Adrift is a slow paced, atmospheric, space sim of sorts where you play as Astronaut Alex Oshima stranded in space after a mysterious disaster leaves your space station destroyed. You have a straight forward goal of figuring out what may have happened, getting key parts of the station back online and finding a way to get back to earth.

Adrift can be played with VR or without, I myself played through it non-VR and enjoyed it quite a lot more than some other people may, simply because I'm a space nerd and I pretty much love anything that involves space, especially if the atmosphere is delivered on such a stunning level as this.

Adrift's core gameplay loop has you floating around your destroyed space station following waypoints that have you gather items or information critical to bringing the station back online. You can also come across optional areas in which you can listen to audio logs or read emails of members who were previously aboard the station and the life's they lived before the incident which can sometimes be interesting but most of the time, I didn't find myself all that invested in that side of the game. I won't hide the fact that you complete these tasks in a VERY slow passion due to the zero gravity conditions and the need to conserve your suits oxygen my minimizing movement. While slowly floating from point A to B using your suit's realistic yet propulsion system, you will need to grab oxygen canisters to fill your constantly depleting oxygen along the way. For the time you are in open space and not inside a station complex, your oxygen will ALWAYS be depleting. The more you move or use propulsion, the faster it drains. You need to be smart about the maneuvers you make and how you time them to get to where you're going. One thing that helps in this situation is the game's realistic simulation of inertia, which is something many space games can get wrong, But in this case it works very well. Every movement you make is uninterrupted until another surface prevents you from moving any further (An object put into motion, stays in motion until another object or surface prevents such motion). This well implemented and subtle concept allows you to look at where you are going, fire your propulsion forward in that direction and not have to touch your propulsion again until you reach your destinations, you will just float slowly but surely straight to it (if you aimed it right). Although the oxygen gathering is quite a primary and frequent mechanic, It can sometimes feel like it is actually the only thing keeping you busy while moving from one point to the next. Other than oxygen, there is really nothing else to focus on besides your objective on the mini-map. This really does end up being the case though, It is how the developers intended the game to be and it could be a positive or a negative to different types of people. For me it's not really a problem, but it can get pretty tedious. It is clear though that this game is made to instill a sense of isolation while giving you quite a large broken station to explore orbiting an insanely life like earth down below.

I really did enjoy Adrift despite it sometimes feeling empty... But that may actually just be the point of the game. It's meant to make you feel small and alone with little to do or work with but to just find a way home, and it does that very very well. If you are someone looking for an action packed, nerve racking space thriller like the movie Gravity, This is definitely not the game for you, But if you're a patient and casual player who just wants to experience a short but fantastic looking and feeling space experience that has you on a specified mission, Then I think this would be a great title for you to pick up. It doesn't have a whole lot of replayability, but for some reason I always find myself coming back to this game simply for the dang near perfect atmosphere of space. The atmosphere really does it for me and this truly is an atmosphere based game from the core. Adrift is worth a look for anyone interested in a good looking yet simple atmospheric space experience.

Pros:
- Gorgeous visuals all around with stunning atmosphere (No not that atmosphere! Stop looking down!)
- An easy to follow, mostly linear goal
- Great controls and physics simulation

Cons:
- Can get tedious
- Mini-map can sometimes be confusing (due to there not actually being any directions in space)
- Relatively uninteresting side story

Rating: 8/10

Adrift is a slow paced, atmospheric, space sim of sorts where you play as Astronaut Alex Oshima stranded in space after a mysterious disaster leaves your space station destroyed. You have a straight forward goal of figuring out what may have happened, getting key parts of the station back online and finding a way to get back to earth. Adrift can be played with VR or without, I myself played through it non-VR and enjoyed it quite a lot more than some other people may, simply because I'm a space nerd and I pretty much love anything that involves space, especially if the atmosphere is delivered on such a stunning level as this. Adrift's core gameplay loop has you floating around your destroyed space station following waypoints that have you gather items or information critical to bringing the station back online. You can also come across optional areas in which you can listen to audio logs or read emails of members who were previously aboard the station and the life's they lived before the incident which can sometimes be interesting but most of the time, I didn't find myself all that invested in that side of the game. I won't hide the fact that you complete these tasks in a VERY slow passion due to the zero gravity conditions and the need to conserve your suits oxygen my minimizing movement. While slowly floating from point A to B using your suit's realistic yet propulsion system, you will need to grab oxygen canisters to fill your constantly depleting oxygen along the way. For the time you are in open space and not inside a station complex, your oxygen will ALWAYS be depleting. The more you move or use propulsion, the faster it drains. You need to be smart about the maneuvers you make and how you time them to get to where you're going. One thing that helps in this situation is the game's realistic simulation of inertia, which is something many space games can get wrong, But in this case it works very well. Every movement you make is uninterrupted until another surface prevents you from moving any further (An object put into motion, stays in motion until another object or surface prevents such motion). This well implemented and subtle concept allows you to look at where you are going, fire your propulsion forward in that direction and not have to touch your propulsion again until you reach your destinations, you will just float slowly but surely straight to it (if you aimed it right). Although the oxygen gathering is quite a primary and frequent mechanic, It can sometimes feel like it is actually the only thing keeping you busy while moving from one point to the next. Other than oxygen, there is really nothing else to focus on besides your objective on the mini-map. This really does end up being the case though, It is how the developers intended the game to be and it could be a positive or a negative to different types of people. For me it's not really a problem, but it can get pretty tedious. It is clear though that this game is made to instill a sense of isolation while giving you quite a large broken station to explore orbiting an insanely life like earth down below. I really did enjoy Adrift despite it sometimes feeling empty... But that may actually just be the point of the game. It's meant to make you feel small and alone with little to do or work with but to just find a way home, and it does that very very well. If you are someone looking for an action packed, nerve racking space thriller like the movie Gravity, This is definitely not the game for you, But if you're a patient and casual player who just wants to experience a short but fantastic looking and feeling space experience that has you on a specified mission, Then I think this would be a great title for you to pick up. It doesn't have a whole lot of replayability, but for some reason I always find myself coming back to this game simply for the dang near perfect atmosphere of space. The atmosphere really does it for me and this truly is an atmosphere based game from the core. Adrift is worth a look for anyone interested in a good looking yet simple atmospheric space experience. Pros: - Gorgeous visuals all around with stunning atmosphere (No not that atmosphere! Stop looking down!) - An easy to follow, mostly linear goal - Great controls and physics simulation Cons: - Can get tedious - Mini-map can sometimes be confusing (due to there not actually being any directions in space) - Relatively uninteresting side story Rating: 8/10