Junkyard Simulator: First Car (PC) Review

Ever wanted to feel like a manly man but you didn’t want to die in a workplace accident? Ever wanted to get your hands dirty but not really because cleaning grease is a pain in the ass? Junkyard Simulator – The Prologue is here to minimally fulfill those dreams.

Story

Most simulators don’t have much of a story but here we are. You play as Johnny, the Junkman, who is probably an alcoholic since you blacked out at a party and are told “you’ve been boozing again” by the narrator when waking up with a hangover. You then start the tutorial with narrator man phoning every now and then to introduce you to a new mechanic.

Gameplay

The simulation is played through a First Person perspective, i.e. everything you do is “by hand” and in person. That means to fetch junk and recycle it, you must pick it up and throw it in the dumpster.

To operate the crusher, you must run to its location and get in, operate the hydraulic presses. That might seem like a lot, but there are clear instructions for everything shown via keyboard prompts and a tutorial.

Of course there are quality of life things too. Those include elements like fast travel and storage options. But all of this might be a deal breaker for some who just want to bust things without the tedium of running around.

Visuals

The visuals are fairly decent. The game provides a solid sense of realism and sometimes some surprising accuracy (except when I could put a whole V6 engine in my backpack – maybe that’s just a QoL feature).

It’s not all traipsing though the junkyard, ogling the pretty rust-buckets though. As you might expect with a game like this, there are a ton of menus, and information dense HUDs.

But while that might not be the most attractive stuff to look at, Junkyard Simulator does allow for a relatively easy learning experience. So that’s a nicety in any event.

Sound Design

Arguably the best thing about the game is the rocking tunes they have on the radio which just blasted me with testosterones.

https://easyridershellyeah.bandcamp.com/track/black-not-grey

They have decent sound effects for everything else.

Bugs

There seem to be a lot of bugs in Junkyard Simulator. And those run the gamut from ‘can’t click UI buttons’ to game-crashing stuff. Still, this is a free-to-play intro to a title that’s still in Early Access.

So as development continues, and the full version of Junkyard Simulator heads towards its retail release, some or all of this stuff might be fixed.

Overall

Junkyard Simulator – The Prologue is a decent idea but the extremely brief demo leaves a lot to be desired. The “American Junkman” theme can feel a bit cringe at times and it’s somewhat stereotypical the way this manly man is represented (drinking, tattooed, dirty, every device/interface flavored with masculinity and some more dirt).

At least the tunes are good, and the brief showcase of a junkyard seemed somewhat accurate.

A copy of Junkyard Simulator was provided by the developer for this review

Junkyard Simulator
Release Date: March 31st, 2021
Platform: PC
Publisher: PlayWay S.A.
Developer: Rebelia Games