In recent years, there has definitely been a jump in games that fit into the simulator genre. Typically, I’m not the kind of person to really enjoy games like that; the only one that I can remember putting any serious time into was Powerwash Simulator. While Roadside Research could partly fit into the “gas station simulator” type, it also stands out from that by providing the experience of being an alien trying to blend in and observe humans.
Myself, Kevin, and Aden recently streamed the Roadside Research demo. In the two hours that we played, I got into the role-playing aspect of being an Invader Zim-like creature who didn’t know what they were talking about but was also providing the best service possible.
We Mean You No Harm, Yet
The gameplay of Roadside Research is the usual formula you would expect from a simulator game. Try to manage your costs and income so that you can continually improve your store with more products and features, all while bumbling around as obvious aliens with drawn faces taped to your face.
While the stock and gas you buy will draw people in, it’s the other features that help the game be more than a basic sim. Things like sneaking around and taking pictures of humans with the right outfit or gathering their trash to use for scanning and gaining upgrade points are the kind of tasks that helped make this game not feel like a slog, and I hope the wackiness expands even more in the full game.
While getting various upgrades and new alien tech can be quite exciting, I was consistently left confused about how to use these new items that were constantly being thrown at us. When you go to upgrade, there’s no description for how to make it work properly or even what it’s supposed to do. We bought garbage bags, and it took us a good hour and a half before we realized we could use them to pick up multiple trash items at a time instead of trying to line a trash can with them. Just the bare minimum of text is needed to explain how to properly use these items.
Final Demo Thoughts
Overall, I had a really good time playing the Roadside Research demo. I think there are a lot of interesting items and upgrades that can help make this a really enjoyable game for a small group of friends to play for a while. Avoiding human detection while making your business work is a non-serious take on the simulator genre that I enjoyed playing for the stretch of time that I did.
The lack of item descriptions is far and away my biggest complaint with the game, and there is quite a bit of jank and glitchiness. That said, we all three came out of the stream feeling pretty good about the experience. The progression seemed to go at a good rate, and we always had something to do, whether that was the cash register, filling up gas, cleaning, or ordering more items. I can’t really imagine trying to play this game solo or with just one friend with how much you have to run around, so I feel 3-4 players is this game’s sweet spot for the most enjoyment.
