Docked Review

People, or at least over-educated Americans and Europeans on the internet, love to idolise blue-collar work. If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone tell a teenager to become a tradie, I probably wouldn’t have to wear a safety vest at my day job. Speaking from first-hand experience, there are worse ways in the world to make a living. Construction, and all of its related fields, aren’t a golden ticket, though. 

Docked, a longshoreman simulator, showcases why. The game — and presumably the profession — is tedious and challenging. It’s satisfying at times, and comes with some absolutely stunning views. It’s not something I’d personally encourage playing, or doing, though. Unless you really like focusing on the minutiae of a task. If that’s the case, you’ll love the title, and should maybe consider a career change.

‍Docked isn’t as depressing as The Wire Season 2, nor is it as gross as Wade Herbert’s story in Grand Theft Auto V. Its narrative is marginally similar to parts of those, though. You play as Tommy, the son of a dock owner who returns home just in time to barely survive a hurricane. The natural disaster decimates the family business, and after a brief set of tutorials, it's up to you to rebuild it. You unload ships, purchase vehicles, and occasionally hire contractors to repair parts of the pier. 

The latter two elements of the title aren’t very interesting. The management side of Docked is pretty barebones. You decide which jobs your port undertakes and buy equipment for your off-screen subordinates. You also have to occasionally glance at menus to make sure you’re turning a profit. There’s not a lot of depth to any of that, though. It’s damn near impossible to get a game over screen, and you only have a marginal amount of freedom in how your workplace develops. 

Instead, the meat of the game lies in working as a longshoreman, not a businessman. You can, and frequently have to, take control of roughly half a dozen types of heavy equipment. You can operate cranes, drive around in 18-wheelers designed to haul cargo, and, of course, use what is essentially an oversized forklift. Whether or not that’s enjoyable depends on your personality, but Docked’s mechanics do work well for what they are.

You’re given near-total control over everything with wheels that you step foot in. You can adjust the camera, move equipment freely, and will regularly need to consult the in-game tutorial to remember all the controls. Unloading cargo amounts to a glorified mini-game — lining things up, positioning arms and cranes — but it’s satisfying in the same way most simulators are. Jobs are rarely intense, and can usually be completed in a few minutes. There’s a lot of room for error, though, and plenty of nuance to how everything handles. It’s easy to learn but genuinely difficult to master.

The question is whether you’ll want to. Outside of operating machinery, Docked doesn’t have much else going on. Technically speaking, it’s better than average, especially for the niche blue-collar simulator. The graphics are surprisingly strong, the soundtrack is solid, and there are no major bugs, It also takes around 10 hours to complete. The view from the top of a crane isn’t breathraking — but it’s not bad, either.

The story, however, is. The game’s narrative has some depth, and includes a whole host of characters and even an occasional plot twist, but it’s almost painfully family friendly.  Not every game needs to be The Wire or Peaky Blinders, but a bit of edge wouldn’t have gone amiss. Nor would more interesting NPCs or any real attempt to show the harsher realities of blue-collar work — both of which are noticeably absent.

Almost nobody plays simulators for their stories, so it’s not a problem that Docked’s narrative feels like filler. It's easy to overlook the game’s lacklustre management elements, too. The game is about operating cool equipment, and it does that well enough. It’s challenging, has some depth, and is generally enjoyable. 

If you’re one of the three people in the world who actually fantasises about becoming a dock worker, Docked is for you. If you already enjoy simulators, it’s a solid — if unremarkable — entry. Everyone else, especially those looking for a more authentic or engaging take on blue-collar life, will be better off sticking with shooters or strategy strategy games.