It is fun fixing your car but driving is a nightmare, one time in Dresen I accidentally closed the door of my Laika next to a fence and it flipped over and glitched me into the ground; when I got control of my character again I was under the map, panned into a morbid angle where I could see everything from under the ground, and 3 tries later after I arrived to Sturovo I went exploring Sturovo and found something blue on the map. I walked towards it and fell into the map, lost all and I mean ALL my items and was forced to restart.
I think I beat it but I am not sure. I made it to Instanbul and then nothing happened. I can only go back the way I came! I got a few hours of gameplay out of this but most of it was frustrating. Money is hard to come by and your car is constantly needing maintenence, you have to pay to stay in a hotel every night and they get more and more expensive over time. The RNG usually makes sure you have little to no money so a lot of the time I was driving with flat tires and completely broken parts. In my opinion this wasnt worth a purchase. I got more frustration than enjoyment out of this game.
Its a very simple game about journeying to Turkey with your uncle.
The aesthetics of the game is nice to a point since you will see a diverse set of locations at least while you are driving and going though the towns you visit but all the regular spots you visit ie gas stations, motels, and dealerships are all identical to each other which is a bit sad since there are only 5 locations for motels and having more diversity to make each night stopping point feel different would have been a nice touch. The lofi style is nice but I feel there should have been a greater amount of diversity overall.
The gameplay is too reliant on rng since I had 2 playthroughs, one of which I completed and the I couldn't complete unless I wanted to push the car by hand (but hell no) and both times I didn't play too differentl, the only thing that changed was what spawned in. My first playthrough there was little to no crates that spawned, so I was just bleeding money due gas and hotel visits (I didn't even see an abandoned car until my 2nd playthrough). On the other end my second playthrough was a breeze since in Hungary, I just found a load of wine and medicine which gave me right around 500 marks and I was set for the game. I did run into issues because I decided to heavily upgrade my car (which was rather pointless since the upgrades were very marginal and just honestly a waste of money) but if I was more conservative I would have had zero issues late into the game and that lies the issue. This game can basically make itself easy or hard depending on what spawns and there is very little you have control over.
The controls are very wonky but simple.
So overall Jalopy is an very interesting experience and it should be seen as that. So if you are looking for a game, you probably aren't going to have a fun time with this one. I clocked in about 5 hours the first game was 2 hours and the complete playthrough was 3 hours.
Jalopy is a driving game with a car maintenance system, a basic economy, random loot, a simple narrative and an unrepresentative trailer.
The Berlin Wall fell and your uncle, who’d been stuck behind the iron curtain, wants to visit Turkey, so you’ll travel across the Eastern bloc in a rickety car. You’ll need to stop in each country, which divides the trip into stages. Then you can go back home, if you wish.
While each country has a distinct landscape, it’s not actually Eastern Europe. The setting is a pretext; it explains the low traffic, the bad roads, the state of your car and the washed out colours but, due to game engine limitations, it’s no sightseeing tour.
Don’t expect high speeds - you’ll need perseverance and caution instead. Be prepared to do lots of maintenance: refuelling, repairing the engine and replacing tyres. Or puttering along at 20 km/h, if you don’t.
Also beware of bugs. They’re rarely game-breaking, but they may force you to restart journey stages. While the dev is patching them out, the patches seem to be delayed at GOG.
And yet, despite the bugs, the modest length and minimalism, I actually enjoyed it. There was something relaxing about “speeding” down empty autobahns to the tune of faux ‘80s music, driving slowly in the rain or looking for roadside loot after nightfall. The car maintenance had a satisfying rhythm to it, while the simple, randomized economy added some slow suspense – maybe the game will soon give me a six-pack of wine and make me rich, or maybe it’ll give me a some discounted coffee instead.
Even the short length wasn’t all bad: each country offered a self-contained driving session that would’ve probably been boring, if it were much longer, but that I could easily play in my spare time and be rewarded with story progression.
For some, playing Jalopy would be like watching paint dry, but for others it can be satisfying and relaxing, despite the lack of polish. If you’re intrigued, consider buying once it’s discounted.
I expected:
a road-trip through the easter block around the fall of the Iron curtain.
I got:
The closest I can say, that it is a car management rougelike (?) game (?)
Your uncle gave you some parts, from which you can slap together your very own Laika (based on the real life Trabant), and then you can take him through the block. I'm not sure why. I have no idea what the goal is
First: real Trabants blow these Laikas out of the water.
I get that this is a game, but our car seems to be ACTUALLY made out of paper - ENTIRELY
Gameplay:
consists of very slow driving sequences, and stops at gas stations or towns.
The roads:
The driving's off. It feels like it's rotating rather than turning. You can shoot your car out by tapping forward. It's also hard to comprehend the place and size of your car in the world. You're sitting at a weird angle, the strange field of view, nonfunctional rearview mirrors, and the lack of shading on your car or other objects make it easy to run into things. (voicovers'd also help: I crashed many time becasue i had to read subs)
At cities + stations you can buy stuff to fix or upgrade your car and sell junk you find on the open road. + you can stay at hotels. It's all about micromanagement. Your trunk hold is very limited, so most times you'll take stuff out, reorganizie, and put everything back. Repeat. Sell trash, buy repairs, and MAYBE get an upgrade if you still have some cash (everything breaks down in your car in minutes, most of the times you wont).
Though the game promises proc. generated routes, it's all for naught. There is nothing and noone of interest on the roads or in cities. everything and everyone's just brown-grey cardoard boxes. Also, you have 1 save slot, and can only save when quitting. I'm not sure if it's a bug but whenever I save and leave I start from my garage. Since I don't have goals, I guess that's okay, but still.
All in all: if slowly ugrading a terrible car in limbo is your kind of tea, then this game's for you.
不管是晴天还是雨天，白天还是夜晚，在漫漫长路上更换轮胎，查看油耗、用到极致的化油器、穿越泥泞的道路，极力克服程序生成的《老爷车》世界所带来的困境。
