Backseat Drivers
by GhostJam Games · 9 Oct, 2025
89 downloads
Important Note
Get the Friend Pass on Steam and apply the Online Fix down below.
This will unlock the FULL GAME on Steam for Free.
About the Game
You’re two hapless road-users in the world’s least roadworthy car, and you have a long, long drive ahead of you. The driver can’t see where they’re going. The passenger can see, but can’t drive, and desperately shouts directions from the back seat. All while the car falls to pieces and the world does everything it can to ruin your day.
Have a nice trip!
Gramma take the wheel! As the driver, you have to contend with the car working as hard as it can against you and listen to your passenger if you’ll have any chance of reaching your destination.
Ohhhh boy. Only the passenger can see where the car’s going, so you’re both at gramma’s mercy. Clear communication is key to keep the car from crashing!
Smash, shunt, and crash your way through one big detour of a journey taking you up mountains, down subway tunnels, onto insane highways and through secret government facilities.
Left! Left! No, RIGHT! Stop stop STOP!! The couple that jives together drives together. If the passenger gives good directions (and the driver can follow them) you’re guaranteed a smooth and blissful cruise. But when something goes wrong — which it will — it’s both of your faults.
The car may be an ancient piece of junk, but they don’t make ‘em like they used to. Every component is swappable with something else. No brake pedal? No problem. Just snap a cassette tape where the pedal used to be. Good as new!
Friend Pass - Bring Along a Friend FREE!
Anyone who owns a copy of Backseat Drivers can play with one person who doesn't! If one of you owns the game, both of you can play together.
Note: Friend Pass is limited to 1 free player per 1 paid player. For a 3 or 4-player co-op session, a minimum of 2 paid copies of the game are required.
Screenshots
8 images
Version Information
Steam Patch Notes
Official update history
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45577352/398cbcfa561ef9338f2133ccbf228d0d666fd9cf.png"]
We've fixed the issue with Level 8's ski lift, whose arms were spinning wildly out of control. You can once again grab the clamps and drag 'em back onto the car, so you're not guaranteed to fall to your doom.
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45577352/398cbcfa561ef9338f2133ccbf228d0d666fd9cf.png"]
Holiday Heist Hotfix
Happy Holidays and a quick hotfix for the Holiday Heist level from us, with:
An out of bounds path, previously available on the immediate left and right on entering the Port of Pebkac, have been blocked off. You forgot your hardhat, so...
The stevedore working in the warehouse doesn't warp around no more
Driving out of the metropolitan elite restaurant tower to the action movie down-the-side-of-the-building path no longer makes the car flip out and go nuts
Doors on the smash-thru container shouldn't get stuck
Added collision to props and environment that was missing it
Removed collision from props and environment that didn't need it
Made it harder to fall off the sides of the down-the-tower path
Told the bartender to chill out. Rather than fidgeting around on the spot he's now reading his phone
Pick you up for the next one.
Hello hello and happy holidays and new years to everyone everywhere! Before the team here has a chance to wind down and take a well-earned break, everyone's been working very hard on today's update, which, alongside various bugfixes, increases the length of the game by about 10%! Featuring a new level, new cosmetics, new car paint jobs, new driver and passenger skins and more, here's everything you're getting when you unwrap The Holiday Heist.
A DOG'S NOT JUST FOR THE HOLIDAYS ...
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45577352/d3c1966feaa83d1c7566e11aac6e2021e91cfb42.gif"]
One of today's major additions is an adorable (if slightly addle-brained) doggie as a playable passenger, with art by Jason, fully functional with custom animations courtesy of Max/Deadcat, voice acting by Joey's dog Queenie and additional sounds by Garrett ... and without progression or rating-gating involved. That's right! This little fella roams free, and is available to play for everyone who's purchased a copy of Backseat Drivers.
Said pooch comes in a variety of breeds:
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45577352/ddecd5e95e4b8ecc865ce00d9c42557e4ede0305.png"]
He's playful:
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45577352/fcd1be357f6c4ac05de4276372073b9d779e51ad.png"]
He's mischevious:
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45577352/8b2e8ac7231c4b984c1ee032011850ba803faf54.png"]
He's cute:
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45577352/732fc77a8726701ca5005dca2b5ea3447c41a450.png"]
And most importantly, he's yours (if you can stay out of a jail cell):
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45577352/de6a16767e1807a0d525b29561e34f6eb2531c0b.png"]
... IT'S ALSO FOR ROBBING BANKS
The second major piece of content released today is a new level, The Holiday Heist, in which the occupants of the Harlow Patchwork, back in the city of Pebkac and en route to holiday shopping, take a detour which has them stumble into a tense police standoff situation, then commit some larceny maybe, and make a get-very-far-away. All totally by accident, your honor, I swear.
