From Truck Management to Mini-Games: Heavy Cargo is More Than Just Driving
Heavy Cargo – The Truck Simulator drops you into a massive 175km² world where the stakes are as large as the oversized loads you’re hauling. The vibe is all about the tension of navigating narrow country roads with a massive trailer while managing an entire logistics empire. It hooks you with the promise of high-stakes precision driving, but there’s a constant battle between the satisfaction of a perfect haul and the technical hurdles in your path.
Specs & HUD |
Gameplay Review & Mechanics Breakdown |
Performance & Fidelity |
Settings, Customisation & Control Details
Heavy Cargo – The Truck Simulator PlayStation 5 Review: Specs & HUD
- Developer: tox² interactive GmbH
- Publisher: Aerosoft GmbH
- Official Website: Aerosoft Official
- UK Store Link: PlayStation Store UK
- Genre: Simulation / Trucking
- Release Date: October 9, 2024
- Download Size: A relatively light 6.81GB on the SSD.
- Trophy Hunt: There is a Platinum trophy available for the completionists.
- Mini Map Details: You get a mini map that shows the navigation line, your speed, and the speed limit.
- Speed Notifications: There are notifications to say you are speeding, and your speed on the map shows in red when you’re over the limit.
- Save System: You have 3 save slots available and the ability to save and load when you want.
Gameplay Review & Mechanics Breakdown
Two ways to play the game: employee mode, where you earn stars, unlock new attachments, and earn cash, or economy mode, where you run the whole business, hire drivers, and do contracts. It really depends on the mode, whether you are getting truck driving gameplay or truck management gameplay. You’ve got two playable avatars, with one being male and female, and you can name them, though, so that’s a winner. There is an opening tutorial that is optional if you want to jump straight in.
The goal is for you to drive and adhere to the rules from traffic lights to no collisions and speeding. When driving a heavy cargo around, roads will get closed sometimes, and you can sometimes have a van in front to help guide you and clear the road somewhat. In terms of simulation, railings and other obstacles can get in the way. You then become the worker and have to go and take down or build up the obstacles and railings through mini games.
You can get out of your vehicle whenever you want and run around. You can also jump and crouch, weirdly enough. Find photo spots, pull out your mobile and use the camera, then line up the lines to take the shot. Your vehicle has indicators, hazard lights, autopilot, and you can even change the suspension height or turn differentials on and off.
Heavy Cargo – The Truck Simulator PlayStation 5 Review: Performance & Fidelity
- Visual Quality: Decent graphics overall with great-looking locations and heavy cargo models.
- Technical Stability: The performance is not great; it can slow down and go juddery on the base PlayStation 5.
- World Detail: Features a full, highly detailed 3D game world to explore.
- Camera Options: Three driving views available: dashboard, bumper, and third-person view.
- Photo Mode: There is a dedicated photo mode for taking shots outside of the photo spots.
Settings, Customisation & Control Details
- Visual Customisation: Graphics settings include a field of view slider when in avatar view, a field of view slider for inside the cab, and an outside field of view slider.
- Audio Options: Audio sliders for music, radio messages, AI volume, ambient noises, truck, and a master volume slider.
- Radio Features: In-game radio is included, where you can change the station for different genres of music.
- Steering Sensitivity: Steering settings feature invert axis and sensitivity sliders, a reset camera option, invert zoom, and a vibration toggle.
- Wheel Support: The game supports a steering wheel and has settings for steer range, max steer range, force feedback, FFB constant force, and FFB strength.
- Input Flexibility: You can remap the controls to suit your style.
- D-Pad Shortcut: Handy d-pad shortcut to bring up the keybindings at any time.
- Game Toggles: General settings allow you to change language, show warnings, and show the crosshair.
- Extras: Free DLC from the store called Mission Pack is available to expand the experience.
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Heavy Cargo – The Truck Simulator PlayStation 5 Review
Summary
GOOD STUFF
Heavy Cargo brings decent graphics to the screen with a highly detailed 3D world, great-looking locations, and impressive heavy cargo models. The 6.81GB download size is a win, especially since it includes a Platinum trophy and a free Mission Pack DLC from the store. Having three save slots and the freedom to save and load whenever you want is a huge plus. I really liked the flexibility of the two modes, employee or economy, and being able to name your male or female avatar. The mechanics, like changing suspension height, using differentials, and the “worker” mini-games for clearing obstacles, add a nice layer of depth. Plus, having a steering wheel supported with full FFB settings and remappable controls makes the simulation side feel more legitimate.
BAD STUFF
The performance is where this truck loses its wheels, as it’s not great on the base PlayStation 5. You’re going to deal with noticeable slowdown and moments where the gameplay goes juddery, which really pulls you out of the experience when you’re trying to be precise. It’s a shame because the world looks good, but the technical hitches on the console version make the driving feel less smooth than it needs to be for a dedicated simulator.
FINAL VERDICT
Heavy Cargo – The Truck Simulator is a deep and detailed hauling sim that offers a lot of variety between management and actual driving. The inclusion of mini-games and manual route preparation makes it stand out from your average “hold accelerate” truck game. However, the juddery performance on PS5 is a major letdown that stops it from being a smooth ride. If you can stomach some technical roughness for the sake of niche simulation depth, there is a lot to dig into here.
