Explore the open roads of space while driving a truck
I’m not going to claim Star Trucker was the best thing I saw at Gamescom, per se, but I did come away from my hands-on demo thinking: yes, I understand exactly what this is, and I would like to play more of it. It’s a trucking game, but in space. That’s it. That’s the pitch.
In the announcement trailer you get a feel for the vibe: diners, country music, CB radios – a nod to the mythologised trucking culture of the ’70s. That it’s all happening in deep space means it would be very easy for Star Trucker to lean into the comedy of the conceit, but as far as I can tell, that’s not what’s happening here. Sure, the conversations on your CB radio seem lighthearted in tone, but otherwise it’s played straight.
Hauling my cargo, it’s clear just how many cues Star Trucker is taking from the peerless Euro Truck Simulator 2 – everything from the deadline to get your cargo transported on time, to the unlockable perks that let you take on more intensive, high-paying jobs. You even need to reverse your truck into the space station’s dock, a tricky bit of manoeuvring that reminded me of every time in ETS2 that I tried to reverse into a tight parking spot in Düsseldorf to unload my cargo.
The major difference, of course, is that there are no roads in space. Warping into a new system to head to the nearby space station, though, I see a couple of options. I can follow the space highway – a curving path of floating gates that guide me neatly to my destination. Or I can put the space station in my windshield and take the direct path. It’s the quicker route, but the marked path has been cleared of any space debris. Going off-road could mean a nasty collision with some space rocks.
GOING OFF-ROAD COULD MEAN A NASTY COLLISION WITH SOME SPACE ROCKS
Any damage you sustain while out on your travels will need to be fixed up. Unlike in ETS2, where there are actual businesses to do that work for you, Star Trucker takes a more DIY approach. Here you can leave your seat, climb into a space suit and float around the exterior of your truck searching for holes to patch up yourself.
