Whoo, been awhile Grouvee! As always these reviews are just mainly notes for myself so when I want to remember a playthrough five years from now I can.

I almost feel bad writing a bad review because I've viewed some of the streams the devs have put out while they work on this game, but unfortunately this one missed the mark for me. I spent more time in game doing everything under the sun other than lumberjacking.

I picked this game up as part of the simulator humble bundle, and I realize that simulation games are not about action, adventure, rpg'ing, etc..., but the content of this game was very confusing. It almost feels like the devs thought there would be a niche group that would buy the game and put the bare minimum to encourage a buy.

Now I know what I'll say years from now when I read this. If I disliked it enough to give it a two star, why on earth did I play for 70 hours??? Well, I wanted to use big machines on trees that I'm not willing to cut down in real life. XD

Instead of writing paragraphs, it will be easier for me to just list my issues.

Cons:

• Not a lot of growth mechanics for lumberjacking tools. I wanted to work up from maybe being on a crew that cut down trees, to opening my own crew, getting a truck here and there, moving on up to the lumberjack, etc... Unfortunately you unlock some machine early and that's it until end game. Then you unlock one heavy machine and that's it. Ultimately this is what I played for and it felt lackluster when I finally got it.
• Mechanics for lumberjacking were lacking. I was hoping for more engaging chainsaw work for a lumberjack sim. Instead you just hit LMB and then drag your mouse to the right. A little boring when you've done it for the 100th time.
• I was hoping that since the in-person mechanics were lacking, the lumbermill would offer some neat upgrade paths and provide some satisfaction watching modules come on line and process the lumber in real time as you progressed through the game. Sadly it's a one-and-done scenario.
• This game should be called "flatbad truck and forklift simulator" with how much time you spend moving pallets and between dryers and the lumberyard/factory. It was during one of the many times of moving pallets that I thought, "why am I still playing this?" and the answer was always, "cause I wanna see now!" I fell prey to the sunken cost fallacy for sure.
• I know devs are usually limited by the engine they choose, but vehicle physics were atrocious. My two ton tractor pulling a bajillion tons of oak trees getting knocked over by a stupid-ass Karen blowing through a right-of-way in her stupid sedan shouldn't happen; her dumb ass should be crushed like a pancake like the dumb ass she is.
• My 18k buggy should not be the better choice of cars on the paved road than the 230k roadster. When my upgraded buggy hit 120km/h I expected the roaster to be cruising at 180 or 200, not..... 120. Well, 130 downhill, but as soon as it hits the slightest incline it drops down to 105 or 110 with what I guess is its four ft/lbs of torque...
• I'm assuming all the VA was AI generated. It was horrible.
• Similarly the NPCs felt very flat. Like four faces among them. At least give us the option to mod the looks if there's not enough time/resources to flesh them out. Trust me your fans will do the work for you.
• Being unable to load the lawnmower on the flatbad, or only hauling six pallets instead of being able to stack two layers always felt like a slap in the face.
• Similarly not letting the 4x4 hitch the small trailers seems like an oversight.

I think that's probably enough to remind me about the game. Game dev is hard and I know I watched some people streaming it and apparently really liking the game, so I'm sure I'm just not their demographic; but as far as a 'simulation' this game missed the mark.