Totally Reliable Delivery Service (Steam) - PC Game Review

 

This game is very silly... Click "read more" for my full review.

Writing

n/a

Gameplay

This is an MMORPG where you play a chubby delivery person with the goal of making money to unlock more areas and features. The 2 primary ways of making money are, of course, successful deliveries, or finding collectables. It is a very straightforward concept and feels like it could be a good online multiplayer game for kids.

Every area has a set number of available deliveries and how well you perform them effects how much money you earn. Only the first area is free to unlock deliveries and all of them needs an additional payment to unlock vehicles. The world is very big and exploring it is actually nice as there are no load times and a decent variety of terrains. 

Unfortunately, there are several design flaws and glitches that make the experience both funny, and frustrating. Problems begin with the controls. It is hard to describe exactly how moving your character around feels, it is a little floaty, a little slippery, but not overly in either field. There is just a constant feeling that you are moving your avatar against its will.

There is a designated button for each hand to pick up stuff or interact with leavers and you need to be standing in the exact right position or your character just throws their hands up wildly. Several obstacles appear in your way for each delivery and some of them can blow you into the sky. The challenge feels unfair at times because the controls are not up to par with reaction time needed. It feels like this game is trying to be one that is hard to master, but able to do impressive things when it is. However, control mastery won't do much with the first against the environment and it doesn't help that your character carries everything behind their back making packages hard to handle.

Battery made from packing peanuts

Some deliveries require vehicles arranging from trucks, forklifts, helicopters and few others to be unlocked. These are very difficult to control without a tutorial. There is a basic tutorial at the start of the game, but not for vehicles. Everything is designed to be driven while holding down the 2 grab buttons and controlling everything with the 2 analog sticks. (Assuming you are using a controller.) It is very difficult to place packages properly in vehicles and even harder to keep them from falling it; especially when every hazard flips them over. Sometimes things just blow up and send you flying across the map. Physics challenges.

Every manhole flips you

You are meant to land this on a tiny platform

I wasn't able to find others to play with, but several reports from players are saying that they experienced huge input lag that made the experience unplayable. Lag is especially disheartening considered servers max out at 4 players.

The sad part is, the concept of this game is actually good. It is a light hearted yet funny concept that is appropriately cartoonish. If only they spent more time polishing the controls then this a great first MMORPG for kids to get into. However, what we currently have is a finicky mess.

Audio

There isn't much to talk about in turns of audio for this game. The soundtrack is lighthearted and stock with very few tracks and the sound effects are all intentionally cartoony. Grunts, crashes, applauding, explosions, and seeing stars. Ect. Nothing special, but nothing bad. No voice acting for NPCs. 

Presentation

The open world is big and colorful. Graphics, as a whole, are blocky and cartoony. An appropriate style for this type of game. However, I cannot understand why the customizable characters all have to be chubby, and the menus have an overlapping problem.

You will not be able to toggle "show tips"

That, is beta level as far as visual problems go.

Final Thoughts

Totally Reliable Delivery Service is an unfortunate case. This is a game I really wanted to like because it looks cute and the concept is decent, but there are just too many flaws to overlook. Controls are off, input lag when playing with others, the physics overly picky and annoying, and a lot of progress made in this game will feel like dumb luck. I have faith though. Most, if not all, of these problems can be fixed with updates. Someday, this will a nice title for the younger audience, but for now, I'm sorry.

Writing - n/a

Gameplay - 3/10

Audio - 3/5

Presentation - 2/5

Overall - 4/10