I stare out at the desolate Alaskan wilderness as the sun comes up over the frost-covered pine trees, the only sound interrupting the tranquil wilderness is my truck’s radio as it blares country music to stave off the lack of food and sleep as I transport much-needed supplies to Alaskan businesses. Without me, how would supplies get where they are needed? The short answer: They wouldn’t. As I pull the truck and supplies into the destination, I breathe a sigh of relief. The brutal Alaskan wilderness hasn’t beaten me yet and the continual struggle between humans and nature can continue tomorrow. My stomach rumbles and I quickly eat a plate of Reindeer meat with parmesan cooked just like Dad used to make after a successful hunt. I close my eyes in bliss as my stomach becomes full and I think about the next job transporting who knows what to who knows where and I realize this is what I was made for; being a trucker in the beautiful state of Alaska.
Truck Log, September 10
After an hour and a half with Alaskan Road Truckers (ART), I have to be honest, I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did. ART explores the simulator genre across The Last Frontier as you select jobs of transporting materials between various locations in Alaska. It’s not just about driving, however. You have to traverse the brutal landscape while managing your health, hunger, and tiredness as you complete the job. The most disconcerting feature was the tiredness percentage. As it got closer and closer to zero, your character would begin yawning and closing their eyes without any warning. (And I shouldn’t have to explain why closing your eyes while driving is extremely hazardous even in a video game.)
I did not experience frostbite through having the truck’s temperature consistently be below 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) but I can only imagine that icicles and frost would begin spreading on your view disrupting your vision because that happened when I forgot to turn on the truck’s heating system as I began driving another leg of the journey. Additionally, I did not experience the hunger level approaching zero but as in real life experiencing hunger is not a pleasant feeling, and hearing your character’s stomach growling reminded me to take care of my driver just as I would take care of my truck.
While this was just a slice of the game, you have a lot of responsibilities in ART from buying goods for your journey to making sure you’re truck is fueled up. To that end, there are stores and gas stations along the way that you can stop and stock up. As you gain XP, you can get perks to unlock certain features. And if hunger, health, and energy aren’t enough of a challenge for you, there are even random events like fallen trees and avalanches that can impede your journey.
The game looks fine for the most part. This isn’t the final build but from what I played, while the truck and the mountains in the distance can look nice, everything in between is hit or miss in terms of detail. Outside of the often pretty wilderness, it can feel a bit desolate, but I also haven’t been to these remote parts of Alaska so I can’t speak to how realistic that is. Just keep in mind, that the game isn’t going for photorealistic realism here. As a side note, this particular build doesn’t seem to run that well on the Steam Deck from our experience.
ART was my first experience in the simulator genre and I was apprehensive about how much fun there would be while driving a truck and delivering goods to my fellow Alaskans at the same time managing daily needs that can be exhausting in the real world. And yet, I had a blast living as a digital Alaskan trucker. I think the simulator genre is an extension of role-playing games. Instead of going for the fantastical through classics such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim it focuses on the realism of an Alaskan trucker transporting much-needed goods across a harsh winter. The genre offers you a taste of life on the road without dedicating your entire life to your real-world profession.
Alaskan Road Truckers was developed by Road Studio using Unreal Engine 4 and will be available on various platforms including the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC later this Fall. Respawn Station was provided with an early demo to preview and I will personally be looking forward to its full release. The many adventures my truck and driver can have as we continue the eternal struggle between man and nature in the ruthless Alaskan wilderness.
