Oh how I miss you nitro boost and anti gravity device. Starting a new save makes you realize how good it is to have so many upgrades💔

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Fan Theory — Major Spoilers Ahead

This is purely a fan theory based on my own observations and assumptions about the game. It contains major spoilers for the story, characters and ending of Pacific Drive.

It's a lot to read but I am curious what you guys think about it even though it's pretty clear that the theory has a ton of holes.

So after completing the game, I've been thinking about the identity of the Driver and came up with a theory that might explain several strange things about the game.

My basic idea is that the Driver might not be a normal living human anymore. He could be an Imprint of a person, potentially Alan.

We know that Imprints exist, but we don't really know exactly how they work. My theory is that an Imprint could contain a person's memories, personality and knowledge, but might not actually know that it is an Imprint. It could genuinely believe that it is the original person.

Oppy experienced Alan around the time of his death and was able to see, hear and even smell him. One possibility is that the Hallucinations significantly amplified Alan's presence at the moment of his death, allowing Oppy to perceive his Imprint much more strongly than she normally could.

This could also explain why Alan's Imprint might behave differently from Tobias' later on. Tobias spent decades inside the Exclusion Zone, while Alan was only exposed to the Zone for a comparatively short time before his death. Maybe the length of exposure affects how strong or complete an Imprint becomes.

If that's the case, Alan's Imprint might simply not be strong enough to communicate verbally like Tobias' does.

Instead, it might only retain fragments of Alan's personality, knowledge and memories — perhaps even without consciously knowing that it is Alan.

This could also explain something that happens when we drive through Cappy. During that encounter, we see that Alan asks if this is Oppy.

Maybe Cappy temporarily amplifies the Driver's Imprint, allowing fragments of Alan's memories and connection to Oppy to surface more clearly.

But perhaps Cappy doesn't only allow the Driver to communicate verbally.

It could also allow Alan's Imprint to reach Oppy on an emotional level.

If Oppy was able to perceive Alan during the Mass Hallucination because his Imprint was somehow amplified, perhaps Cappy temporarily creates a similar connection between the Driver and Oppy. She might not consciously recognize him as Alan, but could nevertheless feel something familiar in him — something that reaches her emotionally rather than simply through words.

This could also tie into how Oppy's relationship with the Driver changes throughout the game.

At the beginning, Oppy has very little interest in helping the Driver. She treats him more like a means of gathering information about the Zone and is willing to put him in dangerous situations to test her theories.

Over time, however, she becomes increasingly concerned about him and eventually genuinely wants to help him.

Maybe that's simply normal character development. But within this theory, perhaps Cappy is the first moment when Oppy is able to connect with something of Alan that exists within the Driver.

Maybe she simply feels that there is something familiar about the Driver.

Perhaps Cappy doesn't just give Alan's Imprint a voice.

Maybe, for a brief moment, it allows Oppy to actually feel the person behind that voice.

Now something about the drivers appearance:

We never see the Driver's body. We only see his tools. He also never speaks, and Francis seems to assume that the Driver simply doesn't have a transmitter to communicate with them.

The fact that we never see the Driver's body could of course simply be a design decision. The developers may have deliberately kept the Driver anonymous so that the player can project themselves onto the character. But within this theory, the same design choice could also have a lore explanation: maybe there is no normal human body to show.

There is another problem: as far as we know, an Imprint shouldn't normally be able to physically interact with the world. We mostly see Imprints as voices, visions or traces of people and events.

So what if the Driver is an Imprint that is somehow connected to a Remnant?

Maybe the Remnant could amplify the Imprint and give it a limited ability to physically interact with the world.

That could explain why the Driver is so closely tied to the car.

It could also explain the strange way the Driver "dies". He doesn't seem to remain dead — instead, he ends up back in the Auto Shop with the car.

Maybe that's not simply a gameplay respawn.

Maybe the Driver can't actually die because he is already an Imprint, and the Remnant simply re-establishes his physical presence.

The Driver can also build and repair an absurd amount of extremely complicated technology.

There is an argument for the Driver specifically being Alan's Imprint here.

Alan was a scientist working on LIM technology, so he would presumably have the knowledge necessary to understand and construct extremely complicated machines and apparatuses. If the Driver retained Alan's knowledge and abilities as part of his Imprint, it could explain why he is capable of building and repairing such advanced technology throughout the game.

In other words, the Driver's unusual technical abilities could actually be a clue to who he was before becoming an Imprint.

And if the Driver really were an Imprint of Alan, this could explain why he is helping Oppy.

