Roadside Research

About

Roadside Research is a single player and multiplayer casual management game with comedy, economy and science fiction themes. It was developed by Cybernetic Walrus and was released on February 12, 2026. It received positive reviews from players.

Roadside Research is a 1 to 4 player co-op gas station simulator. Except you’re aliens. And undercover. Do very human things like restocking shelves while preparing for the invasion. Just don’t get caught.

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89%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,559 reviews

humor147 positive mentions

stability29 negative mentions

The game offers a fun and unique twist on the traditional gas station and supermarket simulator by incorporating alien-themed gameplay and humor.
Cooperative multiplayer is highly enjoyable, offering chaotic and hilarious moments especially with friends, and the gameplay loop is satisfying and addictive.
The developers are active, responsive to community feedback, regularly issue updates, and show clear commitment to expanding and improving the game.

Single-player experience is difficult and overwhelming due to lack of automation and AI helpers, making the game tedious when played alone.
There are many bugs and technical issues, including glitches with item interactions, multiplayer lag, motion sickness caused by camera movements, and general lack of polish in early access.
Gameplay becomes repetitive and lacks depth over time, with limited progress incentives, underdeveloped alien mechanics, and a need for more content, automation upgrades, and quality-of-life improvements.

humor
147 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is widely praised for being quirky, genuinely funny, and enhanced by its alien-themed twist on a simulation setting, creating many chaotic and hilarious moments especially in co-op play. The humor ranges from clever character interactions and funny animations to silly mishaps and customization options like drawing disguises, making it highly enjoyable with friends. While some find it repetitive over long sessions, the overall comedic charm and playful tone consistently deliver an entertaining and lighthearted experience.
- “What looks like a simple simulation quickly turns into something way more entertaining, full of odd moments and humor that actually lands.”
- “The art style and humour are spot on; the face customisation is simple but has loads of personality, and the game creates some genuinely hilarious moments. I even played co-op once and it led to one of the funniest gaming memories I’ve had in a long time.”
- “The game thrives on chaotic co-op energy, clever mechanics, and genuinely funny moments that don’t feel forced.”
gameplay
135 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
58%
9%
The gameplay offers a simple yet satisfying simulation loop with cooperative multitasking and progression systems that keep players engaged, especially in casual or group settings. However, many reviewers note a lack of depth, repetitive tasks, unfinished or clunky mechanics, and minimal impact of the alien and investigation themes, which can make the experience feel shallow or tedious over time. Despite its early access status, the game shows promise with fun core mechanics and ongoing updates, though it would benefit from more variety, polish, and meaningful new features.
- “It’s a pretty simple mechanic, but it adds just enough pressure to keep things interesting and makes the gameplay loop more enjoyable.”
- “The gameplay loop is super satisfying once you get going.”
- “For players who enjoy cooperative gameplay, multitasking under pressure, and imaginative premises, it offers a vibrant and memorable experience that continues to evolve as development progresses.”
- “Game is the same as other supermarket simulators but worse currently; no employees to automate tasks, the mechanic of "not getting caught" is simply cleaning up after your character poops on the ground, the multiplayer can get pretty janky, and the NPCs' animations look like they're running at 5 fps.”
- “Most mechanics feel unfinished — the replicator has no instructions and is basically useless, and the pistol serves no purpose since you can’t even deal with the agents.”
- “Mechanics are clunky, interactions are inconsistent, and half the time it’s unclear whether something isn’t working because it’s a puzzle or because it’s just broken.”
stability
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
97%
The game is currently plagued by numerous bugs and glitches, especially impacting multiplayer functionality, item interactions, and cleaning mechanics, which often leads to frustrating gameplay and softlocks. Despite these stability issues, many players still find the core concept enjoyable and appreciate the developers' responsiveness to feedback. However, in its present state, the game is considered too unstable for a fully satisfying experience.
- “This 'game', if you even want to call it that, is a buggy mess.”
- “3 of my 5 hours of playtime was mainly spent trying to fix this buggy mess.”
- “So bug ridden that it's completely unplayable, I barely got ten minutes in before I had two bugs that completely locked me out of any gameplay interactions.”
graphics
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
45%
13%
The game features a colorful, stylized aesthetic with generally smooth and pleasant graphics that complement its humorous tone, delivering a fun visual experience even on lower-end hardware. However, some users report occasional bugs, limited graphics options, and NPC visuals that could be improved, with a few noting performance issues on integrated graphics or mini PCs. Overall, the graphics are well-received but may lack polish or depth expected by some players.
- “Runs amazing on my PC with the highest graphics setting on the game.”
- “Super smooth, clean and crispy graphics.”
- “Visually, the game adopts a colorful, stylized aesthetic that complements its comedic undertones.”
- “For example, every time I open the game I have to change the graphics settings again, and sometimes (since I’m hosting) my boyfriend can’t start the day (open the store).”
- “It's just added on as a gimmick to sell the game, adding the illusion that this game is different or unique, when in reality it is another 'gas station simulator' clone, except with worse graphics.”
- “Input is bugged so you can't perform any of the actions and the graphics are bugged with a massive out of sync line in the middle of the display making it hard to see what you are doing.”
