Bend and Break
Totally Reliable Delivery Service is an exaggerated physics game, the likes of which players of Goat Simulator will be very familiar with. Players are tasked with delivering parcels across a bright, colourful world. The controls, much like the concept, are of course deceivingly simple – all that is required is gripping with the right or left hand. Characters can pick up parcels, each other, drive vehicles or hang on – or out of – them. Of course, with the physics designed to cause havoc, simple objectives such as starting a mission, collecting a parcel, and delivering said parcel to target location become subject to all sorts of mayhem.
MSRP: $14.99
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Pick Me Up
Some of this physics-induced mayhem results in genuine amusement. Upon logging into the local multiplayer for the first time, I was promptly run over by the first other player I encountered. Undeterred, I stood back up and ran over to two other players who were loitering next to the nearby mail point. This kicked offan impromptu afternoon of Totally Reliable Delivery Service’s stupidly silly co-operative gameplay. These strangers and I attempted missions such as delivering a hazardous waste product down a treacherously steep path (we failed every attempt, usually because the package exploded and sent our vehicle flying off the side of a mountain), and dragging one of our party onto a FerrisWheel (probably against their wishes) so they could hang upside down and drop a package into the box which was located right in the middle of the contraption.
Most of the fun, such as it is, certainly comes from trying to traverse the game’s map; which is why some of the longer missions were far more enjoyable than the quick wins. That said, when playing with strangers things can soon go south if someone decides to go rogue by cancelling missions, absconding with the transport, or playing to spoil.
Put Me Down
It must be said that Totally Reliable Delivery Service would be completely unplayable were it not for the ability it gives players to respawn at any point. This isn’t just because it makes restarting missions easier, or because its much quicker to respawn on land after you end up in the middle of the ocean (and this happened to my party of strangers and I multiple times, because we never really mastered piloting helicopters or rockets very effectively). Turns out, it’s also really useful to have a respawn feature when playing a game that suffers frequent glitches and has a serious clipping issue. Players will find themselves stuck – to objects, to the ground, and to vehicles – quite a lot.
Snail Mail
Totally Reliable Delivery Service is a game that might provide passing entertainment to a group of friends for an hour or two; and the more challenging deliveries do generate some hilarious moments whilst making one ever more determined to try and complete them. But the novelty soon wears off, and there’s not really anything here that is likely to convince many to stay. Still, that’s a little more than what’s on offer for the single player – which, disappointingly, is really nothing at all.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
