Truckful

There's something lovely about jumping into an old pickup truck, loading up the cargo bed, and heading out into the countryside to deliver goods to locals. It's a simple premise, but Truckful makes it surprisingly enjoyable, thanks to its gorgeous art style, cosy atmosphere, and a mysterious world hiding some rather nasty surprises. Unfortunately, while there's plenty to love about this delivery adventure, a few bumps in the road prevent it from reaching its full potential. And by bumps in the road, I don't mean the sort that send your cargo flying into a nearby ditch. However, there's certainly plenty of that, too.


Thank Truck you're here!

At its heart, Truckful is about completing deliveries, helping locals, and exploring a seemingly peaceful countryside. The jobs offer a satisfying variety, with different cargo types and destinations bringing their own challenges. Carefully loading your truck and navigating winding roads with precious cargo in tow can be a lot of fun, particularly when you're trying to reach your destination without turning your delivery into an impromptu game of parcel bowling. The physics add a welcome layer of unpredictability, making even relatively straightforward journeys entertaining.

Of course, there's only so much fun to be had when you're transporting goods from A to B, but Truckful does a good job of keeping things interesting, at least initially.

What starts off as a somewhat linear delivery game becomes more like a Metroidvania, where you unlock useful attachments, new tyres, engines and even a nitro boost allowing you to smash through barricades, make your way through muddy patches that would otherwise ruin the engine, and make it over deadly jumps into new areas. I love the sense of meaningful progression, and how beautifully the world opens up, showing me wonderful places to go, and more dangers roaming certain terrains. It's really cool how the world opens up, and how you do it with a cool truck that evolves over time. It reminded me a lot of the deep, dynamic progression of Days Gone and its bike. Cool stuff.

What really makes Truckful stand out, however, is its presentation. The colourful art style is gorgeous, giving the countryside a welcoming, almost storybook quality that makes exploring its winding roads and picturesque surroundings a pleasure. A lovely cosy atmosphere runs throughout, and it's easy to lose yourself in the simple routine of picking up a job and heading off to complete it. It's all very wholesome, really. Well, until the nightmare fuel starts rolling down the road towards you.


Trucking in the morning, and trucking through the nightmare realm

The demonic vehicles that roam certain areas are a particular highlight, reminding me of the monster encounters from Dredge (and that’s a good thing). These nightmarish machines provide a fantastic contrast to the otherwise peaceful surroundings, turning what might have been an ordinary delivery into a desperate scramble to get out alive. They're wonderfully creepy, and I loved the idea of these monstrous vehicles haunting the countryside.

One in particular was pure nightmare fuel since it reminded me of my childhood fear of the truck from the 1971 film Duel. I love their creepy music and their completely WTF attitude when they spring from nowhere. There's a genuine sense of unease when you encounter them, and they add a welcome dose of horror to an otherwise laid-back experience. Nothing says a relaxing afternoon in the countryside like being chased by a vehicle that looks like it was assembled in the deepest pits of Hell.

I also surprisingly vibed with the story and thought it was pretty decent, especially the world-building bits and lore that give you an intriguing reason to keep exploring. There's more going on here than simply ferrying parcels from A to B, and I appreciated the mystery surrounding the world and its inhabitants. I found the cast of characters interesting and funny throughout the plot, with plenty of cool exchanges, backstories, and each character with their own striking personality.

It gives the adventure a little more substance, making the deliveries feel like part of a larger journey rather than a series of disconnected errands. It's a lovely surprise, and one reason I enjoyed Truckful as much as I did.


Truck me sideways ...

Unfortunately, my biggest gripe is the camera, which can be an absolute nightmare at times. I appreciate the idea behind the fixed viewpoints, and they can work well when everything falls into place, but sometimes foreground objects refuse to disappear, leaving your view obstructed at precisely the wrong moment. Trying to navigate a tricky stretch of road when you can barely see where you're going is frustrating enough. But when a demonic truck is chasing you, and the trees are in the way, dear lord, it gets infuriating fast. I've even rage quit once or twice because of it. There's something quite special about a game where the biggest enemy isn't a demonic truck, but a bloody tree. I like the idea behind the camera, but when the scenery becomes more threatening than the actual monsters, something has gone wrong.

I was also a bit disappointed by how restricted the demonic vehicles felt in their movement and when they appear. Given how effective these encounters are, I would have loved to see them roaming even more throughout the world. Something closer to Dredge, with its day-and-night cycle that changes how you approach your journeys and the rising tension of being caught out at night. As it stands, the supernatural encounters are excellent nonetheless and add a layer of unease and stress to that all-important delivery.

My only other small complaint would be the lack of a few basic quality-of-life features. One particularly frustrating example is the cargo holder. If you've loaded up your truck and accepted a delivery, only to realise you need a different holder, you can't simply swap it out and get on with the job. Instead, you have to abandon the mission, head back to a garage, change the holder on your truck and then start the mission all over again. A simple option to change your cargo holder before setting off would have made the experience much smoother.

These issues are especially noticeable (mostly the camera one, for good reason), but I can overlook them because Truckful has a lot to like, and errors don’t tend to carry a heavy price. Its charming presentation, cosy atmosphere, intriguing lore, and wonderfully creepy demon vehicles make for a memorable combination, and I genuinely enjoyed my time with it despite its shortcomings. However, the camera can make driving more frustrating than it needs to be, the delivery loop grows repetitive, and the limited use of its supernatural threats leaves me wishing the game had been a little more ambitious in certain areas.

But as it goes, Truckful is delightful in its mix of cosy and scary themes, delivering a chilled yet stressful experience. It's a game of two halves, and both of them work brilliantly.

Overall?

Ultimately, Truckful is a lovely little adventure that gets a lot right, even if it occasionally makes the journey more frustrating than the destination. I had a great time with it, and its unique blend of cosy deliveries and unsettling horror makes it well worth experiencing. I wish the developers would give the camera a good talking to, let the demons stretch their legs a little more, and save us all a trip to the garage every time we need to change a box. Yet, there is a genuinely special game here, one that combines the cosy vibes of a beautiful post-apocalyptic world with the stressful joy of being a courier handling the most fragile and bouncy items known to humankind (like seriously, can’t we tie down that piano?).

A high recommendation from me!

+++ Beautiful and cosy vibes/presentation
++ Solid delivery gameplay
+ Awesome encounters
+ Nice world building and lore

-- The Camera can be a nightmare at times
- The demon encounters could've been expanded
- Some of the physics and setup can be annoying

A PC review key of Truckful was kindly provided by the publisher