Truck Driver: The American Dream Review (Xbox Series X|S & PlayStation 5)

To quote James Trudlow Adams’ Epic of America, “The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” Understandably, this is where Kyodai Limited sourced the inspiration for its latest venture, Truck Driver: The American Dream—a story-driven trucking simulation game that transports its fledgling drivers to the roots of a hearty communal hub. And while I can’t comment on The American Dream, per se, I can say this: if The American Dream is having the freedom to sit behind the wheel and cruise into the sunset several days a week, then hey — Kyodai Limited has pretty much captured said dream and bottled it for public consumption remarkably well, all things considered.

In just a few short days, I’ve had the luxury of sampling said waters (or asphalt, in this case)—a journey that has taken me across hundreds, if not thousands of miles over a multitude of terrains and idyllic backdrops. Question is, when I did finally arrive at my last location, was I desperate for that ever-elusive American Dream to continue, or was I far better off never going to sleep, to begin with? Well, therein lies a question that we’ll need to unpack ever so slightly before being able to answer. Care to ride shotgun on this countywide tale of self-discovery? Then let’s dive right in.

Home Is Where Your Truck Is

Truck Driver: The American Dream follows the tale of Nathan, a young driver who aspires to become the reincarnation of his late father—a famous trucker by trade, and arguably one of the most respected residents in the entire county. As Nathan, players are tasked with building a relationship with the locals and carrying forth the torch that was essentially extinguished many, many years earlier. Conceptually, it’s very rags to riches, and it does all in its power to make you, the wannabe trucker, feel like an outsider, and not to mention someone who can’t so much as hold a candle against your father’s legacy.

The American Dream starts out like any other game of its kind: a chancer who longs to see the apex sets out with little more than the clothes on their back and, in this case, a relatively new truck with a seemingly endless thread of deliveries and extracurricular jobs to offload. This, in short, is where you begin your journey—dreaming of that better tomorrow, and not to mention a close-knit bond with those you hold dearest in a county that’s secretly hell-bent on seeing you find your purpose. And yes, as a reminder, this is a trucking game.

Admittedly, I wasn’t expecting to dive straight into the thick of a grievance tale when I first booted up The American Dream, nor was I expecting to have to live up to my in-game family’s expectations, either. But then, I could also see why Kyodai Limited opted to lay the foundations with a helping of heart and trauma, too. In ways, I suppose it added an incentive; I wanted to do right by these people, and I wanted to be this poster child of countywide success. Thanks, Dad.

The Loneliest Road

It came as no surprise that the story in The American Dream was, more or less, a gradual incline with scarcely any twists or turns to boot. It wasn’t the most hectic road I’ve ever traveled on, nor was it something of a high-speed spiral with countless miles of ramps and potholes. If anything, it was smooth, and not to mention calming on the soul. Lonely, yes — but weirdly calming and cathartic all the same. And that’s exactly what we come to expect when we pick up a trucking simulation game, really: a peaceful, albeit somewhat eye-opening experience with very few curveballs.

The thing I loved about The American Dream was that it gave you a sense of purpose, and not, for example, an empty shell of a world and no particular reason to be involved with it. Sure, its roads were, on occasion, a little empty and somewhat lifeless, but for the most part I’d say I enjoyed carrying out even the simplest of tasks; a supply drop here, or a short haul pickup there. At no point did I ever feel drowned out by endless lists of tasks or duties; it was just me, the wheel, and the open road. Can’t complain there.

Having said all that, I did stumble upon a few moments in the game where I just wanted the noise to stop for a while. And when I say noise, I’m pretty much referring to the dialogue between characters, or the inner voice of Nathan himself. Granted, it did add a certain level of realism to the experience, but when all’s said and done, I didn’t really want to fret over what my virtual wife might’ve thought about me spending a night at a motel and not at home. I just wanted to drive, man.

Life Is a Highway

While on the subject of maps and roadways, it is worth pointing out that The American Dream does have a fairly large playable area to scoot around in. It’s large enough, even, that it would take me anywhere from fifty to sixty minutes to cross over — and at relatively high speeds, too. Fortunately, due to the scenery being rather pleasant on the eye, I never really felt the need to push the pedal to the metal, so to speak. On the contrary, I was often content with just moving forward, and in a general direction that would take me to the next beat.

Driving in The American Dream, weirdly, isn’t as I expected it to be. In fact, it was far from what I came to expect—especially from a game that puts driving at the center of the experience. But in this case, though, there isn’t a whole lot to wrap your head around, or any weight distribution to consider, even. Truth is, the whole driving experience is fairly straightforward, and thus a tad unrealistic as far as trucking games go. Easy for newcomers, sure — but it doesn’t quite come up the same as, for example, Truck Simulator.

Granted, I did find a lot of the time that surfaces were somewhat slippery, and that there wasn’t a great deal of difference between terrain types. If anything, it was more the case of one shoe fits all, which meant it wasn’t all that difficult to master the basics in just a few short trips. Not a bad thing, but certainly not the ultra realistic driving experience I had hoped for, either.

A Fairly Tiring Road, No Less

The American Dream is broken up into a little over 30 chapters, with each one being made up of deliveries, objectives, or story beats between Nathan and his family members. For the most part, though, each episode takes place around a vast region—a world in which a day and night cycle keeps track of your progress, and an influx of characters check in to gradually push the narrative into the next gear. Again, no complaints there; I always had something to do, and a destination to work towards, no less.

There are several ways to customize your experience in The American Dream, too, which is a boon in itself. From custom paint jobs to tweaked parts and mechanical tune-ups—the game does allow for you to make that big ol’ bag of cargo and rubber your own, which I for one found not only fairly enjoyable, but also easy to adopt into my daily routines, too. It isn’t necessarily a new thing, being able to kit out your ride with bits and bobs from your expeditions, but I was certainly grateful to have the opportunity to explore such a feature between journeys nonetheless.

Verdict

I’ll start out by saying this: Truck Driver: The American Dream, in spite of its title, is not a truck driving simulation game. Or at least, it isn’t in the traditional sense, anyway. If anything, it’s more of a story-driven adventure game, with a huge portion of its gameplay devoted to emulating the core mechanics of trucking, as a whole. As such, die-hard fans of the likes of Truck Simulator might struggle with the watered down mechanics in this instance, whereas newcomers with less experience in the genre will no doubt find less to compare it with. It’s swings and roundabouts, really, though I will say this: this is not your average driving simulation game, but more of a standalone adventure with a few familiar traits.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot to like here, but if you’re the sort of person who’s after something with a bit of realism, then The American Dream might come across as being a little, shall we say, gimmicky? It isn’t a bad game on any level, but just be mindful of what you’re signing up for before putting yourself behind the wheel.