Does Not Commute is an interesting game that doesn’t clearly fit into any particular genre. Playing a bit like Harbour Master and a bit like a top down racer does it present a homogeneous package?
Does Not Commute tasks the player with getting cars to their destination. Each car appears with a little snippet of story, such as where that traveller is going and why. The car moves along automatically and the player simply has to steer the car to get it to its destination as quickly as possible. Along the way are time bonuses that can be grabbed, which is useful as time is very limited.
The twist is however that each time the player delivers a traveller they appear for the player’s next car and take the same path the player did when they controlled that car. Thus the player will be dodging cars driving their own errant driving line as they try to deliver their current car. This is a great idea that hasn’t really been seen before in mobile gaming! It is highly amusing to smash into a car you yourself drove earlier.
The game’s whacky story also deserves mention. A slight off kilter story begins to piece itself together if you read driver descriptions. For example there a blurb about a office woman driving to work naked as part of a movement and later about a policeman that stopped a motorist for a license check and is slightly rosy cheeked. Hehe.
Does Not Commute is quite a difficult game. Getting drivers to their destination quickly becomes difficult when more than few wayward cars are driving around. Luckily the game features the ability to rewind time. This costs one second off of your timer, but can undo chaotic crashes that would otherwise have ended your game. Several upgrades are available to make the game easier as well, like turbo to boost speed or Traction to make cars handle better.
Once the player runs out of time they can choose to either start over or begin at a checkpoint. Checkpoints occur each time the player unlocks a new section of the city.
One irritating thing about Does Not Commute is that the game has no checkpoints unless you pay. Sure the game isn’t very expensive, but playing it for a good 20 minutes and then having your progress held hostile unless you pay, even if you just switched away from the app for too long will leave a bad taste in the mouth for many gamers. Surely there was a way to introduce monetisation that didn’t make it feel like the game is holding the player hostage
Does Not Commute looks good. A slick distinct art style make the game very easy to see and the game has plenty of detail. The controls are well done as well. The simple two finger turning controls make it a cinch to control your car and are very responsive.
The sound gets the job done as well. Inoffensive music and varied engine sounds complete the tidy presentation.
Does Not Commute from Swedish game house Mediocre is a unique and enjoyable game. Its funny plot and novel gameplay should please any Android gamer. Recommended!
The IAP pay to save aspect of the game is a regular point of complaint in the reviews of the game on Google Play.
Also some of the reviews claim that even though they did pay, they still get ads in the game.