Developer: Play2Chill, 100 Games S.A.
Publisher: Play2Chill, Ultimate Games SA, PlayWay
Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One
Tested on: PS5
Motorcycle Mechanic Simulator 2021 – Review
Many associate motorcycles with freedom, biker gangs, or old guys in their midlife crisis, but more than often, we don’t know what makes these impressive machines tick. In Motorcycle Mechanic Simulator 2021, we take a better look at how those machines are put together. We may even learn more from this game than we expected. At first glance, this game is more detailed when it comes to putting a bike together than some other mechanic games we have seen so far.
Story
Motorcycle Mechanic Simulator 2021 doesn’t have a story directly told to us. We can put together what is happening: a young guy wants to start his own workshop for motorcycles. He starts his business in his little garage at home, and later on, he expands his business. When it comes to simulator games, we are not expecting a lot from the story. Each job request does come as a mail with a little text with what is wrong with the vehicle and where they got the bike or how it got in that condition.
Graphics
The graphics in this game are focused on the motorcycle. Each part is detailed and can be taken apart from the vehicle. Even though the game doesn’t have any licensed parts they still look realistic and like a proper representation of how these things would work in real life. When it isn’t about the motor, the graphics drop in quality. We can see that when we are going on a test drive with the bike, as things look simplistic and somewhat muddy. The character model and the assets around the testing track failed to impress us.
Sound
All in all, the sound design wasn’t too bad. The soundtrack mainly consists of mellowed-out tracks, which suits the setting of this sim title. The music has good beats and works well in the background while you tinker with different motorcycles. It does loop a lot, so we do hear some songs multiple times. The music keeps playing without any pause even if we load in another location or go back to the main menu. This felt as if the music wasn’t connected to the actual game, and as if we just had a Spotify playlist on in the background. The SFX are simple and aren’t out of place.
Gameplay
Motorcycle Mechanic Simulator 2021 is a first-person simulator from the perspective of a mechanic who works solely on motorcycles. When we start a new game, we immediately get thrown into the tutorial. They do a good job of explaining the basics of where everything is and what to do. One comment that can be made is that when it asks for the replacement of a certain part, not everyone knows their way around the engine or bike as a whole. It isn’t bad as that gives the player a push to explore the engine and learn more about it. Is the information that we get also applied to a real bike? We do not know but it looks realistic.
After the first job is done and the tutorial is complete, you take the next one by going through your mail. Each request is mostly the same, like replacing a certain part that is broken or tuning the motorcycle to have a specific appearance. Each component has multiple styles ranging from classic, slick, modern, fancy, etc. Then there are requests to boost a status. Those requests mean that they want an upgrade of components in the engine. Which parts affect the speed or handling status of a bike? You can see that in the shop. Just hovering over it will say what it boosts. The game is fairly intuitive and most things make sense, but as we’re no real experts on the subject, it’s still nice to have visual feedback as well.
In some cases when you take the engine apart, you need to remove the oil or fuel. This isn’t a problem as you’ll automatically go to this task when you start working on the motorcycle. The moment you are ready and want to deliver the bike back to the customer, you have to refill any liquid that has been removed. That can be done in the maintenance mode. This useful mode is great to see what items you may need to pay attention to and test if the motor will start. It also shows the condition of the parts that you have taken apart before.
When you have fixed the bike, you can go on a test drive. There are two tracks that can be used. One is a free track that just lets you go around in any way. The second one is where there are objectives to follow. Those objectives are easy and simple. If you are done with everything, deliver the fixed bike back to its owner to get money and experience. This game does have a leveling system with a skill tree. The leveling curve is slow and will take some time. Each time you level up, you get skill points to put in a skill tree. It does give you some useful perks that help you in repairing or building a bike.
At a certain point, the junkyard will be unlocked. The junkyard is a place where you may salvage parts for a cheaper price and lower durability. You’ll have to pay $20 to enter to basically buy second-hand parts. It can be cheaper in the long run, but so far do we not see the difference between new and used pricing as we earn that money back when the repair job is done. At level ten, you unlock the auction. That is the place where you can sell self-crafted motorcycles. This game isn’t only about fixing others’ bikes, but also creating bikes yourself. That is more costly than fixing one, and that is one of the few reasons why the junkyard would be a cheaper option.
All in all, the controls aren’t too bad. The game allows you to zoom in to view smaller parts to select them more easily. Most parts can be removed by pressing the correct button but some may require some additional actions. Assembling the motorcycle will require you to select the components in the correct order. The port was properly adjusted for console play.
Conclusion
Motor Mechanic Simulator 2021 is a surprisingly fun game that teaches us what a bike engine looks like from the inside. Do we know if it is accurate? No, but it does convince us that this is a realistic representation. The graphics are decent when working on motorcycles but everything outside of that looks a bit cheap. The music does feel detached from the game as we hear the same loop everywhere in the game, even in the menus. The choice of fixing other people’s motorcycles or building one on your own is great. It did a solid job of feeling like a simulator where we were in control, rather than an automated process.
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