Do you wonder why this newly released game by Saber Interactive is getting such good reviews? Because it’s hyped. Many of the positive reviews look false. Many of these reviews are made by STEAM users with less than 10 hours of gameplay. And if you dislike these overly positive reviews, this is what shows up inside Steam at the game’s store page:
Now you can imagine moving over from a long-experienced SnowRunner gameplay to this newly released mess by Saber. It’s as arcade as it gets, with all kinds of limitations and missing features known by gamers who got SnowRunner many years ago (me included). As someone who is quite used to “simulators” (that seems to become more arcade from one year to the next), I was overly disappointed with how this game came out, even if I didn’t access the demo. But as you probably know, RoadCraft is yet another title hyped by simulator game influencers on social media. They loved the demo, so the hype train became LIVE. But then at the launch date, many gamers weren’t enjoying the smell of a rose garden, and I conclude the same. There were simply too many frogs in the mud…
Not SnowRunner but 80% SnowRunner
So the magical difference between RoadCraft and SnowRunner…is the magic sand. This sand is the “overwhelming new feature” of this title, a feature alone on top of many features already found in SnowRunner, but was left out.
So this magic sand is the “new thing” that makes road crafting possible, using vehicles without upgrade parts or spare parts. Vehicles in RoadCraft come with a few variations, but hardly any vehicle customisation, which could greatly ease up the gameplay.
And besides that, only a few vehicles for exploration and service (quite limited service) have winching capacity. And if you are looking to change tires, such as in SnowRunner and other driving/cargo simulators, there’s no option for that sort of exchange.
So, all in all, RoadCraft looks like a stripped/downgraded version of SnowRunner.
There’s an ongoing “review war” between “the happy, entertained RoadCraft users” and the honest, hardcore group of simmers who got RoadCraft through a STEAM bundle *those who own a copy of SnowRunner* and have some experience from the previous games.
Now, even in its “bundle condition”, this price is quite heavy:
If you are a Norwegian STEAM user like me, these are your prices for a game that wasn’t released as an EA title (early access). In its current condition, it’s more like a beta version, with bugs, glitches, and even several reports of launch errors (stuck in loading screen, cannot launch game, etc.).
It seems to be the new normal in parts of the game industry: fully releasing new titles when the game itself is almost unplayable.
So, suppose that’s how gaming customers want this industry to continue, we’ll see one arcade simulator after another, from one year to another, hyped and aired by influencers, ignoring the obvious faulty parts of a product.
This is not a pretty sight for someone with over 20 years of gaming experience to witness. It’s sad to see game developers release titles quickly while customers beta test a fully released product at that price level.
RoadCraft is simply a beta version, and very different from the early access demo.
You may wonder if we are watching a group of customers who can be easily fooled by almost anything.
Mostly Positive
Since its launch date, this game has received 3,613 reviews on STEAM, most of which are positive. And in the game’s forums, you’ll now and then find those users who claim that the game is overly negatively reviewed. For what?
Many of the positive reviews seem to come from RoadCraft owners who don’t have any experience with SnowRunner or vehicle/driving games at all, even if some of the positive reviews point out missing features, while still giving the game a positive review, probably because of some high optimism and expectations for changes.
I’m unsure if we will see drastic changes within the following months. Just to be clear, that’s not highly speculative from my point of view, because I know these game companies that supposedly make simulation games for profit.
The number one trait these game companies have in common is to pack it all into something that looks like amazing eye candy to the human eye. Let’s just call it “fantastic computer graphics”, while compromising or downgrading everything else related to core gameplay.
The second trait they use is to release a demo version or give away early access to big influencers on YouTube and Twitch—mainly streamers with a big audience. In fact, they know how to use strategic marketing, airing a “buy signal” using influencers as a proxy to give people false hopes.
To boil it down simply: it’s just marketing psychology and customer tracking to generate sales.
Half-way Sandbox Game
The sandbox part of RoadCraft isn’t that big. You cannot build roads anywhere, especially when the paver laying the asphalt layer is living its own life on flat sand. Bridges cannot be built anywhere, and there are limitations for where sand can be accessed or unloaded. This game’s “lavish simulator” aspect is narrow and hardly noticeable. Bigger vehicles seem more complex to navigate, while cranes have wires that expand when lifting cargo, with crane controls that frustrate many.
As mentioned before, vehicles cannot be customised; it is just the paint, and that’s all.
It’s such a great simulator…
No, it’s not. RoadCraft is a dumbed-down SnowRunner copy-and-paste title for entertainment purposes only.
Giant Sandbox World
Can you imagine how a game environment with static collisions for objects that realistically would break into pieces would look in RoadCraft?
Several static collision objects everywhere do not break or disappear when a vehicle impacts them. That alone impacts the “giant sandbox,” where you can “build anywhere” and get your vehicle stuck in almost anything.
The weight of the cargo (let’s call it cargo for crafting, transportation, etc.) doesn’t feel realistic. And if you pay attention to recovery vehicles, they can’t function when submerged in water. So, these also have to be recovered in the absence of better functionality.
If you think the big cargo trailers are any good, think again. These low-bed trailers can be stuck on almost any surface, do not have raising axles, and cannot be decoupled from the truck. Not a single vehicle has levelling axles that can be adjusted.
What Saber Interactive want to achieve with these new titles remains a mystery. Game modders will probably save this one while the money flows into someone’s bank account.
We Are Aware…But
Very fresh news…
The last trait is that they’ll patch up stuff and move on to the DLC train. That, too, will be hyped, with yet another basket of common bugs, errors, and so on to chew on. The developers heavily ignore the feature request list aired by the community and users of such games. And most of us know that already.
Also Steam achievements for this game seems somewhat odd:
SandCraft or RoadCraft?
In a sense (in common sense), a road craft game would probably cover a lot more of road construction than RoadCraft has in its design. So, perhaps you find the title a bit misleading, since a road can be any road. Therefore, one would also have access to almost any vehicle and material to construct the infrastructure.
However, as pointed out, RoadCraft isn’t a construction simulator, but an arcade-based video game that simulates approximately 20% of what a core simulator game could be (or become). The game is, so far, more of a demo than an open sandbox world, where you could construct roads anywhere. However, RoadCraft is in no way comparable to such a simulation game due to various obstacles and limitations. One of these limitations is when you want to dump sand near a constructed bridge. Another limitation is the reversing speed of the dump truck, which is primarily used for transporting sand. A third limitation is the presence of trees that cannot be removed.
