By Deliver At All Costs is described as an action-adventure game. But it felt more like a driving/delivery game with a unique spin.
As a fan of driving sim games, I was looking forward to Deliver At All Costs from the moment I saw its gameplay trailer. I knew this game was something special, and I wasn’t wrong.
Deliver At All Costs is a one-of-a-kind game with a casual and fun vibe, and it’s definitely worth playing. Even if you’re not into driving games, Deliver At All Costs offers creative and engaging missions that will keep you entertained at every moment.
It’s one of the most fun and unique games I’ve played in a while. It has engaging driving physics with the ability to drive around in a completely destructible environment.
But what I loved the most about this game is its classic 1950s aesthetic and the humorous story missions. More on that later. I’ll share details about my experience without spoilers.
What Is Deliver At All Costs?
Deliver At All Costs is an isometric adventure game developed by Far Out Games and published by Konami.
It features a vintage-themed setting that takes place in the 1950s, specifically around a struggling young man who joins a delivery company to earn enough money to pay his rent.
His job is to drive an old company truck and make deliveries around the three different cities in the game. It’s actually easier said than done, because these delivery jobs always have a catch.
As you progress through the game in different acts, you will meet new characters, unlock upgrades for your truck, and learn bit by bit about the backstory of the protagonist as well as the many other shady things happening in the fictional cities.
Frankly, I didn’t find this story that much engaging. It’s nice to have, but I didn’t feel it was important to enjoy the gameplay. What I did enjoy was the delivery missions, which offered a different experience each and every time.
Gameplay and Aesthetics
Deliver At All Costs features a top-down isometric view, which you can alternate between two angles. You can both drive your vehicle and step out to walk around the city as well.
Every day, you start at your apartment, where you check your mail and change into your uniform before heading out to make deliveries. At the end of the day, you drive back to the apartment and go to bed to progress to the next act.
In between these acts, you will get to upgrade your truck to add new abilities, like a crane arm that can lift up objects.
The game has a huge map that spans across three cities, featuring different environments. In one area, you will come across a volcano, and you will have to make deliveries to the top of that mountain.
Everything on this map is destructible. You can drive through buildings like they are made with Legos and come out unharmed. In fact, the game encourages you to go off-road as it will often reward you with a few dollars for driving through a small home or a restaurant.
It’s the driving physics that makes this game so much fun. The truck is not that easy to handle, and it took me a while to get the hang of it.
Especially when making deliveries, you have to be extra careful. For example, one of the first missions in the game is to deliver a bunch of melons, and you have to drive your truck extra carefully not to spill any of the melons.
Every mission has some sort of a catch like this.
Humorous Missions
Games rarely make me laugh these days, but this game surely made me laugh out loud more than once.
Some of the missions in this game are so hilariously funny that they made me appreciate the writers even more. You don’t see this kind of writing in games nowadays.
For example, in one mission, you have to help deliver a massive live fish so that a crazy guy can win over the father of the girl he loves. You even get this giant shark painted white to fool this guy.
Then, in another mission, you deliver balloons as a way to appreciate the most loyal customers of the delivery company. These customers have some great reactions to violating their privacy.
Unlike most games, where you usually repeat the same fetch missions in different areas, in Deliver At All Costs, every mission is different.
Sure, it’s about making deliveries, but in each mission, there’s a catch or a new mechanic to discover. Or at least it will have a fun story to keep you engaged.
Destructible Environment
When you’re not doing any missions that require you to drive carefully, you can drive around the cities like a maniac.
It’s really fun when you can drive into buildings and see them collapse. When you run into pedestrians and other vehicles, they will come after you for revenge.
Sometimes your truck will catch on fire and lose a tire, but not to worry. You can simply step out of the vehicle and fix it right away.
A Few Side Missions
In between the main story missions, you can do some of the side missions in the game. These are scattered around the cities and always offer something different for players to experience.
There are only a few of these side missions available in the game right now. Hopefully, the developers will add more in the future.
Is Deliver At All Costs Worth Buying?
I enjoyed Deliver At All Costs much more than I thought I would. It’s a short game, which you can probably finish in about 10 hours. But you will enjoy every minute of it.
Even though the story is not that interesting, the fun and hilarious missions will keep you hooked throughout the game. It’s well worth the $30 dollar price tag.
You don’t have to be a driving sim fan to enjoy this game. It has simple gameplay mechanics and basic controls. And even if you end up smashing your truck into buildings, which is encouraged, you will still be having so much fun.
In short, yes, Deliver At All Costs is worth a buy.
