Offroad Mechanic Simulator Review (Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 & PC)

As much as I enjoyed the process of tinkering with old junkers and shoddy engines in the grease-smothered chambers of Mechanic Simulator, I couldn’t help but think that something was missing. I don’t know, it lacked a certain sense of freedom, and it oftentimes failed to stretch its boundaries beyond the confines of its chosen garage setting—an issue that, in turn, led to some rather unsatisfying moments and even several rehashed gameplay loops. But, as luck would have it, there was another simulation game on the horizon—a vaguely similar installment that, to my knowledge, had the core ingredients to remediate that lack of freedom in the art of mechanical engineering. Enter Offroad Mechanic Simulator.

For the record, Offroad Mechanic Simulator isn’t a brand-new game. Well, technically it is a new game in the eyes of those who own an Xbox or PlayStation, but for those who stuck to the beat back in 2023, the latest console version probably won’t come across as much more than a simplified clone of its predecessor. Don’t get me wrong, there are several all-round upgrades and quality-of-life improvements to be seen here, but for the sake of being openly transparent, I will say this: the game is, for lack of a better description, a squashed version of its digital counterpart. Still here? Great — then let’s press on.

Image Power’s Offroad Mechanic Simulator has just launched on consoles, and so, if you’re looking to dabble in the art of remote engineering, then be sure to read on for a few pre-purchase pointers. Ready to hit the ground running? Then let’s fasten our seatbelts and release the handbrake.

On the Road Again

Offroad Mechanic Simulator is a first and third-person management and semi-open world sandbox simulation game, one in which you take to the hot seat of a mechanical engineer who, rather annoyingly, has the monumental task of tweaking off-road vehicles to withstand treacherous landscapes and other deadly conditions. Think SnowRunner, and how it has you transporting various portions of cargo across wide-open spaces and what have you, and you’ll have a rough idea of what we’re getting at here. To put it simply, the game revolves around the art of fixing vehicles, and then hurling them through a mixture of obstacles and ludicrously complicated types of terrain until they, you know, break. And that’s about it.

What’s different about this one is that it doesn’t resort to mere oil refills and the frequent tyre change, but rather, a slightly more lavish and complex set of chores that you wouldn’t necessarily find in your local parts and servicing centers. The goal of the game, while still in possession of a lot of the same mechanics as, say, Mechanic Simulator 2021, is to gradually work through a series of contracts and kit out vehicles with all of the sturdy components in order to complete various tasks, whether it’s racing at the dead of night, or shifting heavy loads out of grubby ditches in the thick of a forest setting.

There is, of course, a campaign to work through here—a timeline of trials that invite you to explore a rather basic rags-to-riches pattern that mostly consists of repairing one shoddy vehicle, and then simply moving on to a slightly different model, only with better components, tools, and custom decals. Granted, it isn’t anything particularly exciting, but it does add a little extra spice to an otherwise contextless journey. Well, sort of.

Bare Bones, Big Wheels

Campaign aside, Offroad Mechanic Simulator does also feature a collection of randomized assignments and career opportunities to explore, as well as a fairly comprehensive banquet of customizable set pieces and crash courses to onboard and experiment with. And that’s good, as each of these items are designed to overshadow the lack of originality in its story mode, of which it essentially falls short in every way possible, truth be told. The fact is, there isn’t an overarching narrative to weave together here, nor are there any hidden secrets that yearn to be discovered in the far corners of the uneven universe, either. Point is, there just isn’t much to glance over here, so if you’re looking for a meaty storyline with a tremendous variety of twists and turns, then boy, you’ve come to the wrong place.

To put it rather bluntly, you don’t need a high IQ to knuckle in on the vast majority of the perks and in-game offerings that Offroad Mechanic Simulator puts out on display. To say that it’s a game that requires a lot of effort wouldn’t be entirely accurate; on the contrary, it’s a game that you could potentially sweep beneath the rug without so much as lifting a finger — and that’s putting it lightly. Why? Well, as it turns out, there isn’t a huge amount of depth to the gameplay loop that you throw yourself into. This isn’t to say that you won’t struggle with some of the final stages of the story, but I’ll be honest, it doesn’t exactly leave much to the imagination, either; if you can fix one vehicle, then you can most certainly fix another, regardless of its model, components, or structural complexity.

Warts and All

I’m not going to say that Offroad Mechanic Simulator is in possession of “photorealistic” graphics, because it’s nowhere close enough to claim that bragging right.  Don’t get me wrong, several of its open-world settings can be relatively pleasant to the naked eye, but I wouldn’t go as far as to say that they’re to the same level as, well, the vast majority of its adversaries. Having said that, where it lacks in visual complexity, it oddly makes up for in its quantity of content, and it’s further boosted by a treasure trove of in-depth mission types, races, and fetch quests, too. Again, there is really only so much that you can see or do in these short trips into the world, but the fact that the game, in general, is something of a two-for-one ordeal does, in all honesty, make it all the more appealing.

The actual driving in Offroad Mechanic Simulator isn’t great. Well, I say that, when really, it all boils down to how you approach certain obstacles. On the one hand, maneuvering can be a little difficult, doubly so if you’re lacking the appropriate equipment and parts to make short work of certain environmental issues. But on the other hand, it can be straightforward, though it often depends on the routes you travel, and more often than not, the amount of patience you have for particular areas. Thankfully, though, there’s a solid bit of customization here, and it helps, too, that you can essentially play doctor with a lot of the functions, whether it’s to knuckle in on some fine-tuning exercises, or to turn what would otherwise be a rolling ball of flames into a structurally sound mode of transport. It’s swings and roundabouts at this point, to be fair.

Verdict

I’ll stand by my word and say that, while Offroad Mechanic Simulator does feature its fair share of great aspects—an in-depth building system, being one of its greatest features of the bunch—it does often fall short in other areas, such as its ability to alleviate the roots of a fairly generic landscape or world design. I’m not saying that it’s dreadful to scoot around in, but I will say that the open-world exploration aspects aren’t quite as compelling as the actual process of building cars, in general. And that’s me just being a little OTT; it could very well sit differently with another player who’s more experienced in the likes of SnowRunner and other on-hand mechanic roles. But for me, the driving aspects just weren’t quite as enjoyable as the rest of the game.

I will say this: Offroad Mechanic Simulator does play incredibly well, and it is in no way, shape, or form, poisoned by a half-baked control system or lack of technical polish. Again, it isn’t the cleanest-looking sandbox sim on the market, nor is it capable of showboating the photorealistic engine that it so desperately aims to shovel down your throat, either. But, when all’s said and done, it is, quite frankly, a genuinely enjoyable hybrid of two worlds, and therefore I’m willing to give credit where it’s due and say that, in spite of all its shortcomings, the game itself is still a fantastic attempt at filling in the blanks for countless other games of its ilk. Is it better than SnowRunner? Eh, I wouldn’t go that far, though it does deserve a standing ovation for simply trying to one-up the competition, for sure.