Junkyard Simulator

About

Junkyard Simulator is a single player open world strategy game with a business theme. It was developed by Rebelia Games and was released on October 13, 2021. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

In Junkyard Simulator, you run your own junkyard business, collecting, repairing, and selling various types of vehicles and parts. Use a variety of machines and tools to dismantle cars, trucks, and machinery, and sell the parts for profit. Upgrade your junkyard and expand your operations for greater rewards and challenges.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

+46

Skip User Reviews

64%

Audience ScoreBased on 971 reviews

gameplay44 positive mentions

story15 negative mentions

The game has a lot of potential and offers a unique experience with various activities like scrapping, renovating, and exploring.
The developers are responsive and actively working on updates and improvements based on community feedback.
The graphics are decent, and the gameplay can be enjoyable once you get past the initial learning curve.

The game suffers from numerous bugs and performance issues, including crashes and lag, making it frustrating to play.
The tutorial is lengthy and often confusing, leading to a lack of clarity on objectives and mechanics.
Driving mechanics are clunky, and the user interface can be unintuitive, making navigation and interactions cumbersome.

gameplay
217 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
71%
9%
The gameplay of the game is a mixed bag, with many players enjoying the core mechanics of scavenging, scrapping, and restoring vehicles, while also noting significant issues with clunky controls, confusing tutorials, and technical bugs. While the diverse gameplay loop offers potential for fun and engagement, the execution often feels unpolished, leading to frustration with driving mechanics and a lack of clear guidance on how to progress. Overall, the game shows promise but requires substantial improvements to its mechanics and user experience to fully realize its potential.
- “The gameplay is awesome, but I absolutely hate having to go through the same tedious tutorial missions every time I make a fresh start.”
- “At its core, the gameplay loop revolves around scouring your junkyard and nearby locations for scrap metal, electronics, old vehicles, and other refuse, then processing these materials using various machines and equipment to make a profit.”
- “Great mechanics and details that allow you to enter a flow state and relax while working on cars!”
- “The driving mechanics, for instance, feel stiff and imprecise, which can be frustrating when navigating tight spaces or hauling heavy loads across the map.”
- “The tutorial is hardly a tutorial, difficult to figure out how specific mechanics work.”
- “The game as a whole is jerky at best and driving mechanics feel awful.”
story
185 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
86%
8%
The game's story is often described as minimal and confusing, primarily serving as a framework for a series of repetitive fetch quests rather than a cohesive narrative. Players frequently express frustration with the tutorial and quest systems, which are seen as poorly explained and overly linear, leading to a lack of engagement and clarity in objectives. While there are elements of progression and character interaction, many reviewers feel that the story lacks depth and structure, making it feel more like an extended tutorial than a fully realized game experience.
- “There's a real sense of progression, as you start with minimal tools and a dirty, disorganized plot of land, slowly transforming it into a more efficient, profitable operation through upgrades, machinery purchases, and better tools.”
- “The player is given a rough backstory and is occasionally introduced to characters through phone calls or on-screen prompts, adding a minimal story thread to follow.”
- “It's good that you can follow the storyline guide missions as well as just doing your own thing and exploring ... while breaking stuff!”
- “The story mode of this game is basically a dude on the phone saying 'good job, doing that thing, now go over here.'”
- “Really isn’t much of a story to the game and is basically just a bunch of random missions thrown together in an open world.”
- “The tutorial itself isn't great, instead of giving you a tutorial when you find something it expects you to do things in a specific order, and often puts things close to you instead of where that thing is in the world.”
graphics
115 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
54%
9%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising their quality and aesthetic appeal, particularly on higher settings, while others criticize them for being inconsistent, grainy, or poorly optimized, leading to performance issues like lag and dropped frames. Many users note that despite having capable hardware, they struggle with performance, suggesting that the game is resource-intensive and not well-optimized. Overall, while there are commendable visual elements, significant improvements are needed to enhance the gaming experience.
- “The graphics are gorgeous, and can also be pared down for the Steam Deck's needs.”
- “The visual style of the game is amazing; it's such a beautiful game, especially on max graphics settings.”
- “Great graphics, big world, and plenty to do.”
- “Even on medium to low graphics there's lag and dropped frames constantly, it makes it quite difficult to really focus and play.”
- “The graphics are really not that good and should not be that demanding.”
- “The game play is as good as the graphics, which is crap.”
stability
59 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
5%
95%
The game's stability has been widely criticized, with players reporting frequent bugs, glitches, and crashes that significantly disrupt gameplay. Many users have experienced issues such as freezing, loss of progress, and unresponsive controls, leading to a consensus that the game is currently in a "buggy mess" state. While some players find enjoyment in the gameplay despite these issues, the overall sentiment is that the game requires substantial improvements in stability before it can be recommended.
- “I've been impressed with the graphics even though my machine isn't super high spec; everything still looks and runs great!”
- “As for people complaining about performance, it runs great with my 1660 Ti GPU on my PC and even better on my ROG Ally.”
- “I built my powerhouse machine, and the game runs great.”
- “Another big issue is the game freezes and you have to reboot.”
- “The game freezes up a lot, to the point of killing the game and losing your save.”
- “Overall the game is not worth getting; it's buggy, broken, and overall quite a mess at times.”
optimization
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
51%
40%
The optimization of the game has been widely criticized, with many players reporting significant performance issues such as frame rate drops, long loading times, and crashes, even on high-end systems. While some updates have addressed early bugs, the overall consensus is that the game remains poorly optimized and often unplayable, particularly for users with AMD systems. A few players have experienced satisfactory performance, but the majority agree that substantial improvements are needed for a more enjoyable experience.
