Game 6 of 2023 - Jalopy (2018)

Jalopy

Developer: MinskWorks
Publisher: Excalibur Publishing Ltd
Platform: PC
Genre: Simulation, Driving, Adventure

Difficulty: Moderate/Annoying
Date Started: Mar 18th 2023
Date Ended: Mar 20th 2023
Hours: 2

Finished: No
Final Rating: 5/10

You know how in most driving games you can acquire and upgrade the most amazing cars? Bugattis, McLarens, Ferraris, Grand Nationals, etc etc etc etc.

Well, not in Jalopy. No siree.

Jalopy follows the journey of Splat and his Uncle Lütfi as they make their way from East Berlin to Istanbul. When the game starts, your uncle gifts you a Laika, which is a fictional car based on the Trabant 601, often considered the worst car ever made. You don't so much as upgrade your car as keep it alive throughout your journey. Parts can (and do) erode quickly, forcing you to buy new ones from vendors, or if luck permits, scavenge them from abandoned cars you find along the way.

That smoke is good, right?

The world is a dreary low poly representation of post-Soviet eastern Europe. The roads are mostly empty (save the occasional traffic jam and fender bender) and the only people you meet are at the gas stations and hotels you find along the way. Gas stations are where you can usually buy parts and gas, along with sell some of the stuff you find along the road. Sometimes you have to make some tough choices, like sell your car jack or that spare part for precious fuel.

Gee, thanks, Uncle.

As you progress, you learn a bit more about the new world you live in from short conversations with your uncle. Your roots are in Turkey, he explains, and the new world you find yourself in after the Berlin Wall fell is rife with uncertainty. The story you uncover while talking with your uncle and going through his belongings is intriguing and bittersweet and Jalopy's strongest trait.

So I'm listing a bunch of points in Jalopy's favor; that must mean I recommend it, right?

Well, no.

Jalopy is rough. It's not for the impatient. It was made by a single developer over the course of a few years, and while the passion in the project really shines through, it has not been updated since release. There are several bugs, the most annoying being a soft crash where you just can't interact with the world anymore and you are forced to reload. Saving your game doesn't really seem to do much, as when you restart, you just end up back in the garage where you woke up which is an especially frustrating experience after a bug ends your journey. Interacting with things is often a huge pain in the ass, and don't even get me started on shopping. A reviewer on Steam suggested that the developer wanted to spend more time on the game, but the publisher wanted it released before it was truly ready. I couldn't corroborate that, but I guess it's not hard to believe.

That's not to say that the game is bad. There is a fantastic idea here, and I actually find it inspiring that developers are exploring these overlooked and interesting eras of history. I feel the game is trying to evoke a meditative feeling where you reflect upon yourself and your place in the new post-Soviet society, perhaps seeking some comfort and familiarity in the land of your family's birth (at least until the filter fucking breaks again in the middle of, god where the fuck are we, Bulgaria?).

I spent around two hours on Jalopy before I uninstalled. Unfortunately, I can't recommend this to anyone but the most patient of gamers.