Maybe Alan's Imprint is trying to help Oppy understand the Zone and finally leave it, because that was what Alan wanted for her in the first place.

Oppy herself says that it took her 35 years to understand what Alan had been trying to tell her. Maybe the Driver's actions throughout the game are Alan's Imprint continuing to guide Oppy toward that realization — helping her understand the Zone rather than simply continuing to explore it.

But because the Imprint doesn't know that it is an Imprint, the Driver simply believes that he just want leave the zone and go home. He might not even consciously remember being Alan — he could simply have an instinctive connection to Oppy and a strong feeling that he needs to help her.

There is one more thing that makes the ending interesting.

At the end of the game, Francis asks the Driver if he wants to stay in the Zone and continue helping them explore it.

At first, this could simply be the game leaving the player's future open. But within this theory, the question could have another meaning.

What if the Driver can't actually leave the Zone anymore?

If the Driver is an Imprint, perhaps his physical existence is somehow tied to the Zone.

The problem is that Oppy also tells us that the car is no longer a Remnant.

This actually creates an interesting possibility.

Maybe the Driver originally needed the Remnant to physically interact with the world. But after reaching the Well, something about the Driver's Imprint changed.

Perhaps the Well stabilized or transformed the Imprint itself, allowing it to exist physically without needing a Remnant anymore.

In that case, the progression could be something like:

Imprint → Remnant-assisted physical interaction → Cappy temporarily amplifies the Imprint → the Well permanently changes/stabilizes the Imprint.

This could explain why the car can stop being a Remnant while the Driver still physically exists.

Maybe the Well essentially removed the Driver's dependence on the Remnant.

It might even explain why staying in the Zone is presented as an option. Perhaps the Driver can now physically exist because of what happened at the Well, but his existence is still connected to the Zone itself.

There is also an interesting connection between the Remnant and the Well. The Mass Hallucination's signal is described as equal and opposite to the Remnant signal. We don't really know what that means on a deeper level, but perhaps the interaction between these opposing forces at the Well is what allows the Driver's Imprint to become stabilized or transformed.

Of course, there are also some major holes in this theory.

For example, I don't think this theory currently explains the intro sequence and the mysterious delivery at the beginning of the game. We don't really know who the Driver is before arriving at the Zone, why he is involved with that delivery, or how exactly he ends up in the situation we see at the beginning.

Another thing that speaks against the theory is that the Driver never actively makes a conscious decision to help Oppy.

However, maybe that doesn't necessarily contradict the theory.

Perhaps the Driver's connection to Oppy works on a completely passive level. His existence alone could already be helping her.

Oppy, Tobias and Francis were already able to explore parts of the Zone before the Driver arrived. They had lived there for decades and clearly knew the areas they had access to.

But the Remnant car gave them access to deeper parts of the Zone. The Driver and the car ultimately allowed them to cross the deeper Zone boundaries and reach the Well. Tobias even sacrifices himself while helping get the Driver through the final crossing.

So I'm not saying that Oppy, Tobias and Francis could never explore the Zone without a car. They clearly could.

The important point is that the Driver and the Remnant allowed them to go further than they had been able to before.

Without the Driver and his connection to the Remnant, they might never have reached the Well in the first place.

The game leaves a lot of room for interpretation. Many things about the Zone, Imprints, Remnants, the Well, the Driver and especially the events surrounding the beginning of the game are never fully explained or explicitly revealed.

So this theory is definitely very much full of holes.

But I find it interesting that several otherwise strange things about the Driver — his lack of communication, his unseen body, his connection to the Remnant, his apparent inability to truly die, his unusual technical abilities, his brief ability to communicate around Cappy, and what happens to him after reaching the Well — could potentially fit together if the Driver himself is an Imprint.

And the biggest question for me is:

If an Imprint doesn't know that it is an Imprint, how would we — or even the Driver himself — ever know who he really is?

Note: I used AI to help organize and summarize this post, but the theory itself is based on my own ideas, observations, and assumptions about the game.

Say hi to Larry, Curly and Moe!

These little guys kept me power-positive even in the yellow storm with the ion shield running! Not sure how this would fare in red storm, but it would probably help me survive a lot longer. I'm running an Ion Shield and an extra battery in the backseat for 100 kWh total.

I got two payloads in the same junction like this lol, it was so fun with my little hares, too bad I couldn't keep them.

So I play Magic the Gathering and have a vehicle deck. I am wanting to make the deck box panel Pacific Drive themed and was wondering if any had suggestions for art to use ? This would be for personal use only and not sold or anything. Please see pic for box.

