Predictably, this physics-based puzzler starts off simple, giving players a chance to learn its controls and mechanics. More unpredictably, this grace period lasts far longer than it needs to. It isn’t until twenty minutes in that the first puzzle with a ‘fail state’ appears, and even then, the difficulty level thereafter remains low. In fact, every five stages or so feels like a tutorial, as this is how regularly it introduces something new.
Let’s rewind. Do You Even Forklift? presents single screen challenges that take 2-3 minutes to complete. You’re in control of a yellow forklift that can raise and lower objects, and the whole thing is centred around Japanese car culture, with stages set within car parks, shipping yards, and suburban areas decorated with iconography related to the region. The music meanwhile is formed of chilled beats, akin to something you’d hear at Wagamama while slurping noodles.
There are no instructions for each challenge – it’s up to you to figure out how to ‘win’ and progress to the next, with over 60 stages to beat in total. You’d think that this lack of guidance would benefit the experience massively, resulting in numerous ‘eureka’ moments, but for the most part it’s pretty clear what’s being asked. Tied into the theme of car culture, more often than not you’re moving vehicles of a certain colour to marked locations. There may be a barrier to overcome or another car blocking the path, and it’s here where the challenge lies.
Every stage as a bowl of noodles to collect too, although describing these as ‘hidden’ would be off the mark, as their rising steam is a clear giveaway to their location.
As mentioned, every five or so stages features something new and a fresh stage layout. There are electric cars tethered to charging docks that can’t be yanked around, or else the cable will unplug – resulting in an instant failure. Later, cars must be taken through a car wash to reveal their colour before placing them in dedicated bays, while around midway a car crushing device is introduced. This may sound enticing, but structurally the experience falls flat, expanding on its ideas in a tedious fashion. For instance, after being shown something new, the second stage usually doubles the number of tasks to perform. The third stage? Whatever the task is, it now must be performed three times, only there’s an obstacle in the way. And so on.
The weird thing about Do You Even Forklift? is that even though it recycles ideas, it doesn’t necessarily feel cheaply made. Within the flat shaded visuals is a small amount of detail, and while the physics engine can sometimes misbehave, the forklift does feel appropriately weighty. I couldn’t shake the feeling though that the developers simply came up with half a dozen challenge types, realised that this amount alone wouldn’t give the game a respectable runtime, and then padded it out by repeating each challenge several times with minor differences.
Over time, I felt that my reward for sticking with the game wasn’t a reward at all – it was more busywork. Moving cars from one location to another isn’t a particularly exciting pursuit. I guess I should be grateful that some cars, and other obstacles, can be lobbed into the sea.
Together with the lax difficulty, mostly due to the rarity of instant failures, this feels geared more towards younger gamers rather than anyone into puzzle games presented as bite-sized challenges. Those collectable bowls of noodles may not run out of steam, but everything else here does – and rather quickly, too.
Garage 5’s Do You Even Forklift? is out 28th May on all formats. Published by Take IT Studio!