Polish developer Road Studio teased an important announcement for this, but few fans expected a shake-up of such magnitude. Previously known as Alaskan Truck Simulator, Road Studio’s upcoming game will be released as Alaskan Road Truckers. But the changes don’t stop here. In fact, the name change is probably the least important thing involving the new direction the game is headed to.
Based on the studio’s latest developer video, the new Alaskan Road Truckers name is a better fit for what the project has become during development. Unlike traditional truck simulators like American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator series, Alaskan Road Truckers introduces some survival elements to go with the core driving experience.
Obviously, you’ll step into the shoes of a trucker (not necessarily an Alaskan trucker), but this time around, you’ll actually be able to get out of the truck and manage your truck empire. The survival elements consist of managing your hunger, thirst, and body temperature, something that I’m not sure many truck simulator fans will enjoy.
Most of us just want to sit back and relax while bringing our cargo from A to B. If there are nice vistas on the way, that’s a plus, but having to manage your hunger and thirst will definitely add some challenge and stress to the driving experience.
Equally important is the fact that in Alaskan Road Truckers, you’ll have your own headquarters that can be expanded as you progress through the game. You start with a very small garage, which can be turned into a massive complex with all the tools needed for a professional trucker. Yes, that includes a refrigerator for food and drinks, a coffee machine, and even a cooker oven to show off your cooking prowess.
Photo: Road Studio
The video also goes through some of the upgrade and customization options for your headquarters, which is split into a couple of sections, like the workshop, parking area, and tire stations. You can buy new trucks, take on contracts, as well as manage the rest of your business directly from within your base.
Players will also be able to go directly to other locations throughout Alaska to get assignments. Not only that, but various NPCs in Alaska will offer you jobs that vary in difficulty, while offering either money or reputation as reward (or even both?).
While on the road, you’ll be able to listen to internet radio channels, which is pretty cool. I’m not really sure how well the trucks in Alaskan Road Truckers drive, but they don’t look that good, especially on the inside.
In fact, the visuals shown in the video aren’t appealing at all. Still, considering that this is probably an alpha version, I hope the studio will be able to make some improvements (if they didn't already?).
Alaskan Road Truckers players will also be able to shop for food, drinks, and gas while on the road. Thankfully, your truck houses not just a bed and storage space, but also a microwave that allows you to cook. Even so, I’m not so sure about the refueling and stocking up on food and drinks parts of the game.
Photo: Road Studio
These survival mechanics are probably meant to make Alaskan Road Truckers stand out, but I’m not sure how many truck simulator fans will enjoy them. Considering that many of the changes implemented recently by the developers are based on the feedback received, it appears that there’s actually a market for this particular type of truck simulator.
One other interesting mechanic is truck maintenance. This can be done by you, or you can pay someone else to do it for you. Since this looks like a fun gameplay feature, as shown in the video, I’m pretty sure many players will want to do it themselves, at least in the beginning.
Ultimately, I agree with the developer, Alaskan Road Truckers is not your typical truck simulator. Because of the survival mechanics, like it or not, you will also get to experience life as a trucker.
The 8-minute gameplay trailer goes through some other features of the game, but the ones above feel the most interesting. It’s important to mention, though, that the footage was captured using a previous version of the game, so we don’t actually know what the game looks like now.
However, the folks at Road Studio claim they’ve made tons of progress since, so we’re looking forward to seeing newer footage of the game. Alaskan Road Truckers doesn’t have a release date yet, but its Steam page does mention that it will be launched this year.
In addition to PC, the game will be available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, so no last-gen console release for this one. If you want to show your support for Alaskan Road Truckers, you can wishlist the game on Steam right now.
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