Heavy Duty Challenge Review (PlayStation 5)

by Jim Smale · Published September 20, 2023 · Updated September 19, 2023

For this Heavy Duty Challenge Review, we Enter challenging championships inspired by real-life truck trial tournaments. Beat demanding obstacle courses, win trophies, and climb online leaderboards. Drive official branded trucks, recreated in the highest detail from real vehicles. Play with a wheel controller and choose cabin view for full immersion. Experience custom-made, ultra-realistic physics simulation.

Heavy Duty Challenge Review Pros:

Decent graphics.
16.95GB download size.
Platinum trophy.
Metric option.
12 trucks to unlock.
Three types of trucks – 2 axles, 3 axles, and 4 axles.
Opening license set of events. (repeatable)
The game takes place in open areas and you have to reach the set amount of gates.
Gates can be passed in any order.
Earn cash and exp from finishing the event.
You can upgrade your trucks – power train, gearbox, suspension, and tires/brakes with cash.
Upgrade your truck’s upgrades with exp by increasing the tiers so things like faster turning or the revs are faster etc.
Four driving views including in truck and third person.
You can look all around and have buttons dedicated to looking out the window.
Really cool-looking locations.
The trophy room shows off completed events.
Online leaderboards.
You can replay levels.
Every time you play an area it’s timed.
Fast loading times.
You have to pay to repair any damage and it’s for every part of your truck.
Team camp allows you to repair and you can do it between events.
Four championships – Five Gates the Hidden Gems, Europa Truck Trial, and Heavy Duty Championship.
Each championship has a couple of events/locations within them.
Other event types can be going through a lot of gates but you get penalized for hitting the gate markers or waiting too long.
One for enthusiasts.

Heavy Duty Challenge Review Cons:

Cannot change the camera inversion.
The views for driving are not great.
You cannot rebind controls.
There is no map except for a basic drawing at the start but you never see it again.
Takes a while to get used to the mechanics.
You get given so much starting cash that you can fully upgrade one truck and then buy all the others.
Pop-in textures happen a lot.
Really slow grind to get truck exp and cash.
It’s not built for any sort of casual play.
The rewards are just not enough to keep you coming back.

Related Post: Lies of P Review (Steam)

Heavy Duty Challenge:

Official website.

Developer: Nano Games

Publisher: Aerosoft

Store Links –

PlayStation

8/10

Graphics - 8/10
8/10

Sound - 8/10
7/10

Accessibility - 7/10
7/10

Length - 7/10
7/10

Fun Factor - 7/10

7.4/10

Summary

The game has decent graphics and cool-looking locations. It requires a 16.95GB download and offers a platinum trophy. There are 12 trucks to unlock, categorized into 2 axles, 3 axles, and 4 axles. The game features an opening license set of events that are repeatable, and the gameplay involves reaching a set amount of gates in open areas.

You can earn cash and experience from finishing events, which can be used to upgrade your trucks’ power train, gearbox, suspension, and tires/brakes. Further upgrades can be made using experience points to increase tiers for faster turning or revs.

The game offers four driving views, including in-truck and third-person views. It also features a trophy room, online leaderboards, replayable levels, and fast loading times. However, any damage to the truck must be paid for repairs.

There are four championships: Five Gates the Hidden Gems, Europa Truck Trial, and Heavy Duty Championship. Each championship has several events/locations within it. The game also penalizes players for hitting gate markers or waiting too long.

On the downside, the game does not allow changing the camera inversion or rebinding controls. The driving views are not optimal, and there is no map except for a basic drawing at the start. The mechanics take time to get used to, and there is a slow grind to earn truck experience and cash. The game is not built for casual play and the rewards may not be sufficient to keep players coming back. But for those in the know, this is a great package of trucks, customisation, and race events.