Driftwood is a brand new game about being a sloth on a longboard and rolling down steep roads very quickly. It’s a game about being fast but, equally, it’s a game about being slow – a game about taking it easy and not getting too worked up about things. A game to relax with.
DriftwoodDeveloper/Publisher: Stoked Sloth InteractivePlatform: Played on PCAvailability: Out now on Steam Early Access
Driftwood hit Steam Early Access at the beginning of June, and here, Donlan and Bertie take a look.
Chris: Are you familiar with the fact that sloths are having a bit of a moment? Their latent start power has been acknowledged. My daughter’s absolutely obsessed, and you can’t go on TikTok without seeing a sloth yawning or squeaking or falling out of a tree. Are you a fan?
Bertie: I didn’t know this! I actually haven’t thought much about the game actually being about a sloth. I mean, there’s Flash in Zootopia, who’s a legend. But I’m more concerned about the longboarding at the moment – is that what it’s even called? To me, there’s something quintessentially 90s about it, and San Francisco about it. That’s what they all do out there I think?
Chris: Yes, that and weed. It’s fascinating – so in Driftwood you play a longboarding sloth. It’s this arcadey sports game, and the fact that you’re a sloth both does and does not matter. It doesn’t add much to things mechanically, but it’s also never out of your mind: I’m on this longboard and I’m a sloth. So it’s completely unimportant and utterly central to the whole game. It’s certainly, I suspect, a big part of why we’re discussing it, so it’s done its job.