Clustertruck (Nintendo Switch) Review

Clustertruck is a very interesting title. It is seemingly designed almost as some kind of ironic joke, and yet in spite of it all, the planets aligned and a weird miracle has happened. It is in its simplicity why Clustertruck is such a wonderful experience: basic 3D first-person controls and physics-based gameplay where the only goal is to reach the finish line. All of this is leveraged thanks to a deep scoring system and an ability shop to expand the gameplay to give the impression of a higher skill ceiling.

Reaching the goal may seem like a simple premise, but Clustertruck mixes things up thanks to how its physics work. Running naturally gives more inertia and, thus, a further leap. Therefore, when these trucks are moving in one direction and when it comes time to vault from one trailer to one that is travelling perpendicular, there are a lot of things that need to be accounted for; things like controlling the velocity and aiming a landing position, which always feels like it is constantly in need of being changed since it is extremely difficult to alter trajectory when being launched over what seems like 100 feet at 100 miles per hour. It is this kind of outrageous visual and sensation that keeps Clustertruck fun and engaging, even when it is extremely difficult.

Clustertruck was designed with arcade sensibilities. Pick-up-and-play, simple casual design that is bolstered by an easy to learn, but hard to master philosophy. This can be extremely hard and unpredictable at times, even when entire stages are memorised because of how physics are not always following an exact script. It also does not help that the right analogue stick functions for looking and is overly sensitive, with no limit on how much the player can look up or down; kind of like a vertical globe that spins infinitely, which can make aiming require surgical precision. When trucks begin to clash and collide, there is no guarantee that things will play out exactly the same... even within the very same stage. The physics are very sensitive and sometimes unstable, which can be both a benefit and a hazard. For the most part, players won't ever become masters of Clustertruck; they will more often than naught get a little lucky when performing these death-defying stunts. For many, the fast and loose approach to physics could be the main draw, since it is largely a source of hilarity.

The visuals are as basic as can be, bordering on what can be best described as programmer graphics. Flat coloured and almost textureless low-poly 3D models makes Clustertruck look on par with the original Virtua Racing. Bear in mind, nobody will be playing Clustertruck for its graphics; the stupefying stunts and antics are why anyone would download this onto their Switch. The crudeness of the visuals work for this game and add to the ironic charm of the package. That being said, it would be more interesting to see how this kind of game would be like if the trucks and barren locations were rendered more realistically and had believable fire and explosion effects compounded on the ridiculous moon-like physics.