grinding
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is frequently described as tedious and repetitive, especially in single-player mode without automation or employees. While cooperative play can alleviate some monotony, many find the manual tasks slow and unrewarding after initial progress, with calls for more engaging objectives or automation features to reduce the grind. Overall, grinding feels more like a chore than a fun challenge for many players.
- “I was really excited for this game when the first trailer dropped but once the initial novelty wears off, it's just a tedious supermarket simulator with no automation.”
- “Not having employees made it feel less fun and not worth grinding for late game; you're just going to do the same thing over and over and over.”
- “Very fun and funny game, it has potential to go a bit further maybe with a storyline or something that requires you to progress through a leveling system with different locations on a map that have higher risks, more frequent agent investigations, and more customers making it more difficult as you progress, giving you an objective to feel like you're achieving something in the game because, at the moment it feels like once you unlock all alien tech, expand the gas station, and have all produce unlocked, you're kinda just grinding for more money.”
optimization
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
62%
19%
The game's optimization is mixed, with some players experiencing significant performance issues, especially in the late game, while others report smooth gameplay after extensive playtime. As an early access title, optimization is expected to improve, but currently, performance can be a notable drawback for some users.
- “After 18 nearly consecutive hours of play and unlocking all products and 95% of the expansions/upgrades, I have no issues with performance.”
- “It uses Unity (thank God, too many indie devs leaning on UE5 recently and then performance ends up being poor) and my experience has been pretty smooth overall.”
- “Performance-wise, it runs well and the system requirements are reasonable.”
- “Stay away from this game till it's fully out and more optimized.”
- “But I feel the more you progress (i.e. expanding store, buying new products...), the game starts to run into some pretty intense performance issues, especially towards late game.”
- “The performance is equally tragic.”
story
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
54%
23%
The story centers on a customizable alien posing as a gas station worker to collect human DNA, offering a blend of covert espionage and business management. While some find the plot humorous and engaging, others feel it has minimal impact on gameplay and could benefit from more varied missions, progression systems, and deeper narrative development to enhance player motivation and sense of achievement.
- “You land on Earth with one simple mission: gather data, prepare for invasion, and absolutely nail the art of being painfully normal.”
- “At its core, the game blends business management with covert alien espionage, tasking players with maintaining a functional human establishment while secretly gathering data for an off-world research mission.”
- “This game made me cry; its story is so good.”
- “Maybe an actual story line instead of challenges.”
- “The alien plot has almost no effect on gameplay.”
- “Very fun and funny game, it has potential to go a bit further maybe with a storyline or something that requires you to progress through a leveling system with different locations on a map that have higher risks, more frequent agent investigations and more customers making it more difficult as you progress, giving you an objective to feel like you're achieving something in the game because, at the moment it feels like once you unlock all alien tech, expand the gas station and have all produce unlocked, you're kinda just grinding for more money.”
music
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
Users find the current music repetitive and grating, noting a lack of variety and rhythmic cues that affect the gameplay experience. They suggest adding more diverse tracks, including customizable options or the ability to upload personal music, to enhance immersion and enjoyment.
- “It would be really cool if you could upload your own music into the game, as well as more customization options.”
- “If they could add more music (like those wonderful 70s grocery store tracks) to play in the store and outside that would be great.”
- “I get that it's EA but it feels empty, and the looping 45-second song is absolutely grating.”
- “It really needs music or some kind of beat/rhythm cue to feel good, and without that it feels off.”
- “No music.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users appreciate the game's atmosphere, highlighting its unique and cool "men in black" vibe that enhances the overall experience.
- “What I like most is the atmosphere.”
- “I also love the 'Men in Black' vibe—it adds a really cool and unique atmosphere to the whole game.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Replayability is important for maintaining player engagement, especially for solo players, and enhancing it in singleplayer mode can help retain consistent players.
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game delivers a powerful emotional experience, with a story that deeply resonates and even brings players to tears.
- “This game made me cry; its story is so good.”

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5h Median play time

7h Average play time

4-10h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 19 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Roadside Research is a casual management game with comedy, economy and science fiction themes.

Roadside Research is available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, Windows and Xbox.

On average players spend around 7 hours playing Roadside Research.

Roadside Research was released on February 12, 2026.

Roadside Research was developed by Cybernetic Walrus.

Roadside Research has received positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its humor but disliked it for its stability.

Roadside Research is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Supermarket Simulator, Grocery Store Simulator, Gas Station Simulator, Gas Station Simulator: Prologue - Early Days, Ultimate Theater Simulator and others.

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