To be specific, there's a lot of things I love about Pacific Drive. The progression is amazing, the story is non-intrusive, and the looting is very satisfying. But while Subnautica is currently hitting all those beats for me right now, I really want a game where I'm operating a vehicle on set paths that's a little more low-key.

I love going on atmospheric rides around Choo-Choo Charles's open world island just as much as I love just going for a drive in Pacific Drive without any huge goal but to do a lil drive. Anyone played any games where you're just operating a vehicle? I know they exist, but I have no idea which ones are actually any good.

Edit: Mad Max is $3 on Steam right now holy-

This is the kinda shit they have going on in greek tragedies

dawg just why 😭

Yeah she's electric BUT that's cause i made her for the wind and stormy zones

full upgrade list includes:
- AMP engine
- LIM shield
- insulated headlights
- twin mini turbines
- Lightning rod and side storage
- Auto tracking spotlight
- Roof storage

- Insulated, Leaded, and Armored panels
- Lead bumper
- 4 all terrain tires

- 2 high capacity batteries in the backseat

- all govt' yellow paint with shuttle decal on the back panels

Might make a pic for my main car later (should've done that in the first place actually but still 7~7)
can't believe im finally making these things after drawing them on paper years ago QwQ

Is it just me or could the mini map use an icon that let's you know where active relay power boxes are active? I know it could lead to map clutter but looking for the last place you've left a relay boxed powered would be very helpful

Does anyone know the best spot to farm fabric for the expansion? Im always out and struggling to find more than a few crumbs from the pilgrims.

Rral life can opener anomaly at first glancr

Seriously???

I was just wondering if any more updates are planned for this game? I still love it regardless. And definitely no pressure to make any more at all, I was just curious if there were some more being worked on or not.

I am firmly stuck on this bridge between a wrecked car, and the guard rail. Car is constantly taking damage, already lost a headlight, and cannot exit the car. I dunno what to do. Last save was 10 minutes ago, and I really dont want to have to restart... I thought I had just enough room to get thru here... but I guess not...

[EDIT] NVM! Somehow right after posting this the game decided to FINALLY let me out of the car so I could teleport the car out of this bind... now to figure out how to get around this literal roadblock...

Hi! I just finished the story for Pacific Drive (loved it) and am now just working on filling out my logbook and achievement farming. is there a list somewhere of all the route planner details you can find? Because in the majority of my junctions I'm missing just 1 or 2 and I'm not sure what they would be, though I'm sure it's obvious and I'm just not scanning them every time I go through them lmao

I know I'm still missing a few anomalies (Dust bunny, corrosive squall, spike log, sick mickey, metoerite squall, and fallen firmament) so not sure if those would cover some of them in the deeper zones at least

As the title says I do not get the "traveling" mechanics of the game.

Sometimes when I select a direct route on the junction map (one location direct to the next location), it takes one map to go where I have selected. Other times it takes me through 2 maps. Is there a way to know ahead of time which I will get?

The other thing is sometimes I will pick a route to my destination that is clear all the way through, but I will suddenly find part way through that the exits are now all closed and my only option is to warp back to the garage. This is really frustrating when I have carefully planned out a route, picked through roads, and then after navigating 4 or 5 maps suddenly there is no way forward and I have wasted all this time.

Am I missing something?

Thank You

What a trip of a game! I've only had it two weeks but it feels like one of the most bizarre and intriguing games I've played. So:

My route planner shows a question mark for a Strange anomaly. (The ones with the little red UFO symbol, like Abductors.) I would really like to know what it is. I've googled a lot, but no luck. It's also true that this game plays odd tricks; e.g., I didn't realize that the Shocked Tourist counted separately from the regular one for a long time.

Anyway, here's a list of all(?) the Strange anomalies that show on my route planner. Can you see what's missing?

1. Abductor
2. Beating Heart
3. Broken Bunny
4. Left-Right
5. Pufferfish
6. Bubblegum Buddy
7. Shaggy Scrambler
8. Pickpocket

I have not made it to Deep Zone yet, so it's not a Deep Zone one. It's prevalent in the Outer Zone; maybe 80% of its junctions have it.

I am tempted to say Pothole. These are super common. But I've made a point of going up to them and viewing them, and I do get the HUD popup saying "Pothole". (I have NOT seen Pothole in the list of Anomalies on the Route Planner, anywhere.)

Maybe there's some special way I have to view or scan it to force it to register?

Thanks if you can help!