Night Drive

About Night Drive

Night Drive is a free horror visual novel by HangingBrain, who did the art, writing and programming alone for Scream Jam 2024. It is made in Ren'Py and plays in the browser on itch.io, with Windows and macOS downloads; the maker recommends a download, since the web version can be a bit glitchy.

It opens with you coming to in the back seat of a car. Your wrists and ankles are bound, the road outside is dark and empty, and in the rear-view mirror you see the face of the driver. You have no idea who he is. From there the game is a conversation: you choose what to say and what to ask, and the answers start to raise worse questions than the ones you began with.

The art is painted in greys and night blues, seen from the back seat, and the view drifts slightly with the mouse, which players single out as a detail that makes the car feel close. Colour and blood come in only as things go wrong. Its maker lists multiple CGs and four possible endings, and warns that it shows gore, violence, blood and death and has strong language.

It suits players who like short, dialogue-driven horror where the threat is a person in a small space, and who like to replay for every ending and argue over what really happened.

How to play Night Drive

1. Open the itch.io page and press Run game, or download the Windows or macOS build for a smoother run.
2. Click to read through the scene in the car.
3. When choices appear, pick what to say or ask the driver.
4. Watch the mirror and the car around you; small details change as the story goes on.
5. Replay and choose differently to reach the other endings; there are four.

Tips

• Download the game if the browser version stutters; its maker says the web build is a little glitchy.
• Ask different questions on each run: the endings depend on how the conversation goes.
• Pay attention to small details in the CGs, such as stains and where the driver looks; players use them to piece the story together.

Questions