The latest Construction Simulator is here, and we have been waiting for this to arrive for a long time. Published by astragon Entertainment and developed by Weltenbauer software, Construction Simulator is the latest title in the long-running Construction Simulator franchise by Weltenbauer software. For its 2022 release, Construction Simulator is the biggest and the most authentic construction simulator to date with a lot of officially licensed construction machinery and vehicles along with two big maps for you to explore and complete various construction contracts. This is our review of the PC Steam release of Construction Simulator in which we transport a UFO and help towns attract some tourists.
In Construction Simulator, you start with creating your own character and company at the start of the game. The character creation is pretty straightforward as you choose one from a set of different characters which you can customize later. The customization is limited to clothes and shoes. You also get the option of jumping into a multiplayer game. The game is pretty much the same in both cases however if you jump into co-op, you will a friend or a random player helping you out with various tasks in contracts. If you like to take your own time with the game, you can just pick solo and jump into one of the regions of the game. This time around, you have two regions to pick from and the machinery that you find in both regions along with the contracts that you take in these two regions are different and unique.
No matter what region you start with, the overall gameplay of the game remains the same. You start at the bottom, and you must complete contracts to expand your construction company and expand your fleet of construction machinery and vehicles. However, this time around, both regions have fully narrated campaigns complete with audio dialogues and cutscenes. These campaigns allow you to experience the game to its fullest if you do not want to take on custom contracts right from the start. One of the regions is inspired by the USA while the other region is inspired by Europe. You will notice a major difference in the architecture of both regions and their overall geography of them as well. You can leave vehicles and move around like in GTA games and explore both regions on foot as well. While on foot, you can also collect hidden collectibles, which is a nice touch to incentivize exploration on foot. However, there is not much to look for and apart from collecting collectibles, you will only walk while you are going to speak with various NPCs and change vehicles.
Each region comes with its own campaign which includes an introductory mission, main missions, and a finale. After your introduction to the region, you can start working with various prominent people in each region to help make the region better. These missions range from city projects for improving its different amenities for attracting tourists, cultural sites for preserving them, sustainable projects for making cities for efficient in their resource consumption, and more. After you have completed these missions, you will unlock the finale and complete the campaign for that particular region. The missions are pretty time-consuming and while there are only 12 campaign missions, you will spend quite a lot of time completing all of the campaigns in the game. After you are done with the campaigns, you can take contracts that are much smaller than the main campaign missions, but they are a source of good money and allow you to increase your level as well. The challenges are unique to each region to keep things fresh because you will be coming to the new region after spending quite a lot of time in the first region.
Completing these missions and contracts allow you to increase the level of your company. There are three levels S, M, and L and you can complete various tasks for achieving these levels. These tasks range from things like buying more machinery and vehicles, hiring on-site mechanics and helpers, completing contracts, and more. As you continue to complete tasks, you will increase the capacity of your business and ultimately become large enough to tackle the biggest contracts the city can throw at you. Certain high-level contracts can only be attained after you expand your company, so it gives you another reason to work towards the completion of these tasks. You can also view and manage your finances to keep track of how much you are spending across your vehicles and earning back from each of them. Apart from purchasing, you can also rent vehicles and machinery that you do not often use to eliminate their running costs. Construction Simulator is using the same familiar UI that this franchise has for a long time so if you are a long-time player of astragon and Weltenbauer software, you will easily know your way around.
While talking about a construction simulation game, it will be unfair if we don’t talk about the main star of the game. That is definitely not you because the real star of the game is the plethora of construction vehicles in it. This time around, Weltenbauer has really gone the extra mile of partnering up with the biggest number of companies ever in the history of the franchise and all of the vehicles and machinery just look amazing in the game. If I go by the book, Construction Simulator features over 70 different construction vehicles and machinery spread in various categories from over 25 different brands. This is huge even for Weltenbauer however these guys have managed to pull it off, delivering the most comprehensive lineup of construction machinery ever featured in a construction simulation title. This time around, it is not just the construction machinery that has gotten the licensed treatment, but you can also get yourself suited in officially licensed construction clothes in the game as well.
