isn't too bad, but there is no replay value, and the buggy fear can cause more frustration than enjoyment.”
  • stability
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability is marred by a buggy fear mechanic that detracts from the overall experience, leading to frustration rather than enjoyment. While the price point is considered reasonable, the lack of replay value further diminishes its appeal.

    • “The fear mechanic is incredibly buggy.”
    • “Twenty bucks isn't too bad, but there is no replay value, and the buggy fear can cause more frustration than enjoyment.”
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40%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews
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30h Median play time
30h Average play time
30-30h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Pineview Drive is a survival action adventure game with horror and mystery themes.

Pineview Drive is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and others.

On average players spend around 30 hours playing Pineview Drive.

Pineview Drive was released on July 31, 2014.

Pineview Drive was developed by VIS-Games.

Pineview Drive has received negative reviews from players and negative reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its gameplay.

Pineview Drive is a single player game.

Similar games include Left Alone, Daylight, Kholat, Yomawari: Night Alone, God's Basement and others.