Pacific Drive’s largest update yet adds a new survival game mode

The most recent update to the extremely normal and not-at-all-weird driving simulator, Pacific Drive, adds a whole new layer of replayability. The Endless Expeditions update from developer Ironwood Studios is the largest update Pacific Drive has received since its launch last year, and delivers a brand new survival game mode in addition to a number of quality-of-life updates and a spread of new content, giving players a great reason to revisit The Zone once they’ve wrapped up the story and fully souped up their Station Wagon.

As the name suggests, the highlight of the new update is Expeditions. Available fairly early in the main story, this game mode presents you with a randomized map with different modifiers and rewards based on their difficulty. Many of these rewards are exclusive to Expeditions and can include rare tools or cosmetics to liven up your garage. While Expeditions let you use your Station Wagon in its current state, you’ll need to leave any stockpiled resources at home, scavenging as you go. While some of the Expeditions typically wouldn’t be too difficult, going in with little more than the clothes on your back adds a whole new level of complexity.

Unlike the main story, you can perform multiple circuits of an Expedition map in a single run, but the longer you stick around, the more unstable things get, presenting new anomalies and more dangerous modifiers. You’re only allowed to leave an Expedition once you’ve collected enough Anchors, and even as a seasoned Pacific Drive player, my first few expeditions sent me back to my garage with little more than a black eye to show for it.

Expeditions aren’t the only new addition in this update though. For those particularly long treks through the zone, you finally have the option to suspend your run, saving your progress without forfeiting any of the resources you may have scavenged. Ironwood Studios has also added a number of new cosmetics to spruce up your ride and introduced 21 new tracks for you to jam out to.

Between its weird, upside-down version of the Pacific Northwest and an awesome soundtrack, Pacific Drive quickly became one of my favorite roguelikes of last year, and thanks to the Endless Expeditions update, I have plenty of reasons to dive back in. If I go missing, don’t come looking for me.