Euro Truck Simulator 2: A Thorough Comparison

Introduction

Released on October 18, 2012, Euro Truck Simulator 2 (ETS2) lets you play as a long-distance truck driver, hauling goods to over 60 European cities. As a free-form career game, ETS2 combines realistic driving, business management, and a strong modding community, making it still popular more than ten years after its launch.

Core Gameplay Mechanics

  • Driving Feel: ETS2 focuses on realistic handling—how your truck rocks, how weight shifts, braking distances, and driver tiredness. Compared to American Truck Simulator (ATS), ETS2’s winding roads and mountain paths are more challenging than ATS’s flat U.S. highways.

  • Cargo Options: From refrigerated food to heavy machines, ETS2 offers more types of loads than most similar games. Farming Simulator has special hauling tasks, but ETS2 feels more real with delivery deadlines, toll booths, and police speed checks.

  • Running Your Business: Besides driving, you can build your own trucking company—buy garages, hire drivers, pay salaries, and plan routes for the best profits. Few driving games, including ATS or City Car Driving, let you run things at this level.

Screenshot 1

Visuals and Audio

ETS2’s graphics have stayed fresh thanks to regular updates and better shaders. Key points:

  • World Details: Iconic landmarks—like the Eiffel Tower and Cologne Cathedral—make sightseeing fun. ATS focuses more on wide canyon views rather than city landmarks.

  • Truck Interiors: Inside cabins have accurate dashboards, working gauges, and radios. Sound effects—engine rumble, tire noise, wind—are top-notch, rivaling racing games.

  • Performance: ETS2 runs well on PCs, but big modded map packs can slow older machines. In that way, ETS2 is similar to Bus Simulator games when heavily modded.

Modding, Multiplayer & World of Trucks

One of ETS2’s standout features is its modding ecosystem:

  • Thousands of custom trucks, trailers, and map expansions—from Scandinavia to the Black Sea—extend replayability far beyond vanilla scope.
  • Convoy multiplayer mode allows synchronized road trips with friends, a feature many single-player sims lack.
  • World of Trucks portal integrates photo mode contests, global leaderboards, custom avatars, and community events, making ETS2 one of the most community-driven transport sims available.

Screenshot 2

Comparison with Similar Titles

  • American Truck Simulator: ATS offers smaller but highly polished maps (California, Nevada) and new engine features, yet ETS2’s sheer scale—covering Western and Eastern Europe—remains unmatched.
  • Farming Simulator Series: While Farming Sim focuses on agricultural machinery and seasonal business cycles, ETS2 delivers deeper long-haul economics and driving realism.
  • Other Open-World Sims (Spintires, Bus Simulator): Off-roading or city transit lacks the cross-country logistics challenge that ETS2 perfects.

User Reviews and Community Feedback

On Steam, ETS2 holds an “Overwhelmingly Positive” rating—96% on recent reviews (5,595) and 97% all-time (655,277). Common praises:

  • “Endless replayability” thanks to mod support and DLC expansion packs.
  • “Relaxing yet engaging” gameplay loop: set a route, focus on the drive, manage your fleet between hauls.
  • Authentic immersion: accurate road signage, dynamic weather, day-night cycles.

Screenshot 3

Criticisms, though relatively rare, center on occasional AI pathfinding issues, monotonous traffic patterns, and the grindy pace of early career progression without DLC trucks or external hires.

Strengths and Weaknesses

  • Strengths: Monumental map coverage, dynamic business management, robust modding community, crystal-clear audio and visuals.
  • Weaknesses: Early career grind can feel slow, AI traffic lacks variety, multiplayer still in early stages compared to dedicated racing/netcode implementations.

Conclusion for Euro Truck Simulator 2

Euro Truck Simulator 2 remains the benchmark for trucking and open-world logistics simulations. Its blend of authentic driving, deep economic systems, and an ever-growing modding community keeps players invested years after launch. While successors like American Truck Simulator refine certain technical aspects, ETS2’s sprawling European road network and proven gameplay loop make it the undisputed heavyweight champion of the genre.

Screenshot 4

Add Euro Truck Simulator 2 to your Steam collection!