Well then, here’s a sequel I wasn’t expecting. Especially as once upon a time I coined the title of “chief ship game reviewer” (no sniggering at the back), taking a gamble on a particular game – the original Ship Graveyard Simulator – being a one time affair. However, it turns out in rather spectacular fashion that I was wrong, because Ship Graveyard Simulator 2 is here, a sequel which has seemingly risen from the grave (so to speak).
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to work in the scrap business? The process behind dismantling battered and beat up vessels for valuable materials? Well you’re in luck, because that’s exactly what Ship Graveyard Simulator 2 has in store for you. In fact, the official blurb states that “you will get into this business”, which certainly exudes confidence as well as coming across as a little threatening.
The action is set on a sprawling coastline, and your beach is where decommissioned ships are dropped off ready for inspection. You’ll need to order these from your laptop, and each comes with three different assignments. These are worth an increasing amount of cash, depending on difficulty.
Each time you will need to hunt down specific items, as well as extract materials such as iron, wood and even gold from each wreckage. To do so, you are armed with a hammer, saw and torch which can be used in areas of each structure denoted by the appropriate colour. Smashing, cutting and burning through weak points is the name of the game here.
You can then gather your loot and lob it into the back of your truck, or purchase a mobile collection point to save on the backtracking. This is a good time to mention that a crane is available to you, and is the only way to lift heavy loads off each ship. These are usually packed with valuable resources, but can only be moved once the path is clear. This means if they are located on the ground floor, you’ll need to smash your way to clear sky so they can be lifted out. Be warned however, if they are sitting on a higher level and you compromise the structural integrity below them, they will be lost. The same rules apply for your mobile collection point, so give it some thought before you make your decision on where to place it.
Of course, once you have knocked down walls and torn up floors, it gets more difficult to access areas of the ship. Thankfully, you have a rope at your disposal which basically acts as a grapple. It has a limited range and you need to get the angle just right otherwise you’ll be blocked and fall back down to where you started. But overall, it will come in handy.
You can also purchase explosives which are the only way of breaking open some doors (unless you smash your way through the walls surrounding them). I was expecting some fireworks, but the explosions they create are a real anticlimax. I was hoping for debris everywhere with a devastating area of effect, but sadly it’s the door and only the door which is affected.
Of course, as the difficulty increases so does the structural integrity of each ship (i.e. it’ll take you longer to smash it to pieces). This means upgrading your tools is crucial, and can be done by purchasing blueprints. Once you have these, head over to the workshop and as long as you have the correct materials and enough money, your hammer, saw, torch and more will be upgraded.
Upgrading the amount of resources you can carry, your pick up speed and other attributes is really important also, otherwise Ship Graveyard Simulator 2 will become much more of a grind than it needs to be (and it’s a grind at the best of times). However, if you’re a fan of resource gathering and smashing stuff, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy yourself here.
If you have the cash you can purchase any ship you like from the start, and they begin small and end up being pretty vast. The “Warships DLC” is also included here, meaning the Chevy, Fuso and Wicher are available for you to get cracking on too.
Once you have cashed in your assignments, you can drive your truck over to the recycling plant to sort excess materials you have gathered. This is essentially a mini game, where bundles of materials come down a conveyor belt, and you need to rotate a central console to ensure your resources end up in the right bin. It’s simple, but actually a lot of fun.
Now, if all of this sounds familiar because by some strange stroke of fortune you played the first game, it’s because it is. However, the UI has had a makeover but still feels clunky. Ship Graveyard Simulator 2 is one of those games that is very clearly a direct port from PC, and boy it shows.
It’s easy to get lost in the ugly menus as it’s difficult to spot which option is highlighted as you are scrolling through. The selection wheel is a bit erratic at times too, taking me a good three or four attempts to select the tool I wanted. Thankfully, there’s nothing too serious here but still plenty of room for improvement.
Visually, Ship Graveyard Simulator 2 is much improved over the first game, despite the physics jarring and items strobing when there’s a lot of debris gathered in the same area. Let’s be honest, it’s not going to blow your socks off but it looks better than the first game. The day/night cycle has also been stripped back to a cosmetic effect, rather than having any impact on your progress.
In fact a fair bit has been removed since the first outing, such as odd jobs and levelling up. Put simply, the old saying of ‘less is more’ is very appropriate here and Ship Graveyard Simulator 2 is all the better for it. Yes, it’s still a grind and there’s no getting away from how repetitive things are, but it’s much less so than the first game resulting in a more pleasing pace to your progress. So much so that this time around, after a couple of hours, I started to enjoy myself. Despite protests from my partner, I found myself in a sort of pleasurable trance with Ship Graveyard Simulator 2, smashing, sorting and recycling.
There’s something undeniably satisfying about the process in Ship Graveyard Simulator 2. Not only this, but dismantling several parts of a ship to then see it all come crashing down, and watching the chain reaction unfold is great fun. Focusing on these key elements, and getting rid of the distractions around them is definitely a decision that has paid off here.
I can’t believe I’m saying this but Ship Graveyard Simulator 2 does a better job than its predecessor in almost every way. However, at the core remains a simple and repetitive experience that won’t cater to all audiences.
Rust, Riches, and Radioactive Wrecks: Ship Graveyard Simulator 2 is on Xbox and PlayStation – https://www.thexboxhub.com/rust-riches-and-radioactive-wrecks-ship-graveyard-simulator-2-is-on-xbox-and-playstation/
Buy Ship Graveyard Simulator 2 – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/ship-graveyard-simulator-2/9p5v8nv8mpl8
