Moving Simulator Review (Xbox Series X|S & PC)

In theory, Moving Simulator should be a great game, as should it be a suitable candidate to hoist the usual colors of a cozy-oriented chore core simulator. But, it’s the little things that grate here—the weightless driving mechanics, the unnecessary padding and the pointless interactions between characters, for example—that bring it down. Don’t get me wrong, it has just as many good points as it does bad. The Tetris–like packing system, for example, is a lot of fun to mess around with, as is the world itself, with thanks to its surprisingly interactive environment, clutter-heavy interiors and borderline comical features. Yet, there are things here that drag it back. It’s a little too short, and it sadly lacks the depth and complexity of a fully-fledged job simulator. And that’s barely scraping the tip of the iceberg, unfortunately.

Behind its questionable design choices and lack of meat on the bones, Moving Simulator has a good idea. Like Moving Out or House Flipper, it frontlines a solid concept that, in all fairness, would be an ideal fit in the cozy sphere. Given that it has all of the tools of the trade—the laptop-based contracts, the mid-game upgrades, and the adoption of a fleet system, for example—you would half expect it to be a brilliant alternative for your usual brick-and-mortar sim. But, again, I can’t help but feel as if there is something missing from the plate. A lack of depth is its biggest concern, and at no point does it address that issue to make an otherwise half-baked experience all the more appealing.

Of course, the core gameplay loop does have its pros and cons. In a similar vein as your bog-standard à la carte of chores, it invites you to accept a contract from your laptop, travel across town via your paper thin moving truck, and load up on furniture before setting out to, well, unpack it. Frankly, I don’t have any issues with that. It serves its purpose as an entry-level chore core exercise, and thankfully, it brings all of the usual components together to make a coherent game. And for the most part, it is oddly enjoyable. Packing items in a mini-game-like fashion is weirdly therapeutic, and fleshing out each home is quite rewarding. But, it’s the little nitpicking issues that sully it.

The biggest issue I have with Moving Simulator is its campaign length. With just eight contracts to play, it’s sadly a game that learns to take a bow long before the curtain falls. As you find your rhythm, it just sort of, well, ends. Although you can, in all honesty, go back to gather the odd trophy or collectible (gnomes, in this case), the game just doesn’t give you much to explore outside of the textbook contracts. The problem is, even the contracts themselves aren’t all that great, mainly due to the fact that the game employs some rather pointless mechanics. An example here would be the act of moving furniture. While you can pivot your way through each room, it isn’t a requirement; the game allows you to simply pick something up and run with it. With that, there isn’t much of a strategic element to the experience.

Elsewhere, you have some rather pointless character interactions. Typically, a client will spoon feed you a lot of information, but then grant you the opportunity to simply follow a series of breadcrumbs to complete the task at hand. As arrows highlight your path, you don’t technically need to converse with anyone at all. I appreciate the idea, but it just feels, I don’t know, out of place. And sadly, that carries over into most of the gameplay, in general. Driving is annoyingly floaty, the haggling mechanic is a little half-baked, and, to top it all off, glitches remain persistent throughout. The fact that you can load all of your items onto your truck and then somehow lose half of them by the time you arrive at your destination, for example, dampens the mood and leaves you feeling a little frustrated.

Don’t get me wrong, Moving Simulator does foster some good segments. While it isn’t a masterpiece in visual terms, it does provide a pleasantly vibrant setting that is, for the most part, fun to trolley around in. It also makes a good effort to add a strict level of authenticity to the packing process, too. For example, if you load too much into one box, then it can fall apart and leave you with even more mess to clean up. At times, it can make you chuckle. After the seventh or eighth time, however, it can begin to drag and lose its comedy value. Not that the game sticks around long enough to bury its own head in the sand, mind you.

Suffice it to say that, as far as budget-friendly chore sims go, Moving Simulator is one that sadly falls into the lower end of the spectrum. It’s evidently cheap and cheerful, but it’s also missing a lot of the great elements that truly make a well-rounded experience. It’s also a game that, at least in the eyes of the casual observer, isn’t likely to receive any major fixes in the near future, either. And so, if you are considering it as your next port of call, then it’s best to take it all with a huge pinch of salt. Moving out is stressful, and it would appear that a game like Moving Simulator doesn’t do much to alleviate that burden.

Verdict

Moving Simulator clearly has the right idea of how to make a well-rounded chore core sim. The problem it has is its ability to execute it in a coherent manner. With a barebones campaign, unbalanced mechanics and a lack of technical polish, it sadly fails to deliver a satisfying and thoroughly enjoyable experience. Don’t get me wrong, it has its moments, as does it have a good sense of what makes for an entertaining game. Unfortunately, the negatives far outweigh the positives in most cases here.