Construction Simulator is back: bigger and more exciting than ever! Take control of over 70 machines, some completely new to this series, and start building with complete freedom on two huge maps, alone or with friends!
(Shop Steam)
Simulation video games are nowadays more and more frequent and famous. Only in the last period we have reviewed titles such as: Electrician Simulator, Ultimate Fishing Simulator 2, Train Life: A Railway Simulator, Bus Simulator 2021, Lawn Mowing Simulator and Ranch Simulator. Did you think they ran out of ideas? Construction Simulator tries to asphalt the competition and establish itself as the best simulator in the construction field. Will it have succeeded? Let's see it together!
STORY AND GAMEPLAY
We can finally find ourselves in the presence of a simulator in which the storyline has been developed in a decidedly more careful way than other simulation titles. The initial scenario is that of a climate emergency that has damaged some urban contexts, and our protagonist is called upon to intervene as an expert in operating machines and excavators. Through a series of small missions to clear the roads of landslides, or to repair roofs / anthropogenic structures, we are given a greatly simplified tutorial which, at the same time, offers us a slightly more delicate first impact than the complexity of the construction activities that can be noticed later. During this first phase some things immediately blocked us and made us turn up our noses.
The first aspect is certainly the camera view which is set by default as fixed and adjusted by the game itself, preventing us from having a necessary overview around the work area. This makes the experience very annoying, but fortunately in the settings menu it is possible to unlock it to make it more sensible. There is also an incompatibility with some controllers, which prevents you from being able to use them without fiddling with the Steam and game settings, which curbs the initial enthusiasm even more.
These two "impasses" that the game immediately puts in front of us risk obscuring some goodies that are absolutely present such as the graphic and functional beauty of the available and usable vehicle fleet. In fact, we find some of the most famous brands in the sector, with excellent creations and well-studied animations that make us fully immerse ourselves in the feeling of being real builders. Continuing with the story, accepting new missions around the city, will be the springboard in the management of our company, thus allowing us to grow in many aspects both economic and organizational as well as managerial.
The missions involve, for example, the construction of a public park, the asphalting of some portions of the road, the construction of some commercial or residential realities, with an ever-increasing level of instrumentation and means. We have noticed, however , that if Construction Simulator in many aspects shines with an excellent light of its own, in others it is water on all sides: The ergonomics between controller and machinery is not always obvious, and in some moments it is far too annoying. If in other titles such as Farming Simulator some functions such as turning on lights, changing gears or activating mechanical arms can be achieved through key combinations (e.g. L1 + triangle or L2 + R2 + circle) on Construction Simulator these key combinations in the controller are extremely limited.
We still have doubts about the possibility of activating manual gear driving, as well as the activation of the builder mode. Once again we are therefore faced with an alternation between a game with great potential and one that has completely neglected some fundamental mechanics, inextricably linked to the quality of life of the title itself. Last, but not least, is the high repeatability of the missions, which always follows the same pattern, resulting in some cases boring and not very "constructive", as well as exaggeratedly "logistical". We thought we could build and demolish more, instead in many cases we simply find ourselves transferring the material from the warehouse / shop to the construction site and then in a few clicks implement the construction part.
On Construction Simulator there is a cooperative multiplayer. A detail that has made many of us dream who for years have been hoping for a greater interest from development houses in cooperative modes in their titles, so that we can enjoy unforgettable gaming experiences with our friends. In this title we have found a pleasant collaborative gameplay, which certainly dampens the monotony of the single player and leaves room for synergy between players, as also demonstrated on other shores (cough ... Farming Simulator ... cough). However, little clarity can be found in the management of the experience gained and the progression of the story in the multiplayer sessions of which you are not host. We believe that this game mode has clear possibilities for future growth, representing an excellent strength for the title and we firmly believe that it should be improved and perfected urgently.
GRAPHICS
Graphically speaking , this title looks very good, with remarkable graphics and absolutely suitable for the game context. We were impressed by the fidelity of the various vehicles present and available in the store. The comparison of these brands with the photographs of the real models is worthy of applause, allowing us to really feel inside the various vehicles, real undisputed protagonists. We are therefore talking about 3D models, textures and animations almost perfect in many aspects. The most significant critical issues , as unfortunately we are noticing more and more in the gaming landscape, are related to the optimization of the load / use on the GPU. Although not many fps are required to be able to play decently, we found ourselves in front of a game that at 98% use of a RTX3080 had difficulty exceeding 60 fps, at any graphic setting offered by the menu. We know well how optimization is a job that takes time, but in this case it seemed to us that, even simply browsing the menus, the experience was too similar to a early access rather than a full game.
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IN CONCLUSION
Construction Simulator is a real swing of emotions: in some moments the immersiveness makes the game fascinating and attractive, and then immediately becomes boring and exaggeratedly cumbersome in some aspects that could be simplified and optimized. Finally we have in front of us a simulation product that has a storyline worthy of being mentioned in a review, even if very simple and not extremely engaging, often leading us to skip dialogues without too much ceremony. Finally, the graphics give us the opportunity to greatly appreciate the fidelity of the various machines present, but with a performance cost that is difficult to support (and bear) even for the latest generation graphics cards (still for a short time given the imminent arrival of the RTX 4000).
The current level of development is therefore that of a early access title that must be trusted, waiting to be rewarded with free content and greater optimization that we hope the developers will be able to provide as soon as possible. We strongly maintain that we are facing a game whose price, currently, is too high by at least ten euros (€ 34.99 at the time of writing). KotaWorld therefore recommends it to fans willing to follow its development and believe that the large amount of work that the title still requires will soon be filled.
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