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45577352/64e368b3848aa304ba2abdd781ece786cfc00ae9.png"]
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45577352/d7cc3954edd69324a744159341822c6bbf8f6b65.png"]
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45577352/dd57f33ea43a261aa40510ca0a257222a123de69.png"]
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45577352/ed7142fea3f355fee7685a7e1a46f0ee8fb96b57.png"]
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45577352/0f0084c96e52520fd70f539a06d96446739c2f6b.png"]
This level also isn't gated and is available to play for everyone no matter how far through the game you've got, as a thank you to all players for accompanying on this long and winding journey. Thank you all for riding with us. You're hilarious and we love you and we've loved having you with us. A road trip without good company is no company at all. You are the ones who have made all the work worthwhile.
OTHER NEW STUFF
For some reason, even though the so-called heist was totally by accident, Gramma and Grampa also just so happened to be wearing bank robbing gear:
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45577352/d7761c8e4bce0c557bb501d8828245142ccaab19.png"]
Grampa's grand larceny gear, in which he is known as the Gramburgler
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45577352/9f5c35db78754539958cc49787e3f5e5980c8299.png"]
Gramma's great heist outfit, in which she goes by Grammaclava
There's also some new cosmetics to unlock and to pick up, with associated achievements:
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45577352/a02d22a099dfbf778ae5cc81e9984cb3a5c91866.png"]
And a host of new (or uhhh forgotten-and-unused-til-now) car paint jobs, some of which were available in the demo, are at long last available in the full game to everyone:
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45577352/daceae4c97f16f95a5f3697531290e66348a079f.png"]
We've also made some improvements to gamepad controls, and fixed errant bits and pieces of localization here and there.
DETAILED PATCH NOTES
As follows:
New level, The Holiday Heist
New passenger, Rex, a harebrained hound, in a variety of color variants
New driver skin, The Gramburgler, in various skin variants
New driver skin, The Grammaclava, in various skin variants
Several new music tracks on tapes in The Holiday Heist
New cosmetic pedal pickup, the money stack, and associated achievement "Vacation savings"
New cosmetic shifter unlockable, the crowbar, and associated achievement "One last job"
New cosmetic pedal unlockable, the C4, and associated achievement "Pond's 2"
New cosmetic window roller unlockable, the gun, and associated achievement "The slow and the calm"
New cosmetic steering wheel unlockable, the Christmas star, and associated achievement "Point (winter) break"
"New" (actually restored from the BSD demo) car paint job, super cool lava rally flames
Another new-to-you car paint job, the mind bending purple polka dots
Another new-to-you car paint job, go-faster stripes, in various colors
An actually new car paint job, "Rusty White"
Another actually new car paint job, "Fuddy-duddy Fuschia"
Fixes to the play experience with gamepad
Fixes to busted bits of localization
That's all for now.
Have a great Christmas, Holiday, New Year, or just December if that's all it is to you!
Pick you up when it's time for the next one.
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45577352/413308810dce53694920683c0a905623a4b6421c.png"]
Because there's not an "Only With Friends" or a "Turn Your Friends Against You" category!
We've put the whole year into making Backseat Drivers a frustratingly fun struggle in which you laugh til you cry/cry til you laugh, and muddling through its weird world with your friends is the most important element in making it feel like a fun and rewarding experience. It's also the only way to experience it at all, but that is beside the snuggly, cute, marshmallowy, heartfelt point I am trying to make.
Seriously. Your time spent playing, and all your many clips of the ensuing chaos, have made it all worth it to us already, but if you enjoyed the game at all, your nominations and your reviews would be the cherry on top!!
The Halloween content update and the Arcade update that just went live weren't the last, either. More content is incoming, so stay parked right there 'til we're done!!
NOMINATE BACKSEAT DRIVERS FROM NOW TIL DEC 1st @ 10AM PACIFIC
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45577352/398cbcfa561ef9338f2133ccbf228d0d666fd9cf.png"]
Sorry for the delay on this patch — it's a few days later than we wanted — we've been super busy working on more content!!!!! coming soon.
Now get in loser, we killed the scariest bugs in the car!
Fixed the skin system bug in which swapping from driver to passenger in gameplay didn't respect which character you chose, sometimes giving you the other player's character or a default selection. Now it should respect everyone's choices.
Fixed an issue with pedals not being able to swap between displaying (and being pressed by) Q & E. As if this game wasn't confusing enough already.
Fixed an issue in level 8 with the snow plow chase sometimes failing to trigger on successive respawns. Now he won't stop til he gets you or falls off the mountain
Also fixed an issue in level 8 with the metal jingle bells cover coming from the murderous snow plow sometimes not audible for everybody in the car
Cleanup of some misbehaving rascals in the netcode
Pick you up when it's time for the next one.
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45577352/9bfdda0d76e2c5651d1738d6dfe5b3358b969dbd.jpg"]
Come, confused little road users, you want not the overpriced carnival family haunted house ride this All Hallows Eve! 'Tis much more frightening (and cheaper tbh) to take a short drive to us, instead, where terror and dark secrets await, barely cloistered within ...
GRAMMA'S HOUSE
Along with new content and a carful of fixes, this update brings our first post-launch level, An Evening at Gramma's, our bone-chilling take on the classic roadside attractions of yore. Ghosts and ghouls and weird stuff that will make you go "huh?" lurk within! Drive on up and see for yourself IF YOU DARE.
