Heavy Duty review

If you want a simple, mindless, and casual time, I suggest grabbing a copy of Heavy Duty. As its name suggests, it focuses on larger vehicles, and it’ll appeal to fans of lorries, boats, trucks, and forklifts. However, if you want something with depth, a complex layer of difficulty, or anything in between, this may not be for you.

Developed by FreePDA, this is a single-player puzzle simulation title. You control your vehicles from an isometric viewpoint. Additionally, unlike other sim games, this doesn’t focus on realistic graphics. Instead, it has a cartoon edge to make things appear more accessible. I enjoyed this childish approach despite its unfortunate lack of difficulty.

Heavy Duty focuses on the vehicles.

Like many sim games, Heavy Duty doesn’t have a backstory. Instead, it focuses on the large array of vehicles you get to control. There are boats, cranes, trucks, forklifts, and others to drive. I liked the variety and the different tasks each was used for. However, the core aims were too easy, and people may find the rudimentary approach a little underwhelming.

Alongside this, despite the varied terrain, the gameplay rarely changes. This causes things to plateau pretty quickly, and this forces you to play it casually. If you fall for its charms, you’ll enjoy the basic mechanics and fast-flowing stages. However, if you get bored, you’ll have to play it sparingly to make the most of every moment.

Basic mechanics.

Heavy Duty asks you to transport a package or packages from point A to B. En route, you will have to use different vehicles to move the boxes and overcome an array of obstacles. You may have a pickup truck, open-backed lorry, or bulldozer to push objects. Alternatively, a boat may have to navigate choppy waters, or you’ll climb into a crane and load up your lorry.

Once you have your parcel on board, you have to navigate each level. Roads, mud, rivers, and other obstacles stand in your way. As you move closer to the goal, you’ll search for 3 stars. If you collect them all, you complete that stage. However, you can forget them altogether, and you’ll still progress. Therefore, you can blast through the game or focus on getting every available star.

Heavy Duty is fun and vibrant to look at.

Visually, I like Heavy Duty’s style; the soft cartoon edge and vibrant colour palette create a child-friendly approach. Moreover, the levels are fun to explore, and they gradually become more complex the further you progress. This offers a gentle learning curve and helps you to never feel out of your depth. The audio, on the other hand, was pretty annoying. The vehicles sound obnoxious, and they were a little loud for my liking. Sadly, I’m not sure that petrolheads will enjoy the monotonous tone of each lorry, truck, and boat.

The controls were easy to understand and master. Effectively, you are asked to grab a few boxes and avoid obstacles. The developer has created a simple controller layout to make the most of this refined approach. Subsequently, younger gamers can play this with ease. Replay value focuses on the 3-star system. If you are not bothered about completing the game, you will fly through the levels. However, if you want every star, you’ll need some finesse to find them all and deliver every package.

Heavy Duty won’t blow you away.

Heavy Duty didn’t blow me away. Its simplicity was disappointing, and I was left wanting a greater challenge. However, it’s ideal if you prefer large vehicles and are looking for a straightforward challenge. It’s designed for casual gaming and a younger audience, and this is where it excels. Therefore, if you sit in those categories, I’d recommend grabbing a copy from the Xbox store!