Euro Truck Simulator 2

So, here you are, driving a truck and delivering tons of ice cream to Praha, Czech Republic. That’s a job you can feel good about. Seems dull to you? Yeah, I had that feel when I first saw the game’s name. But wait, you’ll change your mind after reading this review. Let’s start digging into the game together.

Euro Truck Simulator 2 is a vehicle simulator developed and published by SCS Software. The audience is attracted to it not only because the game’s idea is funny and somehow bizarre. It’s a serious business, and you’ll find yourself trying hard to deliver that peanut butter to Dijon in time. No irony.

Graphics 4/5

Euro Truck Simulator 2 isn’t perfect regarding graphics. However, the true-to-life appearance of the Europe’s roads and towns are worth seeing. There’s something charming starting from the truck’s design to the lights of the backdrops at night.

The in-game world looks good with all its cities, highways, and landmarks. The gorgeous vistas, live traffic, great lighting, environment, and the changing weather conditions make it realistic.

Speaking of the vehicles, they are well-drawn and appealing. You can improve and customize them anytime you need.

Gameplay 4,5/5

First, you choose your location in any city available within the game. When you’re just a beginner, you can only select the Quick jobs so that a delivery company hires you. You get a truck, plus you don’t have to pay for fuel, ferry crossings, and road tolls.

As you deliver plums, canned beans, almond, watermelons, mason jars, dryers, honey, and all other kinds of cargoes, you earn money and start to feel more confident. After you have enough money or take a loan, you can buy a private garage, truck, hire a driver, and finally become the king of the road. Your mission will be to start a business and become your own boss.

There’s much to do in Euro Truck Simulator 2 except truckin’ down the highway. Spend money on truck customization: choose the cabin size, add cosmetic elements such as side skirts, mirrors, and paint jobs, change the tires and rims. Create the best interior in Euro Truck Simulator 2 according to your preferences.

You can also spend the in-game currency on a range of Renault, Scania, Iveco, Volvo and other trucks. Buy more garages and expand the home garage to accommodate a large number of vehicles and drivers.

Gaining experience is not exhausting in Euro Truck Simulator 2. You’ll get such points after each successful ride. The skill points you get after the level-ups allow you to unlock even more exciting tasks. You will experience longer distance and urgent deliveries, special and fragile cargo loads. As a result, you get a better-paid job.

The game allows you to explore the European cities like Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, and many other. You will travel across the Europe and do your job as good as possible to prove that you’re ready to be part of the elite trucking force.

Controls 4,5/5

After you create a profile, choose the controller and type of gearbox. The controls are easy for both beginners and experienced players with steering wheels.

You may select the keyboard and mouse to play Euro Truck Simulator 2 on your PC. Use the keyboard arrows to move. Don’t worry — a mouse works well in case you don’t have other more sophisticated controllers. Moving your mouse right or left to make turns is even a more accurate method than using only a keyboard. However, the most convenient way to play Euro Truck Simulator 2 are joypads, steering wheels, and joysticks.

You can check the default controls through “Options” > “Keyboard” menu. The controls are quite simple, but you can reassign some of them the way you like. You may change the Brakes, Steering Left and Right, Start and Stop Engine, Indicators, Light Modes, Horn, Wipers, Cameras, Screenshot, and much more.

All those settings provide you the considerable flexibility regarding personal comfort. There’s also a comprehensive guide for the new players, so you’ll quickly understand the controls and get used to the simple route map.

Replay Value 4,5/5

Though the gameplay seems simple, the game doesn’t stop after you buy the truck of your dream. There’s still much progress to make. For example, you can create a huge shipping company, develop your business growth strategy, hire the most reliable drivers, and buy more top-notch trucks. You won't do all of that in a day, so the game will keep you engaged for a long time.

In-app Purchases

You can get a lot of downloadable content for Euro Truck Simulator 2. For example, you can buy the Paint Job Packs, allowing you to decorate the truck with your country flag. You’ll get the remarkable paint jobs showing the affiliation and expressing your passion. Most of them cost less than a dollar, including the National Window Flags.

Other in-game purchases are a little more expensive. Euro Truck Simulator 2 will offer you to buy the large map expansion add-ons, such as Scandinavia or Going East!, tuning, design, and trailer packs, cabin accessories, and more.

You can easily play without all those in-app purchases because buying anything except the game is optional.

Conclusion

Euro Truck Simulator 2 is a good mix of realistic truck driving and absorbing gameplay. The game is rewarding, and you will enjoy the vast locations to explore, an infinite supply of cargo trips to perform, career experience to gain, trucks to modify, and various tasks to complete.

One of the best things about the game is that there is no set career path in it. Each player has his own way. You will create a personage with unique skills, build up a unique strategy, and get to the top through trial and error. Euro Truck Simulator 2 is a real standard for the simulation genre.

• Graphics 4
• Gameplay 4.5
• Controls 4.5
• Replay Value 4.5

Pros

Various ways to control the trucks;
Customizable trucks;
Rewarding tasks;
Immersive environment;
Convincing physics.

Cons

Driving a truck is an acquired taste;
You’ll have to pay to download this game.