Developer Saber Interactive know a thing or two about vehicle-based simulator games. From SnowRunner to last years RoadCraft, this team has made some genuinely engaging titles! Now, they’re set to release Docked, which sees you taking control of your very own docking business. This is more than just running the day-to-day operations, though, as you’ll be controlling some heavy-duty machinery!
Available for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S for £24.99, is this the next must-play simulator title from a well-established dev? Or should it be cast out to sea and left well alone? Let’s take a look, as we review the PS5 version of Docked!
An Honest Days Graft
After returning home, Tommy is helping out at his fathers dock in Port Wake. Unfortunately for Tommy, a ship carrying some hazardous cargo is beset by a raging storm. Not ideal for his first day back! Despite his assumptions that this would be a quick, one-and-done job, Hurricane Wendy has other plans. After Port Wake is devastated by Wendy, Tommy decides to stick around and restore the dock to its former glory.
The narrative is sparse, but there’s enough here to give some reason as to why you’re doing what you’re doing. The majority of sims that have you performing a specific job are usually just “this is your job, go do it”, so it’s nice to have at least something included! The back-and-forth chatter between Tommy and other dockworkers, whilst cliché, is still entertaining enough thanks to the back and forth banter. Sure, it never comes across as very human, but the voice performances are decent, and props to the developer for trying to make this feel more personal.
Gameplay
Docked has you playing through various missions, with a certain amount available each day. At first, you’re only able to take two contracts per day, but these increase up to five as you progress. The type of machinery or vehicle used depends on the objective. If you need to unload a cargo ship, then you’ll be controlling the colossal SRS (ship to shore) crane. Single crates around the dock will need a reach stacker. Transporting goods sees you driving a flatbed truck. Some missions make use of multiple machines, which you can hop in and out of freely. There are more vehicles available, but not quite the exhaustive list you may expect. Although, to be fair, how many different types of cranes/transports are there?
Aside from missions, there are orders from various companies that can bring in money. After starting an order, you’ll have to set up a processing chain by selecting idle vehicles or cranes to start delivering the goods. By setting up processing chains, orders become fulfilled after a set period of time, and the cash starts rolling in! It looks daunting at first, but after going through the short tutorial, it’s actually very simple, and a good way to ensure a steady stream of revenue in order to buy new machines.
When starting a new game, players are given the choice between standard and hard modes. Opting for hard difficulty offers a more realistic experience, with things like suspended container physics being more true to life, and the economic milestones having deadlines. I found myself enjoying the harder option more, despite an increase in challenge, it was never too difficult and the game was still pretty relaxing.
Dock and Load
The majority of vehicles are all able to move freely, whilst others are locked on rails and can only move side to side. Regardless, each one controls really well, and I never had any trouble piloting these mechanical powerhouses. There are a few different control schemes, but I stuck with the default one that used R2 to accelerate and L2 to brake/reverse. Any crane attached to a wheeled vehicle is controlled by holding a shoulder button and moving the left or right sticks. It feels intuitive and easy enough to learn, although you are able to have an input guide on-screen at any point.
For true immersion, each machine can be piloted entirely in first-person. Even with the UI showing how close the crane’s spreader (the grippy bit, basically) is to the cargo. This can be a tricky viewpoint, though! Luckily, there are third-person cameras that focus on both the machine itself, and the spreader. Once the visual indicators are showing green, you’re ready to engage the locks and pick that bad boy up!
Overall, there were no issues with the controls. Yes, the cranes could be a little fiddly when trying to line up a crate at an odd angle, but the simple controller inputs didn’t make it overly stressful.
Graphics & Audio
Visually, Docked is definitely one of the better looking simulator games. Considering the developers past titles, this shouldn’t be too surprising. There’s a fantastic sense of scale as you clamber atop a ship to shore crane, overlooking the tranquil waves rolling out into the horizon. Each vehicle is highly-detailed, with numerous buttons, levers, and controls that you’d expect to see in such complex machines. Thankfully, actually controlling them is relatively simple, otherwise this review would have taken a lot longer whilst I learnt how to operate them all!
The dock itself, as an environment, is also easy on the eye. That isn’t saying much, as it’s a grubby, drab port with crates and whatnot littered all over the place. But, it does make for a realistic experience. The lighting and weather effects help, as driving a crane as you watch rain lash down over a stormy ocean is incredibly relaxing.
I was a little disappointed with the performance, however. Graphical options are limited on PS5 to either enable or disable VSync. This means you either have it on and suffer from a very choppy framerate, or turn it off and have some noticeable screen tearing. There is another option; “Stable simulation”, but this doesn’t seem to change anything noticeable for the better.
Longevity
There are plenty of missions to keep players busy for a good while. There’s also the upgrading of the dock and the various buildings within, which will take some time to fully complete. Seven milestones act as a sort of checklist that nets you bonus cash. Each one has three objectives, with all of them needing to be fulfilled before moving on to the next milestone. Nothing too taxing, but these will require some grinding should you wish to complete them all.
Final Thoughts
Honestly, this may not sound like an incredibly exciting game. And, well, it isn’t. That said, I had a great time playing Docked, and would encourage people to at least try the demo on Steam. For the rather cheap price of £24.99, there’s a fun simulator game here, and has a bit more to it than other similar titles in the genre.
I found Docked to be a pleasant surprise. What I assumed would be another generic first-person simulator was actually a lot more. It certainly won’t be for everyone, as the slow nature of the game may put some people off. However, I found it incredibly relaxing, and would place it in that “games to play whilst listening to a podcast” category.
So, for for being a surprisingly enjoyable sim. Docked receives the Thumb Culture Gold Award!
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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