Riding a bike is infinitely more liberating than repairing one for most of us, but that’s not to say that there aren’t people that favor the latter over the first. Motorcycle Mechanic Simulator 2021 is meant to provide both sides with the option to get their hands dirty while changing a wheel or a fuse box. The game developed by Play2Chill lets you take on the role of a virtual mechanic who is trying to build their empire by buying, renovating and, ultimately, creating their own custom motorcycle.
Initially launched on PC back in 2021, the game made its way to Nintendo Switch early this year. This is the same game as Car Mechanic Simulator, but with motorcycles instead of cars. The gameplay loop is quite simple: get an order to replace some bike parts, buy the new parts, replace them, and get paid.
Even if you don’t have any knowledge about bikes, you’ll be just fine playing Motorcycle Mechanic Simulator 2021, although you’ll probably have a little bit of trouble finding the mechanical pieces you’re supposed to dismantle and replace.
Before you get your promised empire though, you’ll begin in a small garage with just one room and a couple of machines to help you with the basics. You can populate your garage with more complex machines as the need arises, assuming you have enough space though.
I strongly recommend playing the tutorial before diving deep into all mechanical things. It will teach you the much-needed basics before you start making some money and move into a bigger garage. Once you accept an order, you’ll have a list of mechanical pieces that must be replaced on the left side of the screen.
Photo: autoevolution
Make sure you remember the model of the motorcycle and then head to the shop to purchase the replacements. There are no known bike brands in Motorcycle Mechanic Simulator 2021, just made up ones like Cheyenne Rovers, Gizzy Motors, Desert Eagle Racing, Urban Knight Choppers, Texas Riders, Punch Bikes, and Sport Race Motors.
Once you have all the parts you need, it’s time to start disassembly the used ones. Some parts that need to be replaced will require you to remove others in order to reach them, but that’s the beauty of the game. Screwing and unscrewing will be your new (un)favorite things to do in this game because that’s how you attach and detach most of the bike’s parts.
To spice things up a bit, some orders will require you to identify issues with a part of the bike, like the rear light not functioning properly or the motorcycle not starting right away. You’ll need specific machines to detect any malfunctions or you could just replace those parts if you have the money.
When it comes to replacing parts like the saddle or the tank, it’s entirely up to you to choose what model you want. This is where you can let loose to your creativity, and probably your wallet too. Although there aren’t too many models of the same part, some look cool enough to make it worth the money. If you’re content with the results, you can even take the bike for a spin.
Photo: autoevolution
Now, all this sounds like a pretty standard mechanic simulator game, and while I do recommend getting this one if you’re into this type of game, don’t touch the Switch version of Motorcycle Mechanic Simulator 2021.
The Nintendo Switch isn’t a powerful piece of hardware, but Motorcycle Mechanic Simulator 2021 looks decent enough as long as you keep yourself restrained within the garage. Once out, things start to crumble. The visuals on the track and the physics are absolutely awful. There’s clipping all over the place, so you’ll be driving through all the obstacles on the track.
But the main issue with the game is that it crashes very often. Not only that, but more often than not it corrupts your save and you’ll have to start all over again if you don’t have more than one save available to load at any given time. I had to restart a few times because the game didn’t recognize my saves.
The browse experience in the Shop is terrible and the loading times are awfully long. Not to mention that sometimes the game remains stuck in the loading screen and you have to restart everything. There are probably more problems as you progress, but I didn’t want to torture myself trying to progress when the game was saying “NO.”
Photo: autoevolution
Conclusion
Motorcycle Mechanic Simulator 2021 doesn’t reinvent the wheel and the formula it proposes to players is one that’s been tried before. Its soothing gameplay loop should be enough to recommend it to everyone, not just to those who are into motorcycles.
However, the Switch port is almost unplayable, so I can’t in good conscience recommend getting the game right now. The numerous crashes and the saves I lost convinced me that Motorcycle Mechanic Simulator 2021 definitely needed more time in the oven. If you’re still considering this game, buy it on PC, it’s less buggy and the visuals are actually decent.
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