South Park.
That’s essentially the feeling I had when playing Smuggle Truck. It was like a South Park episode played out on an iPad. It’s got a meteoric un-PC level of crudeness that pushes the limits of ethics and morals. But, dammit, I loved it for that.
Smuggle Truck is based on a really simple idea: get the illegal immigrants over hills and across the border in your pickup truck, losing the least amount possible for the maximum score. Tap the sides of the screen to speed up or slow down, or launch a rocket boost to get a quick bump. That’s pretty much it, actually; the game is extremely simple in execution and design, and is easy to play. It’s really not that exciting or new in gameplay.
But that’s not necessarily why I liked my time with it. I liked it because it was designed to break down some of those ethical walls and get us to laugh at an otherwise taboo situation. The game’s developers, Owlchemy Labs, know immigration is a touchy subject, and Smuggle Truck isn’t trying to sway us one way or another. It’s only goal is to get us to sit back and chuckle a bit at just how “back corner” the subject has become.
It’ll probably make you feel a little uncomfortable at first, firing it up in public, but eventually you’ll find yourself showing the game to everyone you know.
Shame can be fun sometimes.
All images and video courtesy Owlchemy Labs. Smuggle Truck will be submitted to the iTunes store within the week. More information at the official website.
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