Clustertruck – Review
Traffic is a jungle and is quite a stressful moment at times. A lot of people dream to just skip the traffic jam by flying. Well, what if you can jump across trucks to get to a destination? You’re stuck in a jam, but with only these huge vehicles to help you to achieve your goal. Of course, things might seem more complicated than it seems, as you have quite some extraordinary powers.
Story
Some games don’t really need a story and Clustertruck is one of them. As crazy as it might sound, you’re dropped on a driving truck and it is your task to get to the goal in one piece. Nothing more or nothing less. Of course, it would have been nice if there was a bit of extra intel or a backbone to work with as it might give you more drive to get to the finish. Don’t get us wrong, the game is addictive but you won’t be playing it for hours on end.
Graphics
Just as with the story, the developers chose to keep everything as simple as possible. You’ll be greeted by some rather empty levels, although there doesn’t need to be more detailing since you’ll be jumping and flying by everything anyway. Each world has its own particular style with some similarities. For instance, the forest area has a more green and relaxing environment, where the trees and logs are mostly the obstacles you need to watch out for. The more dune-like landscape has some rather big rock formations and even something that assembles oil drilling machinery. In the end, the overall style of the game really seems to fit with the setting and experience the game wants to provide. Simply put, the game has a rather sterile look and feel to it, especially seeing all of the trucks are almost completely white, safe for their windows and doors. The other elements are done in a ‘low poly’ fashion, thus allowing you to properly focus on the task at hand.
Sound
As you might expect, jumping from one truck to another can be very intense which is only amplified by the up-tempo music Clustertruck provides. No classical tunes but energetic beats that will get your blood pumping. This certainly is a good starter but when you’re stuck on a certain part of the level, this rhythm might actually make you nervous.
One other major part of the sound are the effects and although they’re subtle at times, they surely give the game that bit extra. Planting your face against an obstacle will give you a nice squishy sound, which is more than enough to know that you’ve probably lost a lot more than just a few teeth. The roaring of all those trucks certainly gives the feeling that you need to get going. If that isn’t enough, the crashing sounds and accompanying ‘horn’ noises from the rest of the trucks surely will speed up your actions.
Gameplay
Clustertruck is an action game where you need to jump to a destination in each level. The way to do so might be a bit special, as you’re dropped on the top of a truck and you need to make your way on these moving vehicles, without ever touching the ground itself. This might sound quite easy, although they are driving quite fast and the drivers themselves might not have their licenses as they tend to crash into walls and even their fellow chauffeurs aren’t spared. Flying trucks certainly make things a lot more interesting.
It might seem unreal to jump from one vehicle to another, but you don’t need to worry as you seem to have quite some supernatural skills as you can easily get across multiple trucks. Combine your jumping motion with a sprint and you’re airborne for quite some while. Of course, these amazing jumps also have a downside, as you don’t really have a saying in how far and how high you’re going to go. This could mean that you’ll fly in an obstacle or that you miss your next ride grandiosely.
One other aspect is how fast you can clear a stage and in what way you finish. Being airborne for a certain amount of time will give you points, just as flying and jumping again from an airborne vehicle. These points are used to obtain new skills, like a double jump or the ability to influence the truck you’re on by accelerating. Some of these talents might not be that useful, although this will mostly determine of your personal playstyle.
The success-level of reaching your jump location is determined by a few elements. It is possible to play the game with both your pc set-up or a controller, giving you the choice to select your favorite way of playing. Next to this playstyle an your own skill set, you also need some luck. It is quite hard to jump into the right direction and you can’t really change your course while you’re airborne, which makes it rather tricky. On the other hand, at certain times you can just stand still on one truck and just cruise until you see your salvation. This happens quite frequently, making it funny but also undermining the purpose Clustertruck. After a while, the goal of the game is to find a way to finish as lazily and easily as possible.
Conclusion
Clustertruck will take you on a trip through a few worlds, where you need to get to your goal by jumping on colliding trucks. If you can get to your destination in style, you gain points which can be used to invest in abilities. The gameplay on its own is quite unique and is guided by some clean and abstract graphics, while the sound will certainly get your blood pumping. Get your running shoes and prepare for some false teeth.
Clustertruck - Review,
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