Okay, you got me. This isn’t technically a new game for the new decade. Hell, you can even argue that it isn’t new to us. After all, I wrote a few months about my then obsession with Euro Truck Simulator 2. And, honestly, much that I said there can be said about this game. Still, in the interest of keeping the site as active in spite of everything else, I went trucking through California.
As you can see from those screenshots, the game obviously differs in style and theme from the European one. You know from one to the other that you’re in a different country. However, the fundamentals more or less remain the same. You drive a truck. In the American western states. Admittedly, I’ve only played it a couple of times to confirm that, but the driving bug hasn’t hit me again just yet. Stay tuned.
Starting Over
I can’t be 100% sure about this, but part of the reason might be because I already completed so much of the European version of the game. I bought my own truck, worked back from debt to buy another, took out a loan to buy a third and fourth, and hired three drivers.
That makes going through the process again a little tedious. Especially when there’s no hook to keep me coming back. California is great and all, but out of all of the United States, it’s honestly at the bottom of my list of ones I want to visit. I think I might have purchased some DLC (at actual cost because my key got stolen from my Humble account before I changed all my password) for the game, but the only state I saw that you started was California.
I tried picking Bakersfield as my starting city to get that hook. I also picked it because I am still perpetually an angry teenager that pines for the old days of “Nu Metal” or whatever they called it in the beginning. Oh, speaking of music, they give you a different choice of radio stations in the game, too.
The Verdict
I enjoy Euro Truck Simulator 2. After trucking through California, I no doubt will like this game, too. I just need to take some time to dig deeper into what it has to offer. Oh, I just saw they have an Oregon and Washington DLC available. Next pay check, I’ll pick those up and
Unlike last week, I skipped the contenders article this week. Because, honestly, I only played two PC games with any regularity this year and I wrote about them on Monday. So, anyone paying attention this year knows what game we chose as our 2023 PC Game of the Year.
So, with no suspense to the pick, I need to come up with another format for this article. I recently started using ChatGPT for help with my web page and other tasks. I just asked it for dinner ideas for today and tomorrow. It came up with stir fry and teriyaki salmon. My family isn’t fond of salmon, so it suggested chicken instead. Then, too much teriyaki. So, it came up with lemon herb. Pretty sweet.
The Criteria in Picking the Winner
Unlike mobile, I only played the aforementioned two PC Titles; Train Sim World 3 and Euro Truck Simulator 2. Therefore, the only criteria in this competition is “I played the game”. In that spirit, I played Euro Truck simulator way more than Train Sim World. There was a time that I drove at least 2 or 3 jobs every Saturday and Sunday.
Also, as mentioned in my mobile game of the year article, I said that the only other criteria for a game is the difficult to define, and therefore impossible to argue, fun factor. Both games are fun. But, the freedom of driving the truck makes that game more fun. Touring Europe and discovering new sights makes me feel like I’m back over there.
Euro Truck Simulator 2
Yes, in the least suspenseful announcement, perhaps ever, on this page is that Euro Truck Simulator 2 by SCS Software is our 2023 PC Game of the Year. Even though it wins by default, I can envision a world in which it wins over competition, too. Let’s explore why.
Radio Stations: The game features a variety of radio stations that you can play while driving your truck. I always choose Austrian Rock Radio. It plays hard rock and heavy metal. The ambiance makes me feel like I’m actually out there on the road.
Customization: The game lets you customize nearly everything. The obvious is that once you buy your truck, you can change up the look and feel of it. You can also choose how you progress in your career by picking various specialties that determine bonuses that you receive on deliveries.
Overall Variety: Along those same lines, they offer different employers and jobs that you can take. While not necessary to the overall enjoyment of the game, I like that they added that little bit of realism. Oh, what am I delivering today? Olives? Construction Equipment? Boxes for recycling? I just recently discovered another way that they allow you to create your own game experience. When you hire drivers, they come with different skills. I have two employees and I agonized over the decision both times. I think, ultimately, I made the right decision.
Realistic Scenery: While they obviously have to scale down the countries in size (who wants to actually spend an entire day driving a pretend truck?), they do a good job of capturing the countryside of the countries. I only have experience in Germany, Austria, and Czechia. However, those countries look exactly as I remember them.
Become an entrepreneur: I bought my second truck and hired my first worker by taking every job near or over 20,000. I saved for several weeks until I had enough for both. This plan included a night of reckless driving that saw me total my truck and rack up 50,000 in debt that the bank threatened me with foreclosure over. When I hired my second worker and bought my third truck, I took out a loan just to see what that process involved. Like everything else, how you run your company is up to you.
Game Play Videos
Since I got so busy over the last few months, I have no game play videos to share. I have only a screenshot of Allianz that I used in my previous article to illustrate the realistic scenery.
I mean, I know there are other game play videos out there. But, in the interest of featuring our own content, I will take some time over the next few days to record a couple of my own that I will upload and link on the page. Look for those in the coming week.
The Verdict
While not a busy PC gaming year and the 2023 PC game of the year being a foregone conclusion, I think I made the argument that due to the quality of the game and also some recent nostalgia, that Euro Truck Simulator 2 deserves the title. Hopefully next year, and a renewed commitment to video content will make next year more contested.
As promised in the outro to the latest episode of Noob’s Book Club, I’m covering a couple of simulation games that I’ve been playing over the last few months. I think I picked them both up as a Humble Bundle deal. But, I don’t remember exactly. I just looked it up. I received Euro Truck Simulator 2 through some Humble Bundle or another. And, so, I started trucking through Europe.
Point of fact. We took Liam to Germany for his graduation present. Actually, we ended up traveling to Prague in the Czech Republic and a couple of places just over the Austrian border, too. But, we spent most of our time in Germany. I enjoyed the trip so much that I seriously considered moving to Europe in 6 years or so. Christine eloquently said, “You want to live anywhere but here.” To which I responded, “Yep.”
Top is my in game shot of Allianz. Bottom is my trip to the stadium over the summer.
Wait, that’s it?
I know what you’re thinking. Because, honestly, I thought the same thing. You just drive trucks? Through European countries. And, to answer the question, at the heart of the game, that’s it. You pick a base of operations to start. Since we went to Germany and I liked Munich, I picked there. You take different jobs to make money. Eventually, you buy a garage, a truck, then another truck, then hire some drivers, and buy another truck. I’m currently at the point where I want to buy a new garage to expand my operation some.
Because of the basic premise, I skipped this game for a long time. I played much more of the train simulation game because I thought it might take more skill. In fact, it does. So much so, sometimes, that I get frustrated why my train isn’t acting the way that I want. In the truck game, I get in, drive to a job, take the job, and off I go across the European countryside.
The Verdict
Don’t be fooled by the basic premise like I was. This game takes skill. Sometimes you even have to think a little bit. Do you rest now or try to make it to the next spot to rest? If you do that, will you get tired and find it harder to control your truck? What happens when they land a helicopter on the highway, blocking every single lane? Yes, that happens. Quite often, actually. Those are just some of the scenarios that you’ll face when you come trucking through Europe with me.
Note: I meant to release this yesterday. But, I’ve felt crummy for the last 24 hours or so. Expect delays on all content this week while I get caught up. Sorry!
