Backwater Bypass: Truckful
Drive through the countryside and help the locals in this cozy arcade driving game.
‣ Truckful
From: MythicOwl, Pocketpair Publishing
Platforms: PC
Release: 2026
Genre: Side-scrolling delivery adventure
Steam page • Developer Page
Demo Video • 10 Minute Video
The courier says she’s done with this job. But my journey’s just getting started.
Driving my old red truck down a backwater byway—it doesn’t get more country road than this. Just keep following the road, navigating the bumps and curves, and see what the next bend reveals.
I’ll take some detours, honk at sheep, and help out the locals with deliveries. But it’s all blissful (at least until nightfall), being stuck in my truck in Truckful.
The demo doesn’t explain why I’m stuck. It’s hardly more than a passing plot point. After all, you are basically the truck, steering it through the side-scrolling maps.
Truckful is 3D, but the camera keeps a sideways perspective. Accelerating or reversing moves the truck toward the right or left of the screen. Steering left and right navigates bends and obstacles in the road, and turns the truck around to go in the opposite direction.
Each level has a start and a finish, with tasks to do in-between. The roads meander in a linear way, but the journey isn’t so straightforward. Obstacles such as fallen trees or a flock of sheep can block the way, prompting me to find a detour, like a muddy track that links to a different road. Eventually, the truck can get upgrades to remove obstacles, opening new areas. This gives a sense of exploration, even though the maps aren’t open-ended.
The game also provides a sense of purpose with encounters. I meet a stranded courier and agree to help her make a delivery, starting a simple packing mini-game where I arrange packages in the back of my truck. Then, I gingerly drive to the destination down a slippery detour track and along a disused tar road. But I take a corner too fast, sending a package flying. Failure. I’m forced to start the trip again.
Fortunately, there are regular checkpoints along the road, disguised as lamps, so I don’t go that far back to try again. Upon reaching the destination, I’m rewarded with a car horn that will get the sheep to move out of my way.
But, warns the mechanic, don’t go out at night!
Of course, I go out at night and discover Truckful’s scarier side. The road is now blanketed in darkness, so I pop my headlights on to see. Good thing too, because the next moment a hellish big rig comes barrelling down the road! Painted black, glowing red, and spewing sparks, its horn blares demonically. I don’t think I should pull over.
Now it’s a race for survival along the same roads I navigated leisurely earlier, but now at breakneck speed, trying to stay ahead of the monstrosity. I fail several times but eventually get away.
Dropping the courier at her now-fixed vehicle, she declares the chase was the last straw, and she’s done with this job. But not me. My journey’s just getting started.
📽 Demo Snapshot: Don’t drive at night!
The hellish big rig was a surprise. But it didn’t feel out of place, which surprised me. Usually, a game with horror elements has an undertone of dread, that something’s not quite right with this place.
Yet, Truckful is undeniably a cozy experience. It’s welcoming with bright colours and gorgeous surroundings that flow with the purr of the truck’s engine. But it’s also an arcade game. The truck moves with a sense of weight, and controlling it on the bumpy roads takes a little focus (and a bit more during a chase).
This is a curious but effective blend, and I’m intrigued with what Truckful will be. The demo delivers the gameplay and visuals, but is too short to show where this is heading. How much of the game will involve stacking packages, going off the beaten track, or beating whatever prowls the roads at night?
Still, whatever direction Truckful takes, it should be fun. A compact and entertaining game with a few simple ideas that could combine into something really memorable.
Truckful releases in 2026 on Steam.
Explore the Game with YouTube Chapters:
📽 0:24 Go for a drive
📽 2:38 Help the courier
📽 3:36 Pack your truck
📽 8:50 Taking a detour
📽 12:20 To the repair shop
📽 13:25 Ready to go!
📽 15:53 Don’t drive at night!
📽 18:47 Can we escape?
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