Earlier this week, my colleague, Alex Cope, wrote a piece detailing how a surprise game had turned around his growing ill feelings towards gaming. It resonated with me because it mirrors a lot of the same feelings I've been having myself.
There's a huge selection of great games out there, don't get me wrong, but the whole state of the industry weighs heavy. Not to mention I'm really burned out on live service gaming and the constant grift.
Thanks to another of my colleagues, Ben Wilson, I finally opened up a couple of games I've had sitting in my Steam backlog for actual years: American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator 2.
I. Am. Hooked.
I've always known how popular these games are, but I finally get it. You're given an enormous sandbox to play in, and you can make of it what you wish. Play the game, make your own game, change it with add-ons, or play with others on community servers.
These are old games but still get new content regularly and, at some point, will finally arrive on console, too. If you look at them and think it might be a tedious gameplay loop, you couldn't be more wrong.
For me, it's all about the drive
You can pretty much make of Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator what you want. There's no campaign to speak of, and from the off you're able to drive anywhere on any of the maps you own.
For me, it's the driving that's completely sucked me in. I could easily be making money faster, buying more trucks, hiring more drivers, and building my own virtual empire, but I'm not really driven that way.
It's all about the road trips. Leveling up to open up bigger, more valuable cargo earns more monetary reward, but it also opens up longer drives. It's one of the most relaxing video games I've ever played.
Sure, AI traffic at times acts dumb and produces a bit of the old virtual road rage, but mostly it's me, my trailer, and the open road. Stick on some music from the selection of in-game but still real-world radio stations, settle in, and admire the surroundings.
It can be challenging, too. Navigating tight roads gets the brain matter working, and I'm still not very good at reversing a trailer, but it also never feels frustrating. There's a real sense of satisfaction when you do it right and don't crash into everything around you.
Hours just fly past. Thinking, "Oh, I'll just jump on and do a few short deliveries," suddenly becomes driving across the entire map. I don't even have all the DLCs for either of the games, but without consciously thinking about it, I'm accepting a 1,000-mile+ drive from New Mexico up to Oregon.
I've spent more time in American Truck Simulator than I have in Euro Truck Simulator 2 purely because I think the drives are better. I've seen plenty of real-life Europe in my years on the planet, and it's nice, but it's not quite the same as some of the spectacular scenery in the U.S.
It feels more like a real road adventure to me.
Both games have limitless potential for customization
Besides the quantity of official DLCs, both American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator 2 have quite ridiculous mod support. Both from the Steam Workshop and external sources.
I've barely scratched the surface of this yet, but it's mindboggling how far you can go. You can add real-life companies to replace the standard, fake ones. You can download new vehicles, including those not officially in the game. There are graphics mods, physics mods, weather mods, mods to customize your trucks, and mods to change the traffic.
If you can think of it, there's probably already a mod for it.
There are also ways to play with others. Inside the game, there are convoys that you can join in with, but there are also external options, with the most well-known being TruckersMP.
This is a mod that allows you to drive on dedicated servers alongside other real people rather than AI traffic, and there's a whole community built around it. I haven't yet dipped a toe in the multiplayer waters, so I can't speak with any authority, but the option is there.
Ultimately, you can make the experience your own. If you want to go down the hyper-realism route, you can. If you're happy just trucking by yourself using the official content, you can do that too. Or any step in between.
Both Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator play great on handhelds
Most of my time trucking so far has actually been spent on my Steam Deck, feet up on the sofa. One day I'm going to get more serious with a wheel and probably a button box, but it's perfectly enjoyable with a controller and a handheld.
Both games actually have a native Linux version you can enjoy on the Steam Deck, and both are still being kept up to date with the Windows equivalent. I've been playing it through Proton instead, and I do think it's a little better overall. But you don't have to. They're as pick-up-and-play as it can be on SteamOS.
There are limitations, and frame rate will drop in some of the newer DLCs and the bigger cities, but overall, it's superb. I'm not even playing on the lowest settings, either. Some are set to low, but most are on medium, and it's working just fine. It looks good enough to still feel impressive on those long drives through the countryside.
Both are perfect games to play on a handheld, and for me at least, I get added relaxation from moving away from my gaming PC. The one I spend all day in front of while I'm working. These two truck sims plus the Steam Deck are a perfect antidote.
Mostly, I'm wondering why I waited so long. I said the same about Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, too.
I've always loved games where you can explore, and what's better than a huge open map to drive across as you please?
If you've ever been even curious, I definitely recommend checking out at least one of them. The base games are cheap, and while there's a lot of DLC map add-ons, there's enough road in each of the base maps to help you get a feel for it.
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