Take this job and shove it

It lastly occurred. I’ve been damaged. I do my greatest to play via every recreation that comes for me as completely as attainable, however I simply can’t do it for Meals Truck Simulator. Which is a disgrace as a result of I actually appreciated Gasoline Station Simulator. I like what Drago Leisure is doing by attempting to construct a shared simulator universe. I recognize their imaginative and prescient. Goofy simulators even have a stable area in my coronary heart.

However Meals Truck Simulator is undercooked. I hate to drag out a type of puns that usually go within the closing paragraph of a evaluation, however its greatest issues are all associated to not only a lack of polish however a dearth of care. Contemplating this was, weirdly sufficient, one in every of my most anticipated video games of this yr, the frustration is all mine.

Meals Truck Simulator (PC)
Developer: DRAGO Leisure
Writer: Film Video games S.A.
Launched: September 14, 2022
MSRP: $19.99

Whereas the identify makes the subject material clear, what you actually need to find out about Meals Truck Simulator is that it’s splendidly hands-on. It’s not nearly managing a enterprise but in addition about doing the soiled work; shopping for elements, driving to spots, doling out meals. Actually, the administration points are very refined, clearing the way in which to excellent your cooking craft.

The precise cooking is fairly enjoyable. There are 4 sorts of meals that you just sling out of your truck window: burgers, fries, pizza, and sushi. They every have their very own elements, with a couple of crossing over, and so they all have their very own strategies of cooking. Meals Truck Simulator is at its greatest when it lets you give attention to multi-tasking, juggling a number of orders, and attempting to get them out as rapidly and precisely as attainable. It additionally manages to get a pleasant stability of detailed mechanics and enjoyable stream.

Then on high of it, it heaps a variety of issues. Whereas that’s to be anticipated, the issue is that none of them are as fine-tuned because the cooking.

Mustard and mayo on fries

For starters, it’s a must to get via the multitude of tutorials, which is a horrible drag. The story begins off with you selecting up your late father’s dream of being some cool meals truck man. I assume it’s a bonding factor, nevertheless it’s a bit late for that. You begin selecting up the items, however then somebody actually units you on hearth. So that you choose up the items once more, then you definitely learn to make pizza, then you definitely learn to make sushi, then I assume you are able to do these issues by yourself. It’s made worse as a result of Meals Truck Simulator retains pushing this actually tenuous story about bonding together with your dad. The primary character’s voice appears like somebody is deliberately doing an impression of essentially the most boring particular person they’ll think about.

You would possibly discover some main points earlier than the tutorial even ends. The press notes I received point out a day one patch, however a few of these are issues I noticed within the demo months in the past, so I’m unsure what religion I’ve. The efficiency is horrible. I’ve received a modestly beefy setup, however driving across the metropolis gave me loads of stuttering, which appears to be an issue with its degree of element streaming. However then the framerate additionally tanked each time I unfold pizza sauce, and also you’ve received me there. It’s not essentially the most superior marinara physics I’ve ever seen, so what’s bogging issues down is past my meager information of recreation design.

The bugs had been what triggered me to wrestle early on. Earlier than I even completed the tutorial, I received this bug the place I minimize up a chili pepper, and the items of it disappeared. High quality, I might simply minimize one other, besides no I couldn’t. It nonetheless registered one thing on the reducing board, so it fully prevented me from finishing any extra orders. So, I reloaded the newest save, and it began me off with the target to purchase all of the provides for my subsequent job. The issue is: I had all these elements already filling up loads of area in my truck.

So, earlier than I might purchase extra, I needed to empty what I had within the truck simply so I might rebuy the whole lot. That’s an enormous ache already, however then I couldn’t determine take away stuff. You’ll be able to go to your stock, however the choice to throw stuff away isn’t there. No, as a substitute, it’s a must to purchase it, go to the shop, and solely via the shop’s menu are you able to take away objects.

Simply give me one thing crawling with parasites

I’ve an enormous tolerance for bugs. I’ve performed some rickety video games. Meals Truck Simulator simply couldn’t discover a method to make it worthwhile to transcend.

A part of the difficulty is that the economic system drove me nuts. You’ll at all times need to juggle the meals you promote. Every spot has two preferences, so when you go to the nightclub, you’re serving burgers and fries, however when you go to the port, it’s pizza and fries. That’s a good suggestion as a result of it’s arduous to maintain a inventory of all these ready elements, particularly since there’s no alternative for prep cooking. Nonetheless, elements go dangerous, and so they go dangerous in a short time.

It’s nearly higher to simply give attention to one location because it’s simpler to maintain a contemporary inventory of these elements. There’s a restricted quantity of cupboard space in your truck, to start with, so rotating via all of the meals sorts is needlessly troublesome. For those who do dare to juggle what you serve, get able to throw out loads of meals, and as I’ve already established, throwing out meals just isn’t very intuitive.

Maintain on, I must get one thing off my chest. How does soy sauce spoil, however mayonnaise doesn’t?

Spoiled soy sauce

The economic system is so screwed up. You are able to do side-jobs, and one in every of them is at a gasoline station. Finishing these jobs will unlock fast-travel factors all through town. Nonetheless, utilizing these requires you to pay, and that may value upwards of $100. Are you aware how a lot cash you make at these facet jobs? It’s not way more than $100, so why the hell would I spend that on quick journey? Even creating wealth feeding the lots doesn’t make it worthwhile.

You additionally need to gasoline up your truck, which you are able to do with a jerry can in your storage or from a pump at a gasoline station. I initially thought that it could be cheaper to do it in your storage because it takes longer and is barely extra sophisticated, however that doesn’t appear to be the case. In the meantime, you may order elements in your pc, and when you go to select them up rapidly sufficient, you get a reduction. For those who simply drive to the shop, not solely do you not get a reduction for some motive, however every retailer solely focuses on a selected inventory. It doesn’t make sense.

It’s a felony to tease the order field

Probably the most heartbreaking a part of Meals Truck Simulator is that the core gameplay is solid-ish, however the basis they put it on is constructed out of Saltines. I really feel like I might stick my finger into each orifice of the sport and provide you with a special illness every time. It’s rotten.

Quite a lot of it might be mounted. A few of it may be mounted with the day one patch, and I even thought-about delaying this evaluation to see if issues improved. Nonetheless, I stumbled throughout so many points that I can’t fathom a patch bringing it as much as snuff. Throughout my gameplay, I discovered myself considering of attainable DLC that provides Mexican delicacies and pastries. By the point I lastly had sufficient and walked away, the one factor I wished was a playable expertise. This rooster continues to be pink within the center.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}