Do You Even Forklift? Review

Years ago, I worked in a plastic factory, and I hated every second of it. What always mesmerised me, though, was how swiftly the forklift drivers buzzed around collecting and dropping off goods. Do You Even Forklift? is now available on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S and developed by Garage 5 and published by Take IT Studio! Sp. z o.o. This is a puzzler that will test your virtual forklift-driving skills with short, snappy levels to work through.

Gameplay

The gameplay premise in Do You Even Forklift? is pretty simple. Each level sets you a task, and you must achieve it to progress through the levels. You can be moving crates, pallets, objects and even vehicles to navigate your way to the level off. It’s all straightforward on paper, but executing it sometimes can be challenging as movement is restricted within tighter spaces. As you work through the game, the levels do tend to become trickier, with several attempts needed depending on your skill level. Scattered throughout the levels there are hidden objects to uncover if you’re a completionist.

Visuals & Audio

Do You Even Forklift? is themed with a Japanese urban environment, and it works really well. There is great attention to detail with car parks, shipping yards and surrounding streets all in the iconic setting. Levels are well constructed with some environmental triggers to make gameplay a little more interesting. Throughout the levels, you’ll witness car alarms going off, lamposts being knocked over, and hydrants cascading into the air. Clever development from the design team to make the levels seem a tad more interesting than traversing through a car park.

The soundtrack leans into calm, jazzy audio beats that wrap around the aesthetics of the game. The traditional hum of a forklift truck, along with the iconic reversing tone, hits right every time. As for the sound effects, they all do the job, skidding sounds as you turn at a speed, clashes if you hit obstacles and everything in between.

Final Thoughts

Do You Even Forklift? is a fun time for what it is. It’ll take you a good few hours to master the 65+ levels the game has to offer. There are some frustrations with levels feeling a little bit claustrophobic, but I think that is down to my own skill level. For the low price point of £6.69, it is a reasonable cost for a very satisfying puzzler that can be pretty challenging. If you fancy picking up a copy of the game for Xbox One or Xbox Series X/S, you can do so HERE.