Games with a driving mechanic featuring trucks as an option have a higher chance of being looked over when presented with other, sleeker choices. There are outliers, of course, but there just isn’t enough truck love going around these days, and games with trucks deserve to have some recognition for what they can do.

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Some of them you can control, and others play a pivotal role in what’s going on in the story, and some are just there because they look cool or you can perform a fun function with them. It's all about their impact on gaming as a whole and a celebration of all trucks, big and small.

8 Nico’s Van - Devil May Cry 5

Nero stands facing toward Nico's Van with a neon Devil May Cry sign

It may be a van, but it has the spirit of a truck. Devil May Cry Nico’s van performs feats of impossible physics by jumping from a skyