Published by Soedesco and developed by Kyodai Limited, Truck Driver: The American Dream is a truck driving simulator and the sequel to 2019’s Truck Driver. The original game was a solid attempt, but had a lot going against it – it was full of bugs and glitches, and it was just a dull experience overall. Truck Driver: The American Dream aims to get things back on track, and is now available on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC.

Players take control of Nathan, whose late father, Charles, was a famous and well-respected truck driver. After unsuccessful attempts at various jobs, Nathan decides to get his life back on track by stepping into his father’s shoes and driving trucks for a living. This new career path doesn’t come without its hardships, however, as the road to becoming a successful truck driver can be a tough and lonely one.

What sets this game apart from other truck simulators is its story – a story that many real-life truckers can relate to. Not only is the job not as easy as it may seem, but the life of a trucker can also impact their health and personal lives. Nathan has to try to balance work and family life, while also building relationships with local communities and of course, becoming a skilled truck driver.

The story element is definitely an interesting take on the genre, and it can get players invested to see how Nathan’s life plays out, but the gameplay is the more important aspect of this trucker sim. The game begins in the driver’s seat as Charles during his last job, driving through a heavy storm to reach his destination. This also acts as a tutorial focusing on just the driving. Players then switch to Nathan during his first day on the job to learn the tools of the trade, as trucking is more than just driving from point A to point B.

Very early on, it’s clear that the gameplay still has a long way to go. There might be some slight improvements from the original game, but it still has a long road ahead before it can be the ideal truck simulator game. There are still plenty of bugs and glitches that need to be worked on.

AI traffic also seems to be very clueless on how to drive, often causing accidents among themselves, whether it’s a pile-up or just driving around a corner to see a car upside down. This would be a nightmare for insurance companies. The hit detection can also be very irritating when trying to turn tight corners and being stopped by an invisible object, or maneuvering around traffic markers, that behave like solid objects and can’t be run over, leading to a lot of collisions.

Colliding with or simply touching other vehicles, walls, objects, and somehow traffic cones, will add damage to your truck, even if there are no visible signs of damage. If too much damage is taken, players will be automatically transported to get some minor repairs but will have to get to a mechanic and pay more for a full repair. It’s really odd that smaller cars and traffic cones can do so much damage to a truck.

The controls can also feel unresponsive at times. For the most part, the driving aspect feels fine, but there is a long list of things that could really use some work. Attaching trailers/loads, switching the vehicle on and off, switching the radio on, entering the repair shop, fueling up, and more, really drag the experience down. Activating any of those features doesn’t give a clear indication that those actions have actually been performed, and sometimes, the message to attach a trailer remains on the screen, leading to confusion. Simply starting a vehicle or releasing the hand brake takes a few attempts as well, even if players are following the instructions carefully by holding up or down on the D-pad, the functions only seem to respond they feel like it.

Thankfully these issues don’t completely ruin the overall experience, but even the aspects the game does get right aren’t all that fun either. Driving to each destination feels long and tedious. The game also encourages safe driving and will fine players if they run red lights or cause accidents, even if there are no cops around. Money is just deducted from the in-game currency, which will make it hard to pay for fuel and repairs if players keep up their reckless driving. Completing each task already feels slow enough, so having to wait for cars in front to speed up or for the traffic lights to turn green slows everything down even more. Even though this game encourages safe driving, it triggers road rage more than anything.

The overall presentation feels very outdated, and it looks more like a game from the early 2000s, despite being exclusive to the latest generation of consoles and made with Unreal Engine 5. Other games, even on older consoles, have far better-looking vehicles, environments, and character models. There are occasions where the graphics do look impressive, but for the most part, they are very underwhelming, and the Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC are capable of so much more. The story, cutscenes, and conversations while driving are actually the more interesting aspects of this truck driving simulator, even if the voice acting is bland and sounds like they’re just reading off a script, forgetting to actually act.

The soundtrack has a variety of different music genres to listen to by switching between radio stations. The tracks themselves aren’t anything special, but they’re good enough for background music while on the road, and listening to country actually feels the most fitting. In stark contrast, the background music heard in the menu screens uses techno, which feels really out of place given almost every media source shows truck drivers as playing rock or country.

Despite having ‘The American Dream’ in the title, there’s a lot that takes away from that American feel with its presentation and menu music. The same thing was said about the original game, and unfortunately, the sequel shows that the Dutch publisher and Bulgarian developer still don’t quite get American culture.

Truck Driver: The American Dream makes some minor improvements to the original game from 4 years ago and is a small step in the right direction, but the series still has a long road ahead before it can be taken seriously as a truck driving simulator. The potential is definitely there, but it has a lot going against it. Players seeking the ideal trucking video game experience will have to look elsewhere.

Written by: Sammy Hanson