So: simulator games. There are a bunch of them nowaday! I think PowerWash Simulator released just last year, and I hear good things about Lawn Mowing Simulator. Not to mention the plethora of Farming Simulators and Truck Simulators! It’s a genre unto itself, replicating the experience of driving specific things, doing specific things, that you would not easily get to do without significant preparation and/or expenses. With games, you just buy them, and poof, you are now able to get the experience!
A lot of them are presented as relaxing experiences. Both PowerWash Simulator and Lawn Mowing Simulator are similar in that you are to clean an area of dirt and/or grass. It seems simple, but strangely relaxing.
A similar game appeared on my radar recently, and it’s one I think I didn’t expect. And yet, the concept is just so funny to me, that I had to play it. Let’s review Forklift Load!
What’s it about? You are a forklift. You heard that right, you’re not driving a forklift, you are the forklift. And you help out other forklifts and cars with whatever they need, which usually consists of bringing them fuel with your small but strong forklift arms. A tag on Steam says it’s a Precision Platformer, and that is indeed a pretty apt description, since you have to be careful bringing the fuel as there will be a lot of obstacles on the way to your goal.
STYLE (Gameplay, Graphics, Music)
Gameplay involves you controlling this little senior citizen forklift. You move around and control the forklift tines up and down in order to pick up and put down any objects. Usually, these objects are supported by pallets so that you can easily pick them up. You can switch up the camera view so you can see whether or not the forklift tines can pick up the pallet properly and adjust them as needed. Controls are available in both mouse+keyboard and controller, but I do recommend you use controller for this game since it’s so much easier.
The environment of the main map is rather peaceful. It’s nice to drive around the map while the somber yet peaceful music washes over you. Pink flowers, trees, wide open fields… it’s very nice. When you get to the city proper, there are a fair amount of buildings, even. You get the impression people once lived here. What happened to them? One of the mysteries you have to uncover…
In place of people, there are vehicle NPC’s that give you missions. Each mission is a platforming puzzle, where you typically have to carry fuel to a stated goal. Despite the peaceful vibe of the game, make no mistake: a lot of the missions can be so frustrating. Have you ever played Getting Over It or QWOP? This game reminds me of them, where you have to have precise movement and some luck in order to progress. You have to move in a precise way in order to get to the goal, and you have to watch out for any subtle obstacles. Even small bumps in the road can prevent you from getting to your goal.
A lot of the time I found myself so frustrated at making mistakes. And yet, I can’t stop playing! It’s great when I finally manage to complete a mission successfully, finding out the right way to navigate a path making sure that the fuel doesn’t tip out of the pallet. The physics seem janky, but they still have logic to them, and there’s always a solution to everything, even if you have to try again a lot. I guess I find the platforming design good, despite the suboptimal physics! Though again, I very very much recommend you use a controller instead of mouse and keyboard, it’s definitely more of a headache when you use the latter.
Overall, I enjoyed the vibe of the game. It’s kind of ridiculous and yet serious? Like, once you get over the initial amusement of you being a sentient forklift, you get into the groove of the game real quick. Its peaceful vibe gets dashed a bit as soon as you realize that the puzzles can get infuriating, but it’s still nice to experience the environment and music.
SUBSTANCE (Story, Characters, Impact)
Real quick: if you wanna know the trigger warnings I feel I need to give for this game, mouseover the pic above.
The game opens with a scientist listening to some music, working on an AI. After that, the game cuts to you, a sentient forklift, waken up by another sentient forklift. Kind of ridiculous, right? But it’s somewhat played straight nonetheless.
The main story is presented through a series of notes. You won’t get to find them until you finish the first few missions in a couple of starting zones, after which the game drops you into the main map and shows them to you once you finish a certain quest.
Each note presents a platforming challenge before you get to them. Once you get all of the notes, something in the distance unlocks, wherein you can experience the ending.
The story discusses the benefits of AI and its pitfalls, as is typical for stories that feature AI. But I find this one story strangely… innocent? In its execution and resolution. It felt just right in its length and simplicity. It didn’t really linger, and it delivered what it was trying to say well enough. Though I would have rather the dev put up trigger warnings for this, as the game does make you do something rather drastic that some people might not want to do.
I found the NPC vehicles rather cute and quirky. Seeing other forklifts, other cars, and even a bulldozer made me like the game more. It’s strange, it somehow straddles the line between amusing yet serious. I mean… it’s still a game where you play as a sentient forklift. But the game itself doesn’t play around with that fact enough I think. And strangely enough, I’m fine with that, and am happy with what I got.
VERDICT
Forklift Load is a forklift simulator that makes you think about AI and the desires of humanity. It also makes you really feel the struggle of becoming forklift certified as you try and fail to deliver fuel constantly. It is a strange mix of peaceful, quirky, fun, and contemplative. I like it!
Door Rates Forklift Load: 3.5/5!