For Mobile Friday this week is i tried out Pocket Trucks: Route Evolution, from NimbleBit, on my iPhone 14 Pro.
Playing Pocket Trucks: Route Evolution is more of a personal choice. it wasn't clear when it came out globally, but as someone who has played most of the games NimbleBit have released, i wanted to try it.
Because i'm a fan of NimbleBit games and still play their Trains and Planes games, whilst also thinking about getting back into Tiny Tower, i'm in two minds about Pocket Trucks: Route Evolution. The headline for this review is "More of the Same" which is both a positive and a negative. i know how the games plays, i know the rules and what's expected. but that also means there's no evolution, there's nothing new.
Pocket Trucks: Route Evolution feels like an old game. the tutorial is poor at best, the use of the screen is poor and feels like it was carried over from a different device, and there are some choices here and there that leave me more confused. a quick example of something small is how the button to upgrade your truck is on whilst the truck is driving, but you can't actually go to that screen. so why isn't it off like the City button is when your driving.
I recorded this video earlier in the week and have played it a little on and off since then and there are still aspects of the game that feel unbalanced. i have no idea why so many trucks are available when so few jobs are. i don't understand how the scrap/upgrade system work or how/when you get said items. And i have added the ice tyres to those trucks that can get them, but still don't know if there are negatives to using them on regular roads.
If Pocket Trucks: Route Evolution had come out years ago when the other hits from NimbleBit had, it would've felt like a natural fit. But now, it just feels old and not really in a positive way. games are much clearer now, either through an initial tutorial or additional smaller help boxes or tutorials as and when things unlock. I feel like games have much more animation, an example is how the animals clearly visible on screen don't move. if you're not going to animate them, why show them, why not have some cool crate for them.
As it is, Pocket Trucks: Route Evolution is fine. it does nothing to evolve the genre nor does it really harm it. the gameplay look is as fine as it ever was. For better or for worse, it's more of the same and sometimes that's enough.
Version 1.2.1 Played.
