This Game Won’t Let Me Go

Added: 2026-05-08

[00:00:00]Never in a million years did I think I'd be saying this, but there might actually be another off-road game out there that can offer me thrills like Snow Runner does because on the surface, Motortown behind the wheel looks simple. Low poly visuals, nothing too crazy, the kind of game you might overlook in seconds. But that's the trap. Underneath that look is a system so detailed, so well simulated that the more you play, the more you understand what an underrated gem this actually is. And before you realize, you're fully locked in. And because of that depth, I ended up experiencing one of the most intense, high stakes, and generally fun off-road journeys I've had in a long time.

[00:01:04]It all started at a local drag strip where the community and I decided to meet up and see if we could come up with something fun to do. Before we knew it, drag racing became that thing to do.

[00:01:15]Everybody rolled up in their best rides, showing off their awesome liveries and customizations that quickly turned into a nice car meet. It looked like something out of the first Fast and Furious movie. Something I wish games still had from the Underground 2 days.

[00:01:30]Let me explain how this little piece of land fits into the giant Motortown world. The drag strip is tucked away in the corner of the map. You could drive past it a million times, not even realizing what it is. That's because the game offers so many activities. so many different jobs and careers that places like this are only the tiniest slice of what the game can offer. Back to the drag racing, the track is not just an asset or point of interest. It's actually a fully functioning place. You have a garage where you can fine-tune your ride for the best quarter mile time. Then there's lights that are fully working with pre-stage where you can burn out your tires before the race starts. And the timing system is fully functional, so you can see the reaction time, the top speed, and of course, your final time. There are dedicated drag racing games that can only wish for that kind of freedom and depth. Some of the tunes players come up with are bonkers.

[00:02:24]There are cars here that are so finely tuned, they feel like rocket ships.

[00:02:28]Customization isn't just about slapping on a turbo. You can adjust the ride height for every axle, roll bars, tires, brake bias, final drive, limited slip diffs. I mean everything. If you want, you can just be a drag tuner and a racer in this game and spend thousand of hours doing that. In the official Motoan community, there's even a racing club dedicated to it. And this is only a tiny part of the game. Remember, hopefully I've painted this picture for you. After a few hours filled with high-speed adrenaline, somebody offered to take some iron ore from the mine to the storage. A few experienced players giggled and said nothing, while I unsuspectingly embarked on what was going to be the most challenging Mototown job yet. We all met up at the entrance of the mines where I first realized this was going to be an off-road journey. At this point, I only had a highway truck, not an off-road one, let alone one with a dump bed. So, one of the community members, Nico, offered me his ride, a 6x6 off-road vehicle with an 8-speed split gearbox. a truck that performs best in dirt and mud, which as it turns out, I was definitely going to need. Most of my crew were brave enough to use 8x4 vehicles, and some even opted to tow trailers. What I learned from hauling heavy trailers on the asphalt immediately applied. I had to turn auto shift off and switch to manual gears. I stuck it in low and conquered the first hill with no problem. And I thought, this is easy. Little did I know for the 8x4 trucks, even this first hill was proving difficult. They needed a perfect runup, losing as little momentum as possible just to make it. It took multiple attempts and it honestly felt like an episode of Top Gear. Every driver had to tune their trucks differently of course, so the outcome varied massively. The cargo also mattered. The weight is fully simulated, making these trucks topheavy. Some of the trucks had to be pulled up using the biggest wrecker vehicle in the game, Golma. I had it easier since my truck was empty, others were already loaded with coal while I was assigned to hold iron ore. Once we reached the mine, the empty trucks got loaded and we continued on the journey. We immediately faced our next hurdle, a downhill section into a muddy patch followed by a steep incline and a bend. Mud in Moto Town isn't deformable, but it has very low friction and your wheels can easily get bogged down. I was quickly told that if I stopped in the middle, I wasn't getting back up. So, I needed enough speed and power to carry through. My first attempt failed because I was in too high a gear.

[00:05:03]With a bit of coaching, I eventually made it, but getting the rest of the convoy through took hours as we pushed into the night. The whole journey was slow and punishing, and I failed at many obstacles. Thankfully, there was always help nearby. Slowly, I became more confident, understanding when to engage diff lock and go slower and when to carry momentum and speed. There were caves, lakes, wooden bridges, every kind of obstacle thrown our way. But we managed to find routes, take shortcuts, and eventually made it down to the storage area. It took a while to accept all contracts and unload the coal and iron ore, but the sense of satisfaction when we all made it back in one piece was worth it. But we weren't done yet.

[00:05:44]We decided to clean up City of Juju, literally. We split into three teams of four and turned it into a competition to see who would be the best garbage crew.

[00:05:54]The goal was to search designated areas for trash bags and containers, fill our trucks, and raise back. The teams would be judged on total tonnage collected and how quickly they return to the recycling center. Garbage collection is another career path in the game. There are currently two trucks designed for it.

[00:06:10]The pay is solid and clearing the garbage gives you the town bonuses.

[00:06:15]These town bonuses increase payouts for other deliveries and can even affect things like how many passengers wait at a bus stop. Everything is interconnected in Mototown and well thought out. This game can easily offer hundreds if not thousands of hours of gameplay. Back to the race. We collected the remaining bags and rushed back only to finish second. Given our weight and position, we held on to the second place while the winning team let us hear about it. No worries, we'll get you next time. As tradition goes in this community, after a long day's work, we relaxed and had some fun. You know that game chained together? We tried to recreate it by racing in pairs at the local rally circuit. The twist, we had to stay attached to each other using the winch the entire time. The teamwork was absolutely essential. Safe to say the physics and probably the developers did not account for this level of creativity and chaos. So things got ridiculous fast. I didn't pick the best vehicle for the rally. My Citra 2CV was overheating constantly, but my teammate Travis and I made it work and we finished third.

[00:07:20]After that, it was time to cool down the car in the garage under a massive fan and set off some fireworks in the car park. Time and time again, Mototown proves to me that even in early access, this is a mustplay for any driving game enthusiast. Even after nearly 100 hours, I don't feel like I've experienced even 10% of what this game has to offer. And I hear you in the comments. Some of you say the game looks fun, but you have no one to play it with. I'd say find a community that suits you, whether it's a hardcore realism, roleplay, or just messing around. And if multiplayer isn't your thing, in the next Mottown video, I'll show you how you can have endless fun playing solo. This isn't a game that gives you quest markers or hold your hand. You have to create your own fun.

[00:08:07]Older viewers will remember a time before computers and mobile phones when we had to entertain ourselves with whatever we had. That's the spirit this game captures. So, here's a question for experienced Motortown players. If you had to split your play time, how much of it is single player versus multiplayer?

[00:08:25]My 100 hours are roughly 60/40 in favor of single player. For now, that is it from Uncle Menace. I'm glad you all enjoying Mototown videos lately. There's plenty more to come, so stay tuned. But for now, thank you for watching and I'll see you in the next one. Take care.