| Dead Static Drive | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Reuben Games |
| Publisher(s) | Reuben Games |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 4 |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Xbox One |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure, survival horror |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Dead Static Drive is a top-down driving meets survival horror video game developed and published by Reuben Games. It is planned to be released on Windows and Xbox One.[1] The game has a "retro Americana" graphical style, and involves a road trip that takes a turn into Lovecraftian horror.[2]
The main character of the game goes on a road trip to reconnect with their estranged family members, traveling between towns and doing quests in each town where they can freely walk around outside their car.[2] The player realizes that the apocalypse is happening and must fight Lovecraftian monsters and potentially stop the end of the world.[3]
The game's creator, Mike Blackney, started development in 2014, and 6 months later, in 2015, received a $15,000 Unreal Dev Grant for the game's development.[3][4] Later, he also received funding from the Australian government that enabled him to quit his job as a teacher and continue developing the game, as well as hire an artist and musician.[3] He noted inspiration for the game from the 1981 film The Evil Dead, and horror set in the suburbs and mundane settings, and has described the game as "Grand Theft Cthulhu".[2] Leena van Deventer came onto the project in 2019, as Creative Producer and Writer.
Stephanie Chan of VentureBeat called the game "stylish but also evocative".[3] Adam Smith of Rock, Paper, Shotgun called the graphics "lovely" and the monsters "refreshingly untentacled", commenting that the game could use some folklore that is not just Lovecraft.[5]