I’ve been driving for nearly two decades and as a male, I like to think I’m an absolute expert in parking the car. As a road user, I am one of those who build up furious rage at other people’s driving antics and I like to point and laugh at other people’s pathetic parking attempts. I don’t think I can ever recall a game where the main focus is precise parking of vehicles, but now we have one.

You Suck At Parking is the latest addictive indie gem I have only discovered due to the magic of Xbox Game Pass. That’s right, if you’re a subscriber then you can download this at the time of writing and play it to your heart’s content. Be warned though, it’s almost as frustrating as negotiating the testing rush hour roads of Britain. Do you know what though, it is insanely fun, and it will reel you in and if you’re as determined as me, you’ll want to perfect all the levels.

Introduction

You Suck At Parking is developed and published by Happy Volcano. They are a small but incredibly talented team that bases themselves across Belgium to the Philippines. Starting as a dream and developing larger-scaled projects over time, they are in the sweet spot with this latest entry hitting potentially millions of players on Xbox Game Pass.  The premise of the game is very simple and that is to navigate around the levels on offer and land on parking spots with precision. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Well, it is actually extremely challenging and whilst the game boasts 100 levels which is a feast of content, the online multiplayer also extends the experience to provide replayability and longevity beyond the solo modes.

Gameplay

The controls are super simplistic with analogue buttons doing the majority of manoeuvring the vehicle around circuits. You must keep the car in motion until you want to come to a dead stop which you should do ideally when you hit the parking spot. If you stop dead and you’re not parked, then you will need to start from the beginning and try again. The handling feels natural once you get used to the mechanics and I found myself improving as time went on. Half the battle of each level is figuring out how you’re going to approach each level successfully. Park perfectly on the spots without having to restart and you’ll achieve gold marks for that level

It goes without saying though that levels start to become more difficult as you progress with all sorts attempting to hinder your progress. Sometimes you’ll have slow down the vehicle to manoeuvre around tight spots or to avoid scraping along flammable walls that will instantly wreck your ride. As you blast through the 100 stages on offer you can shoot yourself in a cannon to other islands where later levels get really tricky with everything being thrown your way.

Online Multiplayer & Battle Pass

Online multiplayer can be played with up to 8 players with cross-platform and cross-generation actions. This means lobbies fill up quickly and the competitive edge can get going immediately. Online matches are straightforward and it’s a race for each player to park in all 8 spots per match, the higher you score, the more chance you have of winning. Each game lasts around three minutes with several rounds and points being scored after each round. Finish with the most points at the end of the match and you’ll finish top of the podium to take all the glory.

As you progress and level up your personal and online ranking you can unlock cosmetics for your vehicle. There is a battle pass system that is free but for all the cool stuff you’ll have to pay for 50 tiers of goodness in this first pass at around £7.99

Graphics & Audio

You Suck At Parking does well with the visuals despite the amount of chaos that can occur especially when it comes to multiple cars on screen at the same time. Everything is presented well visually with a great variance in the level design. You can be pushed and pulled by magnets, blown by giant fans, have projectiles fired at you and even mines that attempt to track your movements. This is just a short list of the number of features that could throw you off course within a level run and with portals and jump pads added to the mix, the possibilities are countless. The colours are well blended and the aesthetics have similar vibes to games such as Overcooked and Moving Out. Audio performs as you’d expect with no complaints there.

In Conclusion

You Suck At Parking was a unique experience that I have never seen done in a video game before. The more persistent I was in the early stages of the game, the more driven and determined I became to ace all of the levels and compete with real-life players. It really does have that “just one more go” feel to it and if you’re a perfectionist like I am then you’ll hit restart at the slightest mistake you make. I was impressed with the variance in level designs and how each one presents a tough but achievable challenge.

Online multiplayer was an absolute blast and absolute carnage at the same time. This portion of the game was far more competitive and fluid than I was perhaps expecting, and I’d recommend anyone to try it out. It was hilarious seeing several human players competing for parking spots only to bash each other out of the way battling out for the number one spot. Just when I thought there couldn’t be possibly any more fantastic indie titles before the close of 2022, this one came and grabbed me. With potentially unlimited replayability, it’s well worth your time!