gamescom 2017: Professional Offroad Transport Simulator

The last game that I went to check out at indie Polish games booth at gamescom 2017 was dev4play’s upcoming Spintires-influenced offroad simulator appropriately named: Professional Offroad Transport Simulator.

Easy to pick up and play, but in turn frustratingly difficult to master- this best describes Professional Offroad Transport Simulator, as you tackle the driving of heavy weighted cargo vehicles across offroad environments.

Sit behind the wheel of a variety of cargo vehicles and choose the materials to gather, whether it be logs, rocks, water or barrels. Each vehicle is different and is designed to handle the task at hand. What’s important is your skill as a driver as you take your transported cargo across narrow roads and offroad trails designed to hinder you from getting to your destination.

Navigating through the roads towards your destination earns you money, in turn, you can use earnings to purchase new vehicles. These vary depending on how you choose to spend. You can either purchase additional vehicles to allow easier loading/offloading of cargo or to upgrade your offroader to take on more strenuous challenging tasks.

My starting attempt with an offroad car with a winch ended as exactly as I predicted: terribly. Pushing up through the narrowing roads, I soon found myself stuck in mud leaving my tires spinning. I needed to winch myself out, something I couldn’t work out at first, eventually I managed to winch myself out and push forward, only to be greeted by another treacherous slumped road.

Was I terrible? Absolutely, but I also felt determined to drive on ahead and at least prevail in delivering my cargo. During gameplay, you can switch between different vehicles. So if a time should come that your cargo of fuel is teetering on the edge, you can switch to a 4x4 and come to the rescue.

The environments in Professional Offroad Transport Simulator offer a large amount of freedom. With two semi-open world maps, your only limit is your skill of traversing. With that said, the developers did say they plan on expanding with additional vehicles and the option for a freeride mode. The freeride mode will offer no limit on selectable vehicles and traversable cargo giving you plenty of opportunities to hone your transporting skills.

Releasing later this year, any fans of Spintires wanting the same gameplay, but with the additional features of professional simulators mixed in will surely want to keep their eyes on this one.