Developer: Games Incubator
Publisher: Ultimate Games
Platform: Switch, PC, PS5, Xbox series X|S
Tested on: Switch
Ship Graveyard Simulator 2 (Switch) – Review
We’re drawing ever closer to the release of the Switch 2. At the time of writing, we’re eagerly checking our tracking details, and by the time you read this, there’s a very good chance that we’re zooming around in Mario Kart World. Before all that, though, we felt like we needed to take our original Switch for a final spin before retirement. What better way than with a game published by our friends over at Ultimate Games? Without further ado, let’s dive into the Switch version of Ship Graveyard Simulator 2.
Story
Continuing the long-running tradition of games like Food Truck Simulator and Construction Simulator, there is very little to be found in terms of story here. Granted, this isn’t a necessity, as Ship Graveyard Simulator 2’s premise is clear-cut. You simply run the titular ship graveyard, breaking down the wrecks of ships for profit. That’s it.
Graphics
One of our fellow writers actually reviewed the PS5 version of Ship Graveyard Simulator 2 some time ago. If you compare the screenshots from that review to those from the Switch version, it’s easy to see that the visuals on the latter have taken a huge hit. Textures are blurry and muddy, draw distance has been dramatically decreased, and colors are washed out. It’s a good thing that the game is played from a first-person perspective and that there are no visible character models in-game, as those would’ve ended up looking like rejects from Five Nights at Freddy’s instead of actual human beings. The visual downgrades are somewhat understandable given the Switch’s comparative lack of power, but even keeping these in mind, Ship Graveyard Simulator 2’s performance is just awful. The game suffers from lengthy load times, stutter, and frequent crashes. More on that last one later.
Sound
While there is limited voice acting here, mostly over the in-game radio, it is of mixed quality. Music is underutilized and generic. Sound effects, on the other hand, are over-the-top and take away from Ship Graveyard Simulator 2’s realism.
Gameplay
The convenient thing about simulator games is that they typically deliver exactly what they say on the tin, although there are exceptions. In Lawn Mower Simulator, you mow lawns. In Power Wash Simulator, you use power washing tools to clean stuff. So as you’d expect, Ship Graveyard Simulator 2 sees you working on a ship graveyard, where you dismantle decommissioned seacraft. The aim is to salvage precious metals from the carcasses of the ships. Ship Graveyard Simulator 2 doesn’t stray from the familiar structure of the genre. By selling the scraps you managed to haul from the ships, you’ll earn enough to afford bigger and better equipment, which makes your subsequent ship breakdowns more efficient. Rinse and repeat. It’s a familiar formula that has proven itself time and time again, with the success of simulator games being tied to how realistically they recreate the job at hand rather than the core structure of the gameplay.
To its credit, Ship Graveyard Simulator 2 is pretty good at recreating ship breakdowns, at least to someone who has only the vaguest idea of how the job would be carried out in real life. Everything is broken down into easy-to-understand tasks that capture the essence of the job. The controls are smooth too, and there is almost a zen-like feeling to smashing ship parts to bits with a giant hammer. Mind you, you can’t just go around destroying the vessels all willy-nilly. Breaking down the larger ship parts and lifting heavy loads off the ship, which is done using a crane, is a delicate process, as you want to salvage as many valuable scraps as possible. There is a high risk, high reward factor too, as you pick your contracts yourself, and you’re never quite sure whether a new ship’s innards are going to be worth the effort of picking it apart.
So why the low score, we hear you ask? Well, the Switch port specifically of Ship Graveyard Simulator 2 is just awful, to the point that it is borderline unplayable. We mentioned the game frequently crashing when we discussed the visuals. These crashes sent us back to our Switch’s home screen, meaning we lost a lot of progress. Add to this that the game’s interface was clunky and a pain to navigate, and you’ve got a terribly frustrating port on your hands. The game itself seemed fine enough, mind you, but this specific version should be avoided at all costs. Speaking of costs, Ship Graveyard Simulator 2 has an eye-watering €29.99 price tag attached to it. While this price does include the game’s Warships DLC, that is still way too much for a game that is fundamentally broken. If you’re interested in picking this one up, then the Switch port isn’t the way to go.
Conclusion
At its core, Ship Graveyard Simulator 2 is a decent but unremarkable simulator game. The Switch port is a tremendous letdown, however. Frequent crashes, visual downgrades, and a clunky interface make for a game that you shouldn’t consider adding to your library, if the ridiculous price tag wasn’t a deterrent already.
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