I have never in my life thought I would be playing a game where all you had to do was deliver packages to people. While the concept seems boring and repetitive, the folks at We're Five Games really know how to turn it into the most stressful, difficult, and exciting thing ever. If you think of games like "Gangbeast" and "Goat Simulator," "Totally Reliable Delivery Service" falls into that category. It's a game that takes advantage of ragdoll psychics and uses it to create an enjoyable gaming experience. Fumbling and stumbling around to deliver packages is a lot of fun, don't get me wrong, but that same exciting energy can only last for so long.
During my gameplay, the first thing I had to master was the controls, especially in a game like this. You use the left and right triggers to grip onto items and use the left and right bumpers to raise your arms up in the air. Now you might be thinking, "Only two main controls? This sounds like a basic, easy game."
Well...yes, but no at the same time.
While the concept sounds easy, there are multiple challenges you face while making deliveries. There are hundreds of different types of deliveries you make throughout the game. Those deliveries can vary from taking a car, truck, airplane, helicopter, boat, zipline, sewer grate (yes, even sewer grates), and many more wacky ways. Even the items that you deliver vary from regular boxes to propane tanks, from ice blocks to giant crates.
There are different types of deliveries that you make in the game. One type is a race against the clock where you have to deliver in a certain time limit, and the other is a type where the package can only take a certain amount of damage during delivery, and there's even a bomb diffusion one where you have to be extra cautious and sensitive to the package. All these deliveries kept my interest in the game along with the ragdoll psychics. After getting either a gold, silver, or bronze rating on a delivery, you get currency, which allows you to unlock different types of vehicles/skins, and you even have a chance to unlock cute and humorous clothing and facial options for your character.
The one factor that I love is that there is no "right" way to make a delivery. You can be as creative as you want as long as you get the job done. Even when I literally spent 15 minutes trying to figure out how to fly a helicopter, I was still finding myself raging out and laughing to myself the whole time.
The biggest downfall I have with the game is its single-player experience. Playing by yourself means the game can only hold your attention for so long. After doing some of the missions and failing over and over again on certain ones, you kinda wanna give up and come back to the game later. With friends, though, it's a whole new experience. I had a blast going online with other people as we kinda just messed around with the environment and the world itself and tried to do deliveries. It's a lot more enjoyable than the single-player experience, so I would recommend this instead. It's one of those games where I would play with friends more often than by myself.
Graphics-wise, while some people may find the blandness to be boring and empty, I find it cute and appealing. Just seeing the cute little ragdoll characters flop around is funny, and even though the world isn't that detailed there's still so much to explore within it. It reminded me instantly of "Death Stranding," but with its graphics settings turned down to extremely low. Because let's be honest, this is basically a fun and cute version of "Death Stranding." The soundtrack isn't anything too memorable, and nothing really sticks out to be my "favorite ost." It is cute and simple, however, and fits the mood of the game perfectly.
"Totally Reliable Delivery Service" is a cute ragdoll game that is meant to be played with friends. The single-player experience turns somewhat lacking, and you'll find yourself getting tired and bored more easily after a couple of dozen deliveries. Playing online or with friends is what you need to do to gain the full experience and richness of the game. If you do that, I promise you that you won't be disappointed.