Image via Oro Interactive
There’s an endeavor as of late to pair unsettling themes suited to horror games with cozy kinds of gameplay. It happened with the fishing game Dredge and NIS America is getting in on the idea with the farming horror game Village in the Shade. Easy Delivery Co offers that same sort of experience exactly, as the actual purpose and concept is a cozy kind of delivery game with cute animal characters, but in an unsettling, PS1-style world reminiscent of Twin Peaks or Silent Hill. Scary? Not really. Relaxing? Definitely. Especially if you use Easy Delivery Co as a way to relax for a bit between other games on the Switch.
Things begin with us accepting a job at EasyCo as the newest delivery driver servicing the Upton, Weston, and Easton area, eventually unlocking access to new routes and assignments by upgrading your kei truck so you could head to Clifton, Damton, Lopton, Munton, Smalton, and Winton. As you visit people on assignments and start to explore the world, a story starts to become clear and some unusual and unexpected things will happen. For the sake of avoiding spoilers, I won’t mention anything, but as you upgrade your vehicle and reach more people, you’ll eventually get to do more to influence their lives.
The gameplay loop in Easy Delivery Co is relatively simple. You’ll take on a local job, which will send you on some sort of delivery. Since this is based on older PS1 style games, you won’t have detailed, on-screen notifications telling you where to go or initially complete maps. You’ll need to do some learning by doing and paying attention to instructions in the initial assignments. A spoiler-free, early example is being tasked with an Easy Eats pick-up and delivery in Upton, with the instructions mentioning to “find the lit-up storefront.” You’ll always be aware of the time of day, temperature, amount of gas you have, and money you earned, with money going toward gas, drinks to get energy or stay warm, and such. After opening the back of your truck, placing your delivery in it, and closing the gate, we can take off. Said drinks could also, say, be purchased to give to an NPC to complete a quest.
There is some caution that needs to be applied, as there are some physics elements at play. Packages can fall off as you drive (though it is possible to get duct tape to secure them and its fine if stuff falls.) Likewise, that momentum could help you find “shortcuts” by perhaps going off-road a bit or engaging in some risky driving to get to places faster. It’s relatively simple and uncomplicated, so you can play around with what you’re doing and how you get places if you have enough money to afford the gas for it.
This means it can be a bit tedious. After all, you’re driving in a cold, grey, snowy, rural area, with what sometimes feels like too little money to get by, and you need to constantly manage things like gas to meet goals. There are also some optional activities to take into account for a little diversity. You can find bunkers around areas, turning on radio towers. It’s also possible to fish so you can cook a meal. There are also certain actions you can undertake for different endings. But basically, you’re driving to different areas, keeping track of places via memory and a rudimentary map, and managing the income you acquire to ensure you can afford things like a lighter and gas to keep making meaningful progress. Since it is a very simple game, the real selling point here is taking time to leisurely relaxing, complete goals, and gradually figure out what’s happening. But that does mean it might not be for everyone due to the simplicity and design choices.
What I did appreciate is that there are some additional comfort and display options I didn’t expect in the Easy Delivery Co options menu. One lets you adjust the steering, to get it to your liking. The other leans into the embracing of the PS1 design direction by allowing you to set the CRT effect to your liking or omit it completely. Given the approach, the CRT look is handled very well and I think is worth enabling to some degree just to continue to cultivate the proper atmosphere for it all.
Easy Delivery Co might not be for everyone, but it can be a surprisingly soothing and occasionally unsettling driving delivery diversion. It can be a very tedious game, for sure. And the way the story is told might not hook everyone. But some folks might find it relaxing, and the design choices are handled well. If it clicks with you, I bet you’ll spend a good week with it.
Easy Delivery Co is available for the Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC.