” We had something special once we started tuning the haptics, especially for the [adaptive] triggers, and how they interacted with the suspension, and what the car is doing,” says game director Alexander Dracott.

The lack of any big, swanky first-party exclusives for PS5 for the foreseeable future might be a concern for some, but the console is still set to receive plenty of notable exclusives over the coming months, several of which are coming from third-party developers. Pacific Drive is one such game. Ironwood Studios’ first-person driving survival game has looked increasingly promising with each new showing, but what exactly can PS5 players expect from the game in terms of how it will leverage the console’s hardware?

Speaking in an interview with the official PlayStation Blog, game director Alexander Dracott answered that question, and focused specifically about how Pacific Drive will make use of the DualSense controller’s adaptive triggers and haptic feedback.

“The big one is the DualSense controller, for sure,” Dracott said. “We had something special once we started tuning the haptics, especially for the [adaptive] triggers, and how they interacted with the suspension, and what the car is doing. We figured out a very clever way to translate the change of the change of the suspension differences that the car is handling as it drives along and map that out into our rumble. You might drive over a bump and feel like the controller reacts appropriately. If something pops the wheel off your car, it will drop, and you’ll feel it drop. We also added noise into the simulation to help make it feel correct when driving on off-road surfaces. We’re really pleased with how the game feels on this controller.”

Pacific Drive is set to launch on February 22 for PS5 and PC. A physical Deluxe Edition of the game will launch for PS5 on April 9, including a 24-page traveler’s journal, an in-game cosmetic pack for your station wagon, and more.