I never knew what true fulfillment felt like until I was careening down a cold and grey mountain road at top speed with a delivery package rattling in the back, my little truck hitting the wrong corner and tipping over, everything flipping out into the snow. And all for minimum wage, too.
Let me circle back real quick. Easy Delivery Co. is an upcoming game by indie developer Sam Cameron about working as an underpaid courier in a remote mountain town where the only thing stranger than the insane weather is the people who live there. Before you write it off as a glorified Amazon delivery job with slightly spooky vibes and Initial D-style touge drifting opportunities, hear me out on the enigmatic narrative, satisfying gameplay, and stylish-as-hell aesthetics.
Pulling Up to Your First Day at Work
You start as an unnamed driver showing up to the town of “[Insert Profit Sector]” in your beat-up little pickup truck and receiving a welcome email from your new overlords at Easy Delivery Co. From there, it’s getting used to the controls while becoming acquainted with some of the residents, such as a singing dog who’s just chilling in front of a roaring fire. Make sure to become good friends with them since they’ll give you much-needed hints and prompts to do your job.
There’s a slight catch here: The interactions I saw don’t really show how weird the inhabitants are. Don’t worry, there’s still some spooky nonsense going on that I’ll mention later, but at least when it comes to meeting your clientele, they seem as normal as can be. For now…
This leads to a bigger observation I had about Easy Delivery Co., which is that it doesn’t explain much — but that’s okay. In cases like the narrative context of why your character’s here, not knowing much about what’s going on gave the experience a mysterious atmosphere that encouraged learning more about the town and its secrets. But sometimes the groove I got into while playing came to a screeching halt, like when I spent half an hour struggling with the inventory system because the instructions were sparse. But like all good road trips, the game’s slight speed bumps won’t stop you from vibing to the steady rhythm of pickup, drive, and deliver.
An Endless Grind with a Touch of Energy Drinks
So what exactly is the gameplay all about? Read from my lips these four beautiful words: Your. Character. Hops. Around. But as much as stopping here with funny character animations would make my job easier, I’m duty-bound to inform you that there’s more to do in this game.
The main thing your job requires you to do is drive around the mountain running errands for various customers. And let me tell you, driving is probably the only thing making this job worth the sub-zero temperatures and sub-minimum wage. For example, the truck handles like a dream with enough of a bite to give a fun challenge. While zooming around trying to make cash fast, there was more than one incident where I went too fast, toppled over, and lost the goods to the unforgiving snow. Heck, I even fell off the dang road entirely once and wandered in the dark until I woke up in an underground cavern that teleported me to the… gas station? I’m still confused about that, but the lack of context just made me want to slam the pedal and fall over again just to see if I could return.
If that’s not enough, then I can say with confidence that strange sub-locales aren’t the only things you could find while cruising around. Easy Delivery Co. lets you play music in your truck, albeit with the same stuff playing over and over again, and also gives you chances to add more tunes by re-activating old radio stations. The catch is that you have to find said stations amid the brutal weather and lack of signage.
Actually, there are more catches, and not just for finding new music. Throughout the game, you’ll use up energy and gas to get your various jobs done, which can only be replenished by either slamming down some energy drinks or puttering over to the nearest gas station. The company’s generous enough to give you a complimentary drink at first, but the rest will need to be supplied yourself by buying them from vending machines scattered throughout the town. It’s a brutal way to live, which is only made worse by the snow. I’ve brought it up at least a few times so far, and for good reason. The second you leave the truck, the edges of your screen start frosting up until you basically freeze to death. There’s only one way to defrost yourself, and that’s by taking shelter somewhere, either by scrambling back inside your truck or rushing into the nearest open building — if you’re lucky enough to have one nearby.
Okay, reading back, this all sounds incredibly painful, but I promise it’s a fun time! The demo’s set to endless mode anyway, so there’s no pressure to increase your personal corporate metrics as a driver or anything. The terrible working conditions are compensated for by the chill expectations of citizens who are probably thankful to get any sort of service at all and the freedom of the mostly open road.
Unparalleled Vibes While Coasting on the Roads
The most immediate thing that stood out to me as soon as I booted up the demo was the ambience it delivered. Most of the time you’re roaring along deserted roads in a dilapidated town with only your radio as a companion. Everything in this game combines to give you an ethereal experience of true solitude, where it’s just you and the space in front of you. And let’s not forget about the music. I wasn’t able to find all the tunes, but I did find a song or two by sohaoying and pr0te, whose moody tracks filled the emptiness around my character with some semblance of a decent life.
One thing: The visuals are perfect. Easy Delivery Co.’s one hair’s width away from becoming just plain ol’ depressing, and it’s saved from that because of how cute the characters are. Not to mention the overall Y2K aesthetics elevate the game’s style to something more than “Animal Crossing meets depressing racing sim.” It feels like something that you’d catch a sneak peek of late at night on Toonami or Adult Swim. Actually, hold up, that’s not a bad idea—
Ready for Your New Job?
The Easy Delivery Co. demo is available on Steam and itch.io, with a planned release schedule for the last quarter of 2025. Don’t forget to wishlist it on Steam!
Also, if you can’t stand waiting like me, then make sure to join the Discord server by finding the link at the bottom of the itch page. Sam also made a playlist for the soundtrack you can bump in the meantime.
So buckle up that seat belt (safety first!) and crank that engine — you have packages to deliver.
