Rover Mechanic Simulator review for Xbox Series X/One, PS4, Switch

Rover Mechanic Simulator is kind of an odd duck, as job simulators go.

In my experience, the very best ones work because they get you into a pleasant, zen-like rhythm. Whether you?re cleaning up train stations or tending a farm, you quickly discover there?s something soothing about the repetition of it all. You do a task, then another, then another, before going back to the first one and starting the cycle anew. The jobs (at least in the games) don?t require a lot of thinking, so you can just zone out and relax.

Rover Mechanic Simulator isn?t quite like that. You?re still doing the same job over and over again ? in this case, repairing Mars rovers ? but it?s a bit more challenging than picking up trash or farming a field. You need to carefully scan each new rover that comes in, analyzing all the individual parts to figure out where the problems lie. Sometimes you need to clean parts up, other times you need to replace them ? and because there are so many tiny bits and pieces, it requires a lot more focus and attention to detail.

Admittedly, it?s still not an insane challenge or anything. It?s more detail-oriented than some of its peers, to be sure, but you?re really just seeking out problems, then using tools like brushes and 3D printers that fix them for you. The game doesn?t hold your hand like it does in other simulators ? and each job finishes up with a circuit connection puzzle ? but you won?t exactly need advanced education in robotics to figure things out.

But I?d be lying if I said I enjoyed Rover Mechanic Simulator as much as I do some of those other simulators. It?s harder to get in one of those grooves where you just lose all track of time ? and not being able to do that means you?re constantly aware that you?re just completing mundane, time-consuming tasks over and over again. That might be the joy of some of the better simulators, but here it just feels like a chore.

Ultimate Games provided us with a Rover Mechanic Simulator Xbox Series X code for review purposes.