A review of Parcel Corps

Initial release date: June 8, 2024

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Linux, Xbox Series X and Series S

Developer: Billy Goat Entertainment Ltd

Genres: Action game, Adventure game, Racing, Adventure

Publisher: Secret Mode

Engine: Unity

There are numerous reasons to appreciate Parcel Corps. Similar to Crazy Taxi, Billy Goat Entertainment’s latest takes you careening through a bustling city, evading traffic as you navigate to the next waypoint. Parcel Corps recreates the spirited wall rides, grinds, and stunting that propelled the Tony Hawk brand to mainstream fame, ensuring that playing as a bike courier isn’t a dreary labor.

However, Parcel Corps’ satirical spirit is my favorite feature. The game, which begins with a mock-CNN broadcast, has a wide range of targets, including fitness enthusiasts, influencers, and corporate culture. There’s also a Twitch-style viewer stream that adds snark after each crash. Sure, the game may not provide a Grand Theft Auto-level critique of Western silliness, but wit is appreciated. 2024 has been an extraordinarily serious year in gaming.

Peculiar Physics Make for a Bumpy Ride.

Despite these virtues, one of Parcel Corps’ key components is a little off. Even after a dozen hours, Parcel Corps never achieves the level of immersion provided by some of the best extreme sports games. The Tony Hawk games made you feel as if you were always skating directly on surfaces, walls, and rails. But biking around New Island is like riding through a strange rubber planet. Waist-high water scarcely slows you down, while jumps and wall-riding fling you in unexpected directions. Bails can sometimes be annoyingly inconsistent. And that’s a shame because stunting is one of the most effective ways to save seconds while delivering things.

While riding execution is a little shaky, the game’s spectrum of riding abilities is undeniably impressive. One of the most notable variances is the ability to retain momentum with a forward stick press, which eliminates the need for frequent button hammering. Fortunately, you can whip your rear wheel around curves, and braking in the circular Crazy Taxi-style zones is both responsive and speedy. And sure, there is a button that permits you to slide under barriers. It works as long as you don’t hold your in-game smartphone.

Multitasking is appropriately awkward.

Undoubtedly, the idea of a bike courier using their smartphone for work-related chores is clever. However, using your fake phone is tedious, as all interaction is limited to the right thumb stick. Yes, some jobs are automated, such as when the game provides various responses to text messages. Certainly, the double-click shortcut employed to scan QR codes is inventive. However, the difficulty of using the navigation app forced me to rely on the non-phone mini-map. Its GPS-based directions were useful, except when an objective was at a different elevation.

But if Parcel Corps can overcome its physics and smartphone control challenges, there is certainly potential here. Autonomy is offered, so if you simply want to tour New Island while gradually recruiting new firms to work for, that is an option. If you need more structure, there are a series of tasks that need you to stunt challenges, deliver fragile products, publish fliers, or kill drones. The developers keep things interesting by introducing new elements, such as police patrols, which you must evade.

A sporadically unstable framerate.

The game, which features cell-shaded images, is easy on the eyes but harsh on hardware. Running on Unity, Corps displayed some noticeable frame reductions on a range of configurations. Yes, there were hiccups with high-end graphics cards. However, Parcel Corps makes an admirable attempt to scale down to portable PCs, aiming to maintain frame rates above thirty frames per second on the Steam Deck and the ROG Ally. Nonetheless, a few graphical slider choices and some more optimization would be useful.

While many of Parcel Corps’ goals are admirable, the physics modeling of bicycle riding is questionable. The end result is an experience in which enjoyment is intermittently diminished when in contact with unusual portions of the environment. This metal horse still requires some taming.

Review Overview

Gameplay: 76%

Controls: 78%

Aesthetics: 82%

Content: 74%

Accessibility: 80%

Value: 75%

Overall: 77%

GOOD

Summary: “Parcel Corps” offers an interesting and colorful experience based on logistics and delivery. With its strategic gameplay and many goals, players must properly manage routes and time. The appealing graphic design contributes to the overall enjoyment, resulting in a nice gaming experience. Although the game may benefit from extra content to increase replayability, it remains an excellent pick for fans of the simulation and strategy genres. Overall, “Parcel Corps” is a fascinating experience in parcel delivery that offers hours of entertainment.