Back in late 2020, a bit of madness hit me. I say madness, because why would you ever want to play a trucking simulator that isn’t one of the giants of the genre? Well, I got looking on the eShop and the internet to see what sort of truck driving games there were for the Switch. Two choices seemed to be the best. Truck Driver – the one I went with – or this game I’m talking about here.

Truck Driver advertised itself as being a trucking game set around a local community. You can forgive me for thinking it would have featured the outskirts of a city and two small towns, then. Instead, it was similar to those giants but massively cut back. Oh, there was a story and relationship building with the contacts you find, but it never felt natural in its progression.

For Truck and Logistics Simulator then, I find a world that more closely resembles what I’d expected from Truck Driver. A few small towns separated by water, connected by bridges, and holding more than just warehouses and loading docks. Sure, it might not look all that pretty, but it’s functional. Certain textures look low resolution – especially grass – with a lot of pop-in present. But it really isn’t as bad as the title of this article would have you believe.

Sure, it feels like a concept made playable. And in a way, it is. The game is on Early Access on Steam, having already seen a few updates and getting more in the future. But the core of the gameplay loop is a strong one, even if everything else around it feels basic. Or at least for the Switch version, which feels as though it was released and forgotten about. Hence the concept made playable feel.

The game starts players out in the garage menu, where everything you can buy is seen. Selecting a vehicle brings the time and weather selection up, since there’s no timecycle here. Then, out on the roads to head for the first job. Since the game only starts you with enough for a minivan, that’s what my first time on the roads of this world was in. Heading for the nearest logistics centre in clear blue skies (why would you choose anything else when you have the choice?), it was time to get delivering.

There’re various jobs at each of the centres, with distance and cargo fragility making a difference in terms of how much you’ll be paid, among other things. First thing to do on the job is load up. Whether that be pallets of goods into the vehicle (and trailer if there’s a lot) or just a liquid trailer. Loading those pallets involves a forklift, which is easy enough to control. All vehicles have unified controls, with the important ones highlighted on the menu when needed. Once everything is loaded, I got swapped back to my minivan to begin the journey.

At the end of the journey, it’s as simple as parking in the designated zone and getting paid. And earning experience. Which I have absolutely no idea why I’m earning it. I’ve seen nothing in the game to indicate any kind of levelling system, but I can only assume it’s tracking it for some reason. Maybe when the updates start coming to the Switch I’ll see why.

I continue doing jobs until I had enough to buy a dropside van, and it’s only then that I notice the three lists on the logistics centre menu. The default being for the current vehicle, but if I so chose, I could see jobs for all the vehicles I owned or even all the vehicles in the game. Choosing a job for any owned vehicle other than my current sees me swapped to it once the loading phase begins.

Earning money to buy new vehicles is no trouble at all once getting a truck, as owning one opens up construction site jobs while using it. Hook up with a cargo container or a machinery trailer and get paid a lot more than those logistics centre jobs for delivering. However, it is nice to change things up every so often, so I’ve found myself swapping between the various vehicles I own.

And speaking of vehicles, they handle well. Each handles slightly differently, though from what I can tell, only in acceleration time and turning. There’s no cap on the speed these vehicles can go, but speed isn’t an option when the AI drivers seem to love being slow. Maybe they’re being smart, as the game physics seem to get looser the faster you go until a tiny twitch can send you flying. Not to matter, as any pallets that fly away will reset into the trailer after a few seconds.

There’s multiplayer for those who want it, but there’s not all that much to it. I could see everyone within the world, and even follow them around (and crash into them, if I so desired), but there’s no way to join together to tackle a job as one large unit. The way the menus are designed also means diving into the garage had me leave the server I was currently on. There’s a vehicle menu that does the same thing as the garage, so it’s not a problem as long as you remember which menu to go to.

I’ve been having a lot of fun with this one. A delivery sandbox concept that shows a lot of promise. The developers seem hopeful they can deliver a fuller game with their next update to the Steam version – which should see it come out of Early Access. I can only hope that when it does, the Switch version sees an update to add everything the Steam version has. That way, it will be an easier recommendation.

However, what is here is perfectly serviceable. The core game works fine, and if you enjoy the delivery simulation gameplay, you’ll get a lot from it. As long as you can forgive the graphics and sparse environments, and all the little foibles the game has, it’s as enjoyable from that first journey up to your hundredth and beyond.

Images Taken From:
Truck and Logistics Simulator (Original Screenshots)