Euro Truck Simulator 2 - Highway Hypnosis

Hello hello there, fellow Wombatants! Amalia here.

And y'know, we were looking to write about an entirely different game, here. Something we're really looking forward to writing about. But nooo, we had the idea that we could upload the occasional video with commentary on our new YouTube channel (An idea which we've since scrapped), so we needed a game that would offer a good, simple gameplay loop to talk over. Lo and behold, some hours and hundreds of kilometres later, we're knee-deep in...

..... and so we've decided to own it and write about it. At least this way, we have an excuse for playing it.😉

ETS2 is a..... well trucking simulator. Made by SCS software, it came out in 2012, but it's been continuously updated and expanded since then, so it's actually quite current. In fact, the playerbase has massively grown over the years, to the point where it just reached a new peak this year!

So, in keeping with our usual approach, let's get the technical details out of the way first and talk about:

-Graphics-

Well, it's good news and bad news.

The bad news is, this -does- have the word "simulator" in the title, which means it's not allowed to be particularly impressive on a technical level. It's also been out for 13+ years.

The good news is, that actually doesn't matter. The trucks and trailers are well modelled, traffic cars are decent enough to provide some life to your surroundings and the landscapes you're driving through generally do a very nice job of conveying the vibe of whatever country you find yourself in.

Speaking of which, the developers really went the extra mile (heh) to show off each country's unique signage, road markings, street furniture and such, not to mention architecture, flora types, landmarks etc.

Though it does have to be said, with how long the game's been out, and different parts of the map being added over the years as expansions, as well as some of the original areas getting reworked, not everything is always quite up to the same level. Some of the newer areas look super-snazzy, while some of the older areas look a bit simpler.

But overall the game looks quite nice. Not necessarily in terms of hyper-ray-tracing mega detail, but because of good design.

I know you're used to hearing this from us, but what can i say, we're the creative type. We simply care a lot more about the intention in the artists design, rather than how well it would utilize a 4000 Euro graphics card using more power than the entire rest of the household combined.😉 

And that's about all we have to say about graphics. So let's have a few words about...

-Sound-

I will say, overall the game's sounds are fairly unremarkable. Some effects are pretty good, like the various bits and bobs related to pneumatic brakes, engine retarders, etc.

The engine noises themselves are probably quite accurate, it's just that... well, making the monotone thrumming of a modern european truck engine exciting or impressive is a bit of a tall order. It creates the proper atmosphere, but that's about it.

The environmental sounds are fine. Again, nothing to massively stand out, neither good nor bad.

Though there -is- one thing we love about the audio in this game!

You see, the developers had this idea to include a system to listen to real radio stations while you're driving:

There's a good variety of stations included from all over Europe, and one can add more by editing a text file. Listening to local radio stations as you travel all over Europe is just a joy. A neat way of involving you in some of the local culture.

We don't always have it on (Honestly, the peaceful nature of this game often provides a wonderful opportunity for Michael and i to talk to each other, so sometimes music would be a distraction), but having this as a feature is just an awesome idea.

The only way we could think of improving this system would be to maybe make it possible to filter the stations to the country you're driving through. Though you can already sort them by languages and just scroll down, so this would be a pure quality-of-life thing. But still, it'd be neat.😉

Anywho, i think imma take a break here and hand off to Michael, who'd like to tell you folks about....

-DLC/Expansions-

Howdy folks! And yeah, i know what you're thinking: "Why on earth are we talking about DLC before even talking about the gameplay?" And well, it's because....

Not only is there a lot of it, but some of it actually affects the gameplay quite heavily. Quite specifically, i mean the map expansions. It's a simple equation, really: Game about long distance driving = More fun with bigger, more varied map.

So, at the time of writing, there's 10 released map expansions, which each cost around 18 Euros.

There's 3 more in development right now: Iceland, Ireland and Anatolia (Basically Turkey).

So as you can see then, things do get a little.... expensive. The other DLC is very optional, mostly different cargo type packs, paint jobs, some truck tuning parts and the like. It's all nice to have, but the map expansions really do feel sort of necessary. Just feels wrong to drive around with an incomplete map, you know?

