This is one of the rare simulator games that has it's own groove. If you play a lot of simulator games, you start to feel like they are all made by the same people even though they aren't. From the artwork to the design of the interface, they start to run together.
When I started playing this one the one thing that stood out to me was that it felt different than the other simulators I played, and that gave it a huge boost right away.
I started in Early Access, as most do, and watched it evolve with new features and player feedback shaped it for the most part in a good direction. Until it didn't.
The developers have added tons of new cars, features and updates along the way. I don't know if I give them nearly as much credit as they give themselves for all the updates they have done, fixing bugs and making things work right are part of game development. You don't get a big pat on the back for fixing what is broken, but I will acknowledge that they did actually fix things and didn't abandon the game.
My issue is simply that they seem to not know what game they are making.
This is a car dealership. You are buying used cars, sometimes complete junkers, and fixing them up to resell them. That's the game loop. Anything added to the game should be part of that game loop. While I have no issue with adding some bar games to pass the time, the first DLC added illegal street racing....and it just doesn't fit the game at all.
One, you can tell right away the game wasn't built with racing in mind. The first time you tow a vehicle back to your shop the last thing you're going to be thinking is "Hey, too bad I can't race this thing!"
Secondly, for many of us, the dealership side of things just feels incomplete. For example, you are the only one who can sell cars. A car dealership with no salesmen? What?
You will find yourself with hundreds of cars sitting by waiting to be repaired and sold because there are certain parts of the process that only the player can do. Like moving a car from the mechanic to the body shop, or moving a car to the wash...moving a car around the lot period. Selling that car.
It really slows down the process, and usually it's not a big deal in many game, but here it takes quite a bit of time to get a car from junk to ready to sell. Far more time than it takes to actually sell it. So you will find yourself with days of being closed to the public just to get cars ready to sell.
Watch as your expensive employees stand around waiting for you to move the next car over to them so they can work on it.
Simulators are almost always games of managing efficiency. But that doesn't seem to be a goal here. You will spend you time playing porter, moving cars around so your employees can stay busy. Then parking it so you can sell it one day when you have a few ready to go, because the AI isn't hard to sell to. it's not a challenging game, you're just really busy with busy work...work that even after reaching the highest levels of you're still doing. Doesn't matter you've mastered the business and hired a dozen specialist to help you, you're still going to be doing that busy grunt work if you want to or not.
Maybe it's not a big deal. But if you play a lot of these kinds of games, which let's be honest, simulator players do...it's going to bother you.
So, when you see they are bringing DLC, of course you get excited. New content to help you get more efficient! But no. Street racing. Poor street racing with bad AI and terrible racing physics. It's like tractor racing in Farming Simulator...and they expect you to pay 75% if the base game price for it? You can't unlock or use the content in that DLC without actually racing...um, no.
It's almost like the developers have no idea what game they want to make. No one asked for this. No one seemed to want this either, judging by the feedback being given. And worst, they priced it almost as much as the base game...
I skipped the DLC. But I can't avoid the big empty shadow in the room of the base feeling incomplete. Missing salesmen, lack of efficiency when managing cars. No real feel of dealership expansion. No car customization.
The game was good for a few hours, then the glaring holes in it's design started to show and it just never recovered. Here's to hoping maybe they change it in the future. If they do, I'll change this review. For now, just avoid this one. You'll only end up disappointed in the end.
