American Truck Simulator

Relaxation comes up more often than realism or mods: 10% of all reviews describe the game as relaxing, chill, calm or therapeutic. One player called it "outright therapy for anyone who finds peace in thousands of miles on the open road", and several give the same advice: "Put on your favorite music, get comfortable, and just drive for a few hours." Players describe playing after work, after stressful competitive games, or with a podcast or audiobook running. Another wrote that "there is a Zen peacefulness achieved once you get out on the open highway". This praise comes from newcomers who bought it cheaply in a sale and from owners with thousands of hours alike. A smaller group finds the same slow pace boring, covered under the split topics below.

Realism and immersion come up in 7% of all reviews. Players single out the weight of a loaded trailer on a grade, the care needed to swing wide on turns, backing a trailer into a tight dock, and the detail of the licensed Kenworth, Peterbilt, Freightliner and Western Star cabs. Engine and Jake brake sounds get their own fans: "Driving the obs Kenworth with the engine brake going downhill in a tunnel is just the best sound!!!" Settings let players dial realism up (manual shifting, fatigue, air brakes, hard parking) or down to an easy cruise, and several reviews praise that range. A few players with real driving experience say the clutch and stall behaviour feel wrong, and a handful call the handling floaty or say trucks barely turn.

Mods come up in 6% of reviews, mostly as praise. Players list economy mods, engine sound packs, weather and graphics mods, extra trucks, and map add-ons such as ProMods and Coast to Coast, and several say mods are what kept them playing for hundreds of hours. One player wrote of the modders that "some of those guys are showing up the developer with how good their models look". Frequent updates break mods (see the frustrations below), and a minority say the game is bland without them.

Reviews that mention a steering wheel, pedals or a shifter mostly praise playing with one: "A wheel and shifter setup, although expensive, make you almost smell the asphalt." Several players bought a wheel after trying the demo or the base game. VR players are enthusiastic too, one calling it "Hands-down the most immersive video gaming experience available when played with a wheel in VR." A controller or keyboard works for many ("my first 500 hours were with an Xbox 360 controller"), though setup troubles for wheels, controllers and the Steam Deck are a separate complaint below. Performance in VR is another matter for some: one player on a top-end PC said "For VR it is abysmal unless you want to set everything to medium or low".

Sunsets, night skies, deserts, mountain passes and landmarks all get praise, and some players enjoy finding their own home town or old work routes on the map. The newer states (Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Texas, South Dakota and the Midwest releases) get the warmest words. The older areas draw criticism: one fan noted "you can tell that some of the older areas are starting to show their age", and a few negative reviews say towns and highway assets look copy-pasted from state to state.

About 2.5% of reviews mention the in-game internet radio, their own music, or a podcast or audiobook running alongside. Players treat the radio as part of the atmosphere, from discovering old songs on local stations to building their own playlists. A couple of players report that the music player does not work on Mac or that favourite stations disappeared.

Multiplayer comes up in over a hundred reviews, through the official Convoy mode or the TruckersMP community. Players describe it as a big part of the fun; one said "the muti-player is shocking good". The complaints are specific: crashes when several players gather in one spot, AI traffic flipping trucks mid-convoy, trolls in cars, and an account link that blocks online play through Steam Family Sharing.

Dozens of reviews come from current or former truckers, people training for a CDL, or players connecting the game to a parent who drove for a living. "I've been driving Class A for almost 3 years now in real life and this is by far the most accurate simulation I have ever played." Learners say it helped with backing and shifting practice. People from the trucking world also raise realism nitpicks, from clutch behaviour to a diesel mechanic's note that "every truck in the game fails DOT inspections".

Players who have stayed since 2016 credit SCS for reworking old states, adding trucks and features, and still supporting the game a decade on: "10 years in and unlike most it's not been abandoned". Other players blame that same update pace for broken mods and reset controls.

Some reviews mention picking the game up for around five dollars, and a free demo helped others decide. One wrote that "this game is only $4.99 on sale makes it honestly a steal", and notes like that are sometimes followed by a warning about the DLC.