A new indie game calledThe Drifteris now out, with its initial wave of reviews being nothing short of stellar. Apixel art point-and-click adventure, the title has received praise on numerous fronts, including its compelling hook that has players taking control of a character trying to solve his own murder.
The Drifteris developed by Powerhoof, an indie studio operating out of Melbourne, Australia. It was designed, written, and coded by Dave Lloyd, an industry veteran whose love for point-and-click adventures dates back to the early 2000s, when he was making such titles with the Adventure Game Studio engine.The Drifterhas been in the works since 2017, though it didn’t enter full production until four years later.
Following eight years' worth of development,The Drifterwas released on July 17. It is currently only available for PC—via Steam and GOG—though Powerhoof is also working on a Nintendo Switch port. While the game will regularly retail for $19.99, it materialized with a 15% launch discount, bringing it down to $16.99. This promotional offer is set to run until July 31. Powerhoof offered a limited-time demo ofThe Drifterduring theJune 2025 edition of Steam Next Fest. However, the trial version of the game has since been removed and does not appear to be returning.
Where to Buy The Drifter
Two days after its release,The Drifterholds a “Mighty” rating on OpenCritic, with an average score of 86 and a 93% reviewer recommendation rate. This puts it in the 96th percentile of all the games scored on the aggregator platform, in addition to making it one of thehighest-rated point and click titlesin recent memory. Critics praisedThe Drifterfor its compelling narrative, intoxicating atmosphere, and a consistent collection of puzzles that are challenging but never illogical, among other qualities. The game’s soundtrack and voice acting have also elicited widespread compliments from critics. Early player feedback appears to match this largely favorable critical reception, withThe Driftercurrently holding 87.54% positive reviews on Steam, qualifying it for Valve’s “Very Positive” rating.
The Unity Engine-powered game still hasn’t generated massive commercial momentum, though it’s not doing too badly for an indie release. According to SteamDB data,The Drifterpeaked at 445 concurrent Steam players on July 19, and is currently ranked 148th on Valve’s “Top Sellers” list, which tracks all recent in-game revenue, including outright purchases, microtransactions, and subscriptions.
The Switch port of the pulpysci-fi adventure gameis currently without a concrete release date. However, Powerhoof previously confirmed that it’s planning to bringThe Drifterto the eShop before the end of 2025, so sometime in the next five months.
