I decided to take a second look at On The Road – Truck Simulator, because today it got a fairly large update – version 1.02 – and I thought to myself, “hey, my day has been a bit too good, let’s see if we can fix that.”
So, the new update is here and according to the patch notes, it improves several aspects of the game. Well, guess how many of those improvements I actually noticed? Just one, and it’s not really an improvement, more a feature that has no bearing on the game, and that’s the focus shifting on the tachograph when you make a change. The rest? I couldn’t really tell you.
I started a new game and once again went through the laborious process of setting up my fake haulage company in the menu that is still poorly designed and is too easy to click on the wrong tab.
Then I got in my truck and fiddled around with the controls while I tried to remember how to start the bloody thing. I got there eventually but I kind of wish I hadn’t. I didn’t have any more fun than I did the first time around, but at least I wasn’t playing the game properly to review it. So, instead of trying to make some money, I went for a joy ride in my truck.
I noticed that the game still looks rubbish and now has one less feature – the mirrors no longer work. I booted the game up several times to test this and on each occasion, the mirrors on my truck were non-responsive. A bit, poor, isn’t it?
- Related: On The Road – Truck Simulator PS5, PS4 Review
The old problems are still lingering around, too, like the generally poor graphics of everything not inside your cab, as well as the awful draw distance; signs still pop in when you’re just a couple of meters in front of them. Oh, and magic flying trucks and cars are still causing havoc in Germany as seen by the magically appearing vehicles on the autobahn. No wonder the roads are so dangerous.
After a ten-minute “joy” ride, I threw in the towel, rammed another truck for having the audacity to exist next to me, and then tried to hitch a ride in a passing van. It kind of worked because once again, your character is a ghost and can walk through any and all vehicles. It wasn’t to be, though, and Dave – the man with a van – sped away, leaving me in the middle of the autobahn with the pile-up I had created.
I took one last-ditch effort to leave the world of On The Road by standing in the middle of the road and letting a truck hit me. And again, my ghostly powers worked. But it makes me wonder, do the other truck drivers see me? If so, they’re really bad at their job. Probably watching Pure Play TV videos on their laptops though, aren’t they?
And there you have it. Update 1.02 actually makes the game worse. It’s still a mess and I do not recommend playing it in its current form. In fact, I’m struggling to find a scenario where I would recommend it.