We are still working on the other upcoming neat secret stuff in the GhostJam game dev lab on wheels, but for now, an overview of what's included in today's terrifying update.
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45577352/160642e68bc34b759bce232f27baaa0409ac0410.png"]
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45577352/e7e21b7a5d4e8e781e2a4c234afdec7047f41526.jpg"]
New content:
New level, An Evening at Gramma's, available to everyone no matter how far through the story they are
New car cosmetics to unlock for the new level
New driver skin: Grampula
New driver skin: Grandwitch
New passenger skin: Bonesy
Passenger directional callouts (up/down/left/right/stop) now change based on character. Monday (Goth Girl)'s voice is pitched up, Buggs (Big Boy)'s voice is pitched down, and Bonesy's voice is clattering bones and xylophone hits.
Accessibility improvements:
Improved center interact to make it more reliable
The rocket button now blinks when ready, and beeps angrily before it explodes you
The poo room's flood wheel in level 3 was a bit hard to see, so we now draw a little more attention to it
Cosmetic car pickup items in all levels will now play their twinkle sound and display their VFX properly to make them a bit easier to find (and now correctly play their pickup SFX)
Enabled forward shading for faster rendering and better performance
Optimized shaders to be kinder to more hardware
Optimized transparency pass so that e.g. looking through a bunch of transparent materials at once doesn't punish your GPU as much
Fixed localization for some languages that were unable to be selected
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45577352/3359fb9b517bb0ff8cb80603112722ee88bc364e.gif"]
Center interact vs normal interaction.
Fixes:
Added another lighter literally taped to the cannon at the end of Level 5 to make it less frustrating to light the fuse if yours is stuck under a seat or something
Another fix for the dang CCTV machine in Level 6 (please work)
Balanced various SFX throughout the game, banged fists on top of various other SFX so that it actually plays
Fixed the crosshair when pumping gas in level 6
Added desperate food-wrapper-unwrapping SFX to food order on level 2
Fixed some collisions on the cute alien murdering puzzle on level 7
Found your mouse pointer! It was getting lost on the mission complete screen
Fixed some speed bumps that were too brutal, too metal, too hardcore for a sweet little game like this
Fixed the fire grate kill cam which would sometimes give you the awe-inspiring, astonishing view of the inside of a rock
Additionally shrunk the bounds of the fire grate since it was incinerating your car and everyone in it from a smidge too far away
Spacebar now removes an item when ordering your wonderful healthy meal in level 2
The Device doesn't beepbeepbeepbeepbeebeEEBEEBEEBEEBEEEEEEEEEEEEP at you when dropped any more
Game audio now ducks when you complete a mission so you don't get sensory overload from ALL THE SOUNDS playing
Speaking of the complete screen! It now animates your stats a bit faster without mashing the spacebar or furious clicking, and correctly plays SFX while it does
Resolved an issue with passenger-perspective fire not being removed when the passenger's fire is extinguished
Moved a bunch of the crud at the motel on level 6 that was incorrectly blocking off some routes through and making others unintentionally difficult
The leaderboards now display the first 100 entries instead of the first 10
Known issues:
Something may have scrambled up the skins system which means they can switch undesirably in gameplay. We're working on a fix!
Pick you up when it's time for the next one.
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45577352/398cbcfa561ef9338f2133ccbf228d0d666fd9cf.png"]
Another round of windshield wipes for another round of sneaky little bugs that got all smooshed and dried on there.
As follows:
Fixed VSync. Vs now properly synced.
Ys can now be inverted! Added a new "Inverted Y axis" option in the settings since it'd been highly requested, possibly by those of you who are airplane pilots and are used to it being that way? Just kidding, this had been on our radar a while — thanks for the requests and for your patience.
Ragdoll issues resolved. Let us know if they continue to misbehave.
Fixed the food order in level 2. You can now, once again, see what you're meant to order and how to order it.
Fixed collision in various places basically in every level. What you collide with is important. That goes for outside the game, and in.
Checkpoint in level 4 fixed, shouldn't put you inside some horrible boulder for no reason after ramming poor innocent sweet gremlin Froyo Hopkins
Added glare FX to dome light in car to make the reason you're horribly flashbanged a little clearer
Your "Gashole" in level 6 will now flash when your hole wants gas. Er, no comment.
Adjusted bounds for coin toss to make it easier to land your "Kobe!"s into the coin baskets and so on
Adjusted bounds for level 2 park puzzle so less undesirable stratospheric escapes and other mischief can happen
Don't play with fire, kids!! Except in level 5, where we have fixed an issue that could sometimes break the lighter.
Current Release
Not available
System Requirements
How to Install
BDS.exe to play
Troubleshooting tips
• Run Redist/_CommonRedist installers if game won't start
• Add folder to Windows Defender exclusions
• Run as administrator
Download
Direct link available
10 MB
Get the Friend Pass on Steam and apply the Online Fix
You May Also Like
View All
Download Backseat Drivers for PC with a direct link or via torrent. Get the full version of Backseat Drivers for free. Backseat Drivers is a Casual released by GhostJam Games.