- “While I'll agree it's not for everyone, I think with time and some streamlined controls, and further optimization, this game will be quite the gem.”
- “Car physics were updated, blurry textures and optimization issues were addressed, not 100% fixed, but the game is at the very least playable.”
- “Runs smoothly on a 1070ti with an i9 10900k, for me at least.”
- “Performance and stability have been points of contention for Junkyard Simulator since its release.”
- “While updates have improved some of the early bugs and optimization issues, many players still report frame rate drops, long loading times, and occasional crashes.”
- “Its so badly optimized it becomes unplayable.”
music
47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
68%
15%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players finding it repetitive and annoying, particularly due to its inability to be turned off or adjusted effectively. While some appreciate the ambient tracks and the option to play their own music, others criticize the limited soundtrack and the looping nature of the in-game music, which detracts from the overall experience. Overall, the music aspect appears to need significant improvement to enhance player enjoyment.
- “This game so far has been really great and enjoyable. I play while blasting my music; I've been hooked for hours.”
- “A little effort in curating a soundtrack goes a long way; crime scene cleaner proved that.”
- “Great music collection, scrap mechanics, minigames, and world to explore.”
- “The music in the game is horrible.”
- “Music is mostly absent or forgettable, which fits the industrial vibe but contributes to a lack of emotional tone.”
- “The soundtrack seems to be the same couple of 'songs' over and over, which can get annoying after a while.”
grinding
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
5%
95%
The reviews highlight a common sentiment that the game features excessive grinding and tedious tasks, often making gameplay feel repetitive and frustrating. While some players appreciate the variety of activities and the potential for automation, many find the mechanics cumbersome and the navigation unengaging. Overall, the grinding aspect is seen as a significant drawback, detracting from the enjoyment of the game.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Tools aren't tedious with the 'hit the middle mini game'.”
- “Everything is tedious to do and seems like a chore, and the map is not fun to navigate.”
- “To clear even a small area of debris, multiple cars are needed, which becomes tedious and frustrating.”
- “The renovation gameplay is stale and tedious, and sadly the scraping mechanics are interesting but quickly become repetitive.”
replayability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
Overall, the game's replayability is generally viewed as low, with many players noting a lack of depth and repetitive gameplay. While some appreciate the improvements made over time, the consensus is that once the initial objectives are completed, there isn't much incentive to continue playing. A few users mention minor bugs but do not see them as significantly impacting replay value.
- “✅ infinitely replayable”
- “I have noticed some minor bugs, but nothing that damages replayability, especially for independent developers.”
- “However, I have given the game some more time; it is much more playable. It is a good game.”
- “Once you get your junkyard complete, there really isn't any replay value to keep you playing.”
- “Three years in early access, major bugs with controls and UI not fixed, unclear quests, very low replayability...”
- “Okay game, very repetitive; it was worth a few hours here and there, but not a whole lot of depth and replayability, honestly.”
humor
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
90%
30%
The humor in the game is largely unintentional, stemming from stilted writing, inconsistent voice acting, and numerous bugs that lead to amusing glitches, such as vehicles flipping unexpectedly. While some players find the comedic elements enjoyable, many feel the game lacks the depth and polish of similar titles, resulting in a mixed reception regarding its humor. Overall, the game's comedic potential is overshadowed by its technical issues and inconsistent gameplay.
- “It's funny and enjoyable, but for now it's a junkyard of bugs, just a little bit more than half-made game.”
- “A bit hard to get the hang of the game at the start, but after a little time you start to unlock some stuff and get the hang of the game. It is just now getting interesting, very good game so far, and some funny bugs that are not game-breaking.”
- “Like the physics on vehicles in one or two places is funny and you flip your vehicle by just turning a corner.”
- “This game is so broken at the moment it's not funny. The radio does not work; it repeats the first song, and when you switch the radio station, you get to hear two songs playing at once. The leveling system is messed up badly. After you complete the tutorial, the game becomes a delivery driver simulator. XP should be earned when doing renovations on car engines and not from doing deliveries all the time.”
- “Driving in the game isn't bad, but there is a bad collision box on the trees and poles. This game needs a lot of work. The map sometimes allows you to scroll in and out, but it will get stuck and not work at all. The map needs a lot of rework done to it; I cannot tell where I'm going.”
- “This game does have potential, but it needs better optimization and more things to do.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The atmosphere of the game is described as beautiful and immersive, effectively capturing a post-apocalyptic world that many players find relaxing. However, some users have noted technical glitches that can disrupt the experience, such as issues with item management and the behavior of in-game mechanics.
- “The atmosphere is beautiful, and the grind to operate the scrapyard is somehow relaxing to me.”
- “Very atmospheric.”
- “The atmosphere of the game feels like a post-apocalyptic world.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional impact of the game is diminished by its lack of memorable music and overly complicated mechanics, which detract from the overall experience. Players feel that these issues create a disconnect, making it difficult to engage with the game's emotional tone.
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
Reviews indicate a mixed perception of monetization; while some players appreciate the developers' responsiveness to feedback and hope for genuine improvements rather than exploitation, others criticize the game's interface and navigation as reminiscent of a cash grab, suggesting that the monetization strategy detracts from the overall experience.
- “Developers seem like they actually care about feedback, and I expect them to improve the game and not just focus on cash grabs.”
- “The monetization model is fair and doesn't feel intrusive, allowing players to enjoy the game without feeling pressured to spend.”
- “I appreciate that the game offers plenty of free content, making it accessible for everyone while still providing optional purchases.”
- “The UI is ugly and frustrating to navigate; the menus look like they came from a cash grab mobile game.”
- “Superbly boring; congrats on the advertisements for making such a boring game look so good.”
- “Developers seem like they actually care about feedback, and I expect them to improve the game and not cash grab.”