At least, if you get into this game, that's how you'll feel sooner rather than later, so just be warned: You -will- be enticed to buy a fair bit more than just the base game, here. It's a fair trade, no lootboxes or purchasable consumables or anything of the sort, but still.😉

Also, there's an expansion in the works that's going to be about driving coaches, which should, of course, be a literal game changer. So that's another potentially huge thing coming up!

But yeah, i don't wanna dwell on DLC for too long. And there's another thing i really wanna talk about before we move on to the gameplay. And it's.....

-History-

You see, it'd be easy to assume that ETS 2 simply sprang out of the "Simulator phase" of gaming that happened when Farming Sim had success around 2010 and inspired a million (mostly awful) copycats, but actually, this game's roots are much older than that. And we happen to be quite familar with them.

See, there used to be a game out there called "Hard Truck: Road to victory". We never played that one, but as a little wee lad, i played the sequel quite a bit: "Hard Truck 2: King of the Road" (pictured above). In fact, it's on the to-do list in regards to nostalgia posts on this blog.😉

There was also a spinoff called "Hard Truck Apocalypse", which i played much later. It's a semi-open world....... action car-combat RPG? You do quests, upgrade your truck and whatnot. Honestly it's really interesting and we'd recommend it.

But then, something important happened. "18 Wheels of Steel: Hard Truck" came out, made by a different developer, SCS software. And while the previous two Hard Truck games were really more like open world racing games with cargo on board, this one took a more realistic approach. The map wasn't fictional, it was America. You were expected to (at least somewhat) respect traffic laws, and generally, everything was more down to earth and dare i say, relaxing.

There were a few entries in that series. I think "Convoy" is the one i mainly played. And i played that game -a lot-. A friend and i share memories of navigating the U.S. using a map in our English textbook from school back then. Fun stuff.

But yeah, SCS went on to make some independent trucking sims, such as "German Truck Simulator", "UK Truck simulator" and "Scania Truck driving simulator".

I didn't play any of those, but i -did- play the OG Euro Truck Simulator. And yes, of course I got ETS2 pretty much as soon as it became available. I was here from the start!

Since then, we've been playing ETS2 on and off, in different ways. A while back, Amalia really got into it, too. In fact, she kinda built up the current save we're using while driving with pedals, a wheel and VR headset. Though currently, we're more casual than that, playing with a controller and TrackIR for head movements.

Oh, let's also not forget: American Truck Simulator is a thing. In fact, it's very much the exact same game as ETS2, but fully converted to the U.S.

We played that too, of course, but we tend to find that Europe offers much more variety, what with the different languages, cultures, laws etc.

I really wanted to take you on a little trip through the past with this one, just because yeah, it just so happens that i was there since the early roots of this game, and over the decades, i watched it grow into the well-loved phenomenon we all know it as, today.😉

With all that said, let's talk about...

-Gameplay-

Well, having been with the series for that long, i can tell you in no uncertain terms that they've refined this formula to an absolute science.

The gameplay loop is simple and enjoyable, and there's tons and tons of accumulated quality of life features that make this game feel just about as perfect as it can be.

So basically, you take jobs to carry cargo X from Y to Z. Doing said jobs gives you money and experience. The former allows you to buy things, the latter gets you level ups. Each level, you get 1 skill point to put into various things, like the ability to take longer-distance deliveries, carry more valuable goods, that sort of stuff. Also, certain truck upgrades unlock based on a level threshold, too.

To begin with, you don't actually own a truck, so you can only do so-called "Quick jobs". These aren't very well paid, but in turn, they're very uncomplicated. You're teleported to the starting location, a truck is provided for you with the cargo already hooked up, and you can just go on your merry way, with all expenses paid by your employer.

After working your way up for a while (or taking a loan), you'll be able to buy your own truck, which opens up the game significantly, because you no longer just teleport around the place all the time. You (and your truck) now actually exist in the open world proper, and after a job is finished, you don't just end up back in the menu. You actually have to go and get another.

This also ties in with the second type of job: "Freight" jobs. For these, you need to bring your own truck, and you'll be hauling someone else's trailer, including the freight on/in it. This pays better, and is generally more fun because you now have to think about truck repairs, paying for your own fuel, mandated rest periods etc.

(Refuelling and rest are a feature in quick jobs too, but most of them aren't long enough to where that stuff matters much.)

Also, owning your own truck means you can modify it to your liking!

The next step beyond freight jobs would be "cargo" jobs, for which you not only need to bring your own truck, but also your own cargo-appropriate trailer (Which you can buy and customize just like trucks, see the above image!)

These tend to pay yet more than freight jobs, -and- you get to use your own trailers, which is cool and neat, so they're better.😜

Mind you, there's more to it than this. You can buy garages, which in turn have slots that you can fill with other trucks, hire drivers for them, even buy more trailers for them to use!

So there's some company management stuff going on. It's fairly basic, but quite fun in that simple "More stuff make number go up bigger"-kind of way.

There's "external" contracts too, which is an online component of the game where players..... create jobs for each other, if we got that right? Gonna be honest, we don't really take much interest in that kind of thing, so we can't speak on it.

So, now that i've explained the mechanical side of the gameplay, why don't i let Amalia tell you about the game's....

-Vibes-

Right you are, dude!

Well, i'd argue that vibes are, in fact, the whole point of this game. Vibes are what this runs on. Vibes are what keep you playing. In fact, we recorded a whole job to share the vibes with you:

See, highway hypnosis is indeed a real factor with this game. The map is significantly scaled down of course, but doing a long job involving several border crossings can still take a few hours of play, and hours of driving can give you that real "road trip"-feeling. That sense of being out there, travelling long distances, enjoying the scenery as the task of driving becomes automatic (almost literally, if you use cruise control, lane helper etc.).

It can genuinely become a meditative sort of experience. It really draws you in. It's comfortable like a warm blanket. It induces relaxation and invites contemplation.

We almost can't get enough of it!

...... almost.

See, there's another side to all this, which presents us with an interesting dilemma. Because while we really enjoy the meditative qualities of this game, it does come with the nagging feeling that at the end of the day, the gameplay amounts to an infinite grind to make numbers go up. It doesn't tell a story, it doesn't have a real, set goal to achieve and it isn't particularly challenging to learn or play.

So it's...... kind of a waste of time.😜

At least that's how we end up feeling after playing it, sometimes. We might have a great time sitting there for a couple of hours and driving along in our truck, and we'll also enjoy the rewards we get and the upgrades we can put on our truck and stuff, but after we finish a session, we tend to think "Man, if we were playing a game that has an actual ending, that time could have been spent making meaningful progress!".

In all fairness, this isn't ETS2's fault, really. It's simply the nature of this style of game. We have a big backlog of games to play (and write about!), so we much prefer games that have an actual finish line to reach. A clearly defined ending that allows us to close that chapter and move on.

Though yeah, your mileage may vary, in that regard. You might have more free time than us, or you might not be as much as a workaholic as Michael and I. And again, the vibes of the actual moment-to-moment gameplay are pretty much impeccable.

So, with all that said, i think it's time for our....

-Conclusion-

Well, there's no denying the quality of this game. It's an incredibly smooth, comfortable and immersive experience, and if you're really into it, you can probably sink half your life into this game without regret.

As for us, i'd call it a guilty pleasure. It's very fun, but that fun is always tinged with the feeling that we really should be doing something more productive with our time, even if it's just playing a different game that isn't designed to be an eternal grind.

..... like the game we -actually- meant to write about, which we can now get to.😉

Still, don't get me wrong. We rather respect ETS2, not only for being the culmination of all the history Michael wrote of, but also for simply being tremendously well put-together.

And yeah, we'll probably end up coming back and writing about the Coaches DLC when that arrives, because y'know, it'll quite literally add a whole new way to play.

In the meantime though, we'll have plenty of games to write about that can actually be finished. So look forward to more of that!😉

Until then, stay safe and have a good one!