There’s a container. It needs to be moved. Get in this big crane thing and move it. That’s the short and sweet summary of the Steam Next Fest demo for Docked, Saber Interactive’s latest addition to their ever-expanding roster of simulations based around jobs which require high-vis gear.
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Docked’s laser-sharp focus on simulating the workings of a port means that, at least as far as its Next Fest demo is concerned, there’s very little of the driving that characterises siblings RoadCraft and SnowRunner. You’re not commuting, because all of your jobs are in and around Port Wake. Instead, Saber look to be aiming at the demographic of folks who’ve lived for the bits of their previous works which saw you given a crane and told to load some cargo onto your lorry, usually with a crane.
I’ll be honest, this has never been where much of the appeal lies to me. Though, that might be because of my tendency to rush and end up having a bunch of logs escape to freedom. That said, if you’re in it for the chance to get behind the complex controls of some heavy machinery, Docked’s got you covered. The demo consists for four little jobs, with the first charging you to scale a colossal ship-to-shore crane, running around on foot as you fire it up. Once you’re in, the act of moving containers off a damaged ship wasn’t too far from what I’ve experienced in other Saber sims, but I did appreciate the change in pace that a bit of first-person climbing represented.
To be honest, that’s where the demo peaks. The other jobs also revolve around moving containers, but this time with smaller vehicles. The straddle carrier you get to use last was my favourite of these, as it’s a giraffe-esque contraption that drives astride containers to pick them up, which is wonderfully satisfying compared to the more mundane craneing of its cousin the reach stacker.
The menus suggest there’ll be plenty of more in-depth port management in the full thing, but none of it’s available just yet. That’s a bit of a bummer, as I think for Docked to really catch on, it’ll be the aspect of the game which has to do the most heavy lifting. Saber themselves have already put out plenty of games in which you can lift a thing using a big machine, but I can’t think of too many games which put you in charge of a full port. It remains to be seen just how much there is to the upgrades and changes you’ll be able to make to Port Wake, but since it seems likely to be the game’s calling card, I’d hope the answer’s plenty.
There’s still no concrete release date to wait for right now, but you can both find Docked’s Next Fest demo and wishlist it via its Steam page.