Deliver At All Costs drops you into a vibrant, 1950s-inspired world that feels like a love letter to classic Americana, complete with chrome-laden cars, neon-lit diners, and a retro soundtrack that’ll have you humming along. The game’s semi-open world, split across three cities on the fictional island of St. Monique, is a destructible playground where nearly everything, fences, shopfronts, entire apartment blocks, can be reduced to rubble with a well-aimed ram from your trusty delivery truck. Keep up us in this Deliver at All Costs Game Review
The physics system is the real star here, letting you plow through the environment with gleeful abandon. It’s not about precision; it’s about spectacle. Smashing through a hotel lobby or turning a graveyard into a pile of shattered tombstones feels like channeling your inner Kool-Aid Man, bursting through walls with a satisfying crash.
What you will read in this Review
The destructibility is a sight to behold. Buildings collapse in a shower of debris, pedestrians go rag-dolling through the air with cartoonish flair, and the world reacts with a tongue-in-cheek nonchalance that amplifies the humor. Run over a pedestrian, and they might yell, “I’m walking here!” instead of, you know, screaming in terror. It’s a deliberate choice to lean into absurdity over realism, and for the first few hours, it’s an absolute blast. The game’s isometric perspective, with two adjustable top-down angles, gives you a clear view of the chaos you’re unleashing, making every delivery feel like a scene from a slapstick comedy.
However, the destruction, while impressive, has a weightless quality. Structures crumble like they’re made of cardboard rather than brick, which can make your rampages feel less impactful over time. It’s fun to tear through a city block, but without deeper gameplay mechanics tied to the destruction, like using it strategically to create shortcuts or solve puzzles, the novelty starts to wear thin. Think of it like eating cotton candy: it’s sweet and fun at first, but after a while, you’re craving something with a bit more substance.
Missions: A Mixed Bag of Mayhem
The heart of Deliver At All Costs lies in its 20 main missions, each centered around delivering increasingly bizarre cargo. Forget boring packages; you’re hauling everything from a giant, flopping marlin to an atom bomb teetering on the edge of detonation. The game’s creativity shines in its best missions, which throw unexpected twists into the mix.
One standout has you towing a bundle of helium balloons that lift your truck skyward with every bump, turning a routine delivery into a hilarious battle to stay grounded. Another tasks you with dragging a mayor’s statue through town while dodging seagull “bombings”, a chaotic game of keep-away that had me grinning ear to ear. Then there’s the mission where you’re hauling a leaking napalm tank, leaving a trail of fire behind you that forces you to keep moving forward, lest you get caught in your own inferno.
These moments capture the game’s anarchic spirit, blending physics-based challenges with absurd humor. The controls, while occasionally overly sensitive, reward precision when you nail a tricky route, and the forgiving checkpoint system ensures you’re never set back too far when things go wrong (which they will, often spectacularly). But not every mission hits the mark.
Some feel like retreads of sandbox game clichés, driving recklessly to scare passengers or chasing down a rival courier, lacking the unique flair that makes the standout missions so memorable. Others, like a photography mission where you snap pictures of UFO-abducted cows, are so simplistic they barely require thought. The inconsistency in mission design means the game’s pacing can feel uneven, with bursts of brilliance followed by stretches of mediocrity.
On-Foot Shenanigans: A Step Too Far?
While most of your time is spent behind the wheel, Deliver At All Costs occasionally has you hop out of your truck for on-foot segments. These are, unfortunately, where the game stumbles. The on-foot mechanics are bare-bones, limited to basic actions like walking, jumping, climbing, and shoving objects. A mission where you sneak into a scrapyard to retrieve your stolen truck sounds exciting but ends up being a straightforward stroll, as the game’s stealth system is practically non-existent.
You can waltz past enemies without much challenge, which sucks the tension out of what could’ve been a thrilling heist. Other on-foot tasks, like platforming to reach a specific spot, feel tacked on and lack the polish of the driving segments. It’s clear the game’s heart lies in its vehicular chaos, and these pedestrian moments feel like a detour you didn’t want to take.
A Story That Crashes and Burns
Let’s talk about the story, because oh boy, does it take you on a wild ride, for better and worse. You play as Winston Green, a hot-headed former rocket engineer who’s taken a job at We Deliver to make ends meet. The game starts as a quirky workplace comedy, with Winston clashing with his shady boss, Donovan, and navigating the eccentricities of St. Monique’s residents. The narrative hints at a mysterious past, with subtle clues suggesting Winston’s got more than a few skeletons in his closet. At first, it’s intriguing, with a noirish vibe that feels like it could unravel into something meaty.
But as the game progresses, the story veers into bizarre territory. What begins as a tale of corporate greed and small-town conspiracies spirals into sci-fi nonsense involving time travel and a courtroom drama that feels like it was written by someone who watched one too many B-movies. The tonal shifts are jarring, and the cutscenes, while occasionally funny, are dragged down by stiff animations and dialogue that ranges from passable to cringe-inducing.
Winston himself is a tough protagonist to root for, he’s perpetually angry and standoffish, making it hard to connect with his journey. By the time the credits roll after about nine to ten hours, the story feels like a flat-packed furniture kit: full of promising parts but wobbly and unsatisfying once assembled.
The game tries to add depth through journal entries in the pause menu, which provide more context than the cutscenes themselves. It’s a nice touch, but it’s frustrating to have to dig through menus to understand what’s going on, especially when the narrative takes wild leaps like time skips that leave you scratching your head. If you’re here for the story, you might walk away disappointed, as it never quite lives up to the chaotic charm of the gameplay.
Upgrades and Exploration: Missed Opportunities
One of the game’s biggest draws is the promise of a sandbox world where you can wreak havoc at will. Your delivery truck can be upgraded with gadgets like a crane, a winch, or a supercharged horn that shatters windows, which sound like they’d open up endless possibilities for mayhem. But here’s the catch: these upgrades are frustratingly limited. You can only use them in specific story missions, not in free-roam chaos. Want to hook a random car with your winch and drag it through town like a Saints Row stunt? Tough luck. The game keeps its toys locked away, which feels like a missed opportunity in a world begging for freeform fun.
Exploration is another area where Deliver At All Costs doesn’t quite deliver. The map is decently sized, with three distinct cities to explore, but there’s little to do outside of missions. You’ll find a handful of side activities, like a basic race or searching for missing persons, but they’re forgettable and don’t add much to the experience.
Unique vehicles, like an ambulance or a creepy self-driving sports car, are marked on the map from the start, stripping away the joy of discovery. Worse, they handle similarly to your standard truck and can’t be used for missions, making them feel like hollow collectibles. The world is gorgeous and detailed, with a vibrant 1950s aesthetic, but it feels underutilized, like a theme park with half the rides closed.
Consequences? What Consequences?
One of the game’s biggest strengths, and weaknesses, is its forgiving nature. Flip your truck? It’ll right itself automatically. Blow a tire? A quick button tap fixes it. Demolish an entire neighborhood? The cops might chase you, but you can shake them off by hopping into a dumpster or simply respawning with no real penalty.
This lack of consequences makes the game accessible and keeps the focus on fun, but it also drains the tension from missions. Hauling an atom bomb across town should feel like a high-stakes thrill ride, but without a timer or real risk, it’s just another drive. The game’s low stakes make it easy to play like a maniac, but they also make successes feel less rewarding. A bit more challenge, like a timer or harsher penalties, could’ve added the spice needed to keep things engaging.
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Technical Performance and Presentation
On the technical side, Deliver At All Costs is a mixed bag. The visuals are a highlight, with a charming retro aesthetic that nails the 1950s vibe. The destructible environments are a technical marvel, with debris flying and buildings crumbling in real-time. The soundtrack, a mix of original 50s-style tunes and a few licensed tracks, is a perfect fit, adding to the game’s playful atmosphere. However, the game isn’t without its flaws.
Loading screens between city districts disrupt the flow, and the on-foot animations are stiff, looking like they belong in a last-gen title. On PS5, the game runs smoothly during driving segments, but cutscenes can stutter, and the small text size is a pain for console players sitting far from their screens. Accessibility options are also limited, which is a letdown for a modern release.
Is It Worth Your Time?
So, does Deliver At All Costs live up to its name? For the first few hours, absolutely. The game’s chaotic driving, absurd missions, and destructible world make it a riotous good time, perfect for gamers who love the unhinged energy of classic GTA or Crazy Taxi. The best missions are laugh-out-loud funny, and the 1950s setting is a nostalgic treat. But as the novelty of smashing everything wears off, the game’s flaws, repetitive missions, a lackluster story, and underused mechanics, start to drag it down. It’s a game that’s more fun in bursts than as a complete package, and its ten-hour runtime feels a tad too long for what it offers.
If you’re looking for a lighthearted, budget-priced romp (it retails for around $29.99), Deliver At All Costs is worth a spin, especially if you’re in the mood for mindless destruction. But if you’re hoping for a deep sandbox experience or a gripping narrative, you might want to look elsewhere, like Teardown for destruction-focused gameplay or The Precinct for a top-down open-world fix. Far Out Games shows serious potential with their debut, and with a bit more polish and ambition, a sequel could be a real game-changer. For now, Deliver At All Costs is a wild, flawed ride that’s best enjoyed for its chaotic highs rather than its narrative lows.
Let’s rate it
Deliver At All Costs is like a fireworks show: dazzling and loud at first, but it fizzles out before the grand finale. Its destructible world and creative missions are a blast, but the weak story, repetitive tasks, and missed opportunities keep it from reaching its full potential. If you’re after a quick, silly escape where you can smash through a 1950s town without a care, this game delivers. Just don’t expect it to stick with you long after the credits roll.
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