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Truck Driver proves that there is something for everyone in the simulation genre. Whether you are cooking food, making potions, crafting furniture, or fishing, you can fill your boots. Moreover, like its peers, you’ll become immersed in an interesting world filled with colourful characters and never-ending tasks.
Developed and published by SOEDESCO, this is a driving simulation title. What’s more, there are plenty of custom options and a massive open world to explore. You may wonder why I’m covering a 2019 game. Well, the new DLC has been released, so I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone. However, the DLC article will follow.
Truck Driver tells a familiar tale.
If you are a simulation aficionado, you’ll be familiar with the story. However, this doesn’t mean that it’s boring, because it isn’t. You are the son of a truck driver and you’ve inherited your dad’s vehicle. Consequently, you up sticks and move to a new town. Here, you must make your fortune while becoming familiar with a new job. En route, you’ll make friends and ship a range of exotic cargo.
If you are successful, you’ll help local businesses to thrive. Furthermore, you’ll be paid handsomely for your efforts. Subsequently, you can buy new garages, purchase new trucks, and pimp your ride however you wish. Unlike other sim games, this one focuses on a relaxing experience. As such, there are no police chases and crashes aren’t spectacular. Instead, you’ll be fined for misdemeanours, and you’ll have to pay any repair bills from your profit margin.
Wonderfully stripped-back gameplay.
Some simulation fans will be disappointed by the stripped-back mechanics. However, I adored the simplicity and how easy it was to pick up. Thankfully, there isn’t a steep learning curve and after you tackle the short tutorial, you are good to go.
You begin the game with your inherited vehicle. By driving this around, you’ll earn skill points in specific categories. You’ll be rewarded for safe driving and completing specific missions. As you level up, you’ll earn cash and unlock new equipment. Alongside this, each job earns you XP. This commodity is spent on passive skills to increase money, XP, or reduce fuel, repair bills, and so forth. As you can tell, it lacks complexity. Yet, I adored it for its rudimentary approach, and this isn’t a complaint.
Alongside this, you are expected to manage your fatigue and the fuel in your vehicle. If you become exhausted or your tank runs dry, you’ll fail your job and the locals will not be happy. Accordingly, you must keep an eye on your speed, your stamina, and your fuel if you wish to succeed.
Truck Driver lacks a bit of polish.
This genre isn’t always that pretty. Therefore, it didn’t surprise me that Truck Driver had some rough edges. However, it wasn’t a problem as gameplay is king in these games. Additionally, I’d rather have a smooth performance with minimal glitches than a beautiful buggy mess. Fortunately, the action runs smoothly no matter the weather or the time of day. Moreover, I loved the rain effect and the horrible glare of headlights at nighttime. On top of this, the choice of viewpoints and the free-flowing camera make this a joy to play.
A relaxed game needs a humble and calm soundtrack. Luckily, Truck Driver delivers a stunning blend of folksy and calm songs. These are complemented by some realistic sound effects. Whether it was the driving rain, the beep of your horn, or the movement of the windscreen wipers, it was fantastic.
Good controls.
I was impressed by the control system. Your vehicle is responsive and damage has an adverse effect. On top of this, you can use a steering wheel to make the experience more realistic. At first glance, the UI isn’t intuitive. Furthermore, the tutorial fails to mention the mappable controls or the shortcut buttons. Consequently, until you uncover this information, the game feels clumsy. However, once you master the shortcuts, the action springs to life and everything is more manageable as a result.
There is a massive world to explore, and some hidden places to find. Furthermore, you must complete plenty of jobs and save your cash to get the best vehicles or upgrades. However, if you don’t love the simulation genre, you may find the action repetitive. As such, it would have been nice if there was a way to enhance the difficulty to mix up the gameplay a little.
Truck Driver does exactly what you’d expect.
Truck Driver impressed me, but it offers few surprises. Consequently, if you are a genre veteran, you’ll be familiar with practically every mechanism on offer. Moreover, the UI is frustrating and something that could have easily been rectified. Yet, I love the fact that you can use a steering wheel and I adore the chance to expand the game with the new Heading North DLC. Accordingly, I enjoyed my time with this and I recommend that you buy it here! Can you become a truck driver and fulfil your dad’s dream? Learn the basics, make some contacts, and deliver those goods around the country.
