Saber Interactiveis trading muddy trails for shipping containers with their latest work sim, Docked. Announced today, this realistic work management sim puts you in charge of Port Wake, a family-owned dock operation that’s been devastated by a hurricane and desperately needs your help to rebuild.
The game is heading to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam, although no release date is announced yet.
You might be familiar with Saber Interactive since they’re behind moreWarhammer 40K: Space Marine II, but alongside their ventures into familiar franchises, they’ve also developed work sims involving heavy machinery like Mudrunner,Snowrunner,Expeditions: A Mudrunner Gameand the recently announced Roadcraft.
They’re known for detailed vehicle physics and controls that mimic real life, so Docked will bring that same DNA to the world of maritime logistics with you as a crane operator.
More Than Just Moving Boxes
When I first saw the trailer, the first thing that came to my mind is Tom Cruise inWar of the Worlds. Now, Docked doesn’t have aliens who are going to invade us, but it also isn’t just a boring work sim either. That’s because this game not only places you in the shoes of a crane operator, but you’re the boss too.
It would take your management skills to rebuild a large-scale business that’s been hit by disaster and this is where the challenge sets in.
This means that you need to take on contracts for which the earnings are what you’ll use to invest in more powerful machineries to handle more operations. There are also logistical chains to think about, routes to supply, contracts to fulfill and you’ll also be in charge of the maintenance of your equipment, so when wear and tear drags your equipment down, you need to execute repairs under strict deadlines to keep the port growing and the lights on.
From Blue and White Collar Worker
Port operations might seem like an odd choice for a game, but this is a game dev who let us experience what it means to transport timber across countries inside a truck.
In Docked, you’ll feel what it means to tighten ropes, position materials, optimize weight distribution, navigate delicate cargo with little margin for error and gain a firsthand understanding of what it takes to work in a dock.
What I’m excited about this game, though, are the company brands that they’ll bring over to the game. If you have experienced playing Snowrunner or Mudrunner before, you’ll notice that they use machines and vehicles from well-known manufacturers like GMC, Rezvani, Kenworth and Jeep, just to name a few, so I’m curious as to what Docked will bring to the base game and what will be in future DLCs.
More Work Sim to the Pile
The work sim genre has been growing steadily, and it’s also creating this niche of mimicking part of our real life which actually started with simplefarming simsdecades ago. Today, the genre has now truly evolved with games like Car Simulator, Electrician Simulator, Powerwash Simulator, Construction Simulator and there are even games that will let you flip a Fixer-upper.
Each of these games taps into our curiosities of “what ifs” and “how do they make it work?” It’s an oddly satisfying feeling of completing mundane tasks that we see in everyday life.
Docked will be available toPlayStation 5,Xbox Series X|SandPCvia Steam. No release date has been announced as of this writing.