Veterans of the franchise will recognize some of the brands from the previous titles such as CAT, Kenworth, BOMAG, MEILLER Kipper, Mack, HAMM, STILL, MAN, Bobcat, and more. You will find their dumpers, mobile and static cranes, tractors, flatbeds, backhoes, rollers, and tons of more machinery in the game to purchase and use in your contracts. Apart from these iconic companies, you will also find some new brands joining the roster in the latest title such as Doosan, Nooteboom, Scania, and Wacker Neuson. They bring their own designs of iconic machinery to the game giving you even more options to choose your machinery from. Weltenbauer has also increased the level of detail of each vehicle to an insane level. The machinery and vehicles look exceptionally well, and you can just spend hours just looking at them in your collection. All of the construction machinery and vehicles come bearing their traditional brand colors.
The animations are silky smooth, and it is always a charm to switch the machinery and vehicles between their work mode and driving mode. The controls are exceptionally well designed on the PC, and you can easily control the machinery. The lights and accessories are functioning in nearly all of the vehicles and their level of detail is pretty high. The headlights and revolving lights sometimes do not really give out light at certain angles, but they are a lot better still when compared to the previous versions. Weltenbauer has put great work into bringing these vehicles and machinery to life in the game. Apart from visual beauty, all of these vehicles are fully functional in the game as well just like they are in their real life. You can use all of the features that come with a vehicle without any hiccups. It is a little bit linear how the game treats these vehicles in certain missions however in custom contracts, you are free to use whatever vehicles and machinery you want. The performance of similar vehicles does feel the same and they sound the same as well even if they belong to a different brand however it is something that Weltenbauer might work on in the future titles in the franchise.
Technically, there are a few issues with Construction Simulator, but they are mostly visual problems and slight optimization issues. There is a weird stutter with the camera which does not happen all the time but when it happens, it is pretty annoying. Apart from this, AI-driven cars have a mind of their own. During turns, if you are standing at a red light, they will refuse to turn to cause a traffic jam behind them until you get your green and you move away from your spot. In addition, sometimes the AI cars will just drive inside each other and will drive like one unit. They do not hit each other and just go through one another. Sometimes I also noticed parked cars bouncing around which was really weird. The AI along with the vehicles which are not under the player’s control do need some optimization work to make them work properly because these small glitches just annoy you while you are enjoying an otherwise great game. Some visual hiccups here and there also happen from time to time but they are bearable and do not ruin the gameplay.
Apart from this, the audio of the game feels a little unbalanced as well and some of the audio that you hear in the game might feel out of place as well. For example, the audio levels are pretty normal, and you are driving around but if a car comes near you which has some music playing, it will be so loud that it will suppress all other audio of the game and you will only hear the sound of the beat coming from the car until it goes away from you. Also, I am pretty happy that in surrounding areas and some places far off from the town and cities, you can hear wild animals such as coyotes and ravens along with many other insects and animals however even when you have left these areas and entered into city areas, you will continue to hear these wild animals and birds which really sounds out of place. This is not something that would really affect the gameplay in any way but something that could be fixed later down the road to make the game sound even more authentic when it comes to ambiance sounds.
Even with the small problems, the new Construction Simulator is perhaps the most authentic construction game you can experience currently. It offers hours and hours of no-rush construction fun as you build your very own construction firm solo or with other people or friends in its multiplayer mode. The vehicle and machinery choice is brilliant and no matter what brand you like, it is in the game for you to purchase them and drive them. The gameplay mechanics are solid and extremely satisfying. Not once that I was frustrated with the controls or any of the gameplay mechanics. Every machine and vehicle operates smoothly and fluidly and to kick things up a notch, you can switch to the ‘Simulation’ controls setting to really give yourself a construction challenge.
Final Verdict:
astragon Entertainment and Weltenbauer software have done an amazing job with the latest Construction Simulator despite its few issues here and there. These issues are nothing big and can be fixed with a little bit of optimization here and there. Overall, this is the best Construction Simulator that I have played so far. The vehicles and machinery are highly detailed and tons of them to choose from. The sense of progression in the game is real and you do not ever feel lost in the game or without a sense of direction like in most simulator titles these days. If you have been playing the Construction Simulator franchise for some time, then you are in for a real treat however if you have played other simulators or are just getting into this genre, the new Construction Simulator is the best game for you to play right now on all platforms.
Final Score: 9.0/10
