Now that is a game I would have never even looked at if not for the fact that it's the same game studio that produced the Space Marine 2! Cars are mildly unintetersting to me, and heavy machinery is even less fascinating to the city dweller that I am. And yet...

RoadCraft's core concept is extremely simple: a natural disaster caused massive damage to the area and you're there to help the local community with recreating the basic infrastructure like roads, bridges, gas pipes, etc. The game does not even try to suck you in with a dramatic and emotional narrative. You are conveniently either just before or right after the catastrophe.

At that moment I'm done with the first tutorial map and 80% into the second one, where I'm supporting local African community with the aftermath of a flooding.

Each mission is scouting the area, rebuilding the roads, establishing some transit routes, and building whatever else needs to be restored to make the area function again. It's very simple and straightforward. The game has clear objective tracking and enough of the main and side objectives to make the area dense in activities without feeling overwhelming or cramped. 

The game is pretty effficient at what it does. Vehicles can be recovered at any time to a selection of recovery spots like your primary and secondary bases. Dump trucks can be refilled with sand anywhere around the sand pits, and cargo trucks don't need to be unloaded piece by piece — just park in the area and unstrap cargo. Not to mension very generous placement allowances for things like pipes or beton slabs. So very convenient!

Driving feels appropriately stiff and goey depending on the vehicle type and ground. While I found the controller mapping of moving camera back and forward and turning a bit annoying at times, control scheme is more or less easy to learn after a few minutes. Even the cranes which have 2 or 3 different control combinations are easy to master in a short time.

In general the game knows why you're playing it and doesn't get in the way too much. I like that and considering Focus Entertainment has (apparently) already two different series focused on all terrain driving, I expected greatness (that they delivered).

This is a very pretty game, to put simply. Every place you can reach is detailed with scatter terrain, foliage, mud, and traces of civilisation (mostly garbage brought by the flood). It feels authentic.

Vehicles get appropriately muddy when used and the environment during a sunny day looks so much different than when it rains. It is a pleasing background to the game and the story. You can see there was flooding: everything is caked with mud, parts of the road are trashed with pieces of trees and rocks, or completely destroyed in landslides. 

What I did not like at first about the game is how dead it seems after a while: no people, no animals. Literally nothing alive apart from optional driver of the vehicle you're driving. It was jarring at first but then it hit me: they aren't needed for the game loop, and most likely would be a detriment to the game.

Imagine operating asphalt spreader while trying to avoid children playing around. Yeah, a recipe for disaster.

Another thing that is annoying no matter how I look at it is the dumbest AI I've seen in a while. Let me put it this way: 

If this AI ever rebels, we have nothing to fear ;-) I had to make sure transit routes were not crossing at any place or they would go head first into each other at some point causing general "route failed" panic across the screen. So annoying.

One time I used a special mobile base vehicle to recall my bulldozer to a remote location by the river. Guess where the bulldozer ended up? Yup, 3m under water. Hilarious!

I would have never picked up this game on my own but at this price, with this semi-relaxing gameplay, it was a fun little experiment. I am happy I got it because I did have fun! I think the socially-responsible aspect of the game (helping disaster victims regaining their home back) is a nice aspect of the story that drawn me in. I wouldn't care about building a highway or a highrise anyway. 

I will play the game some more and report back in a more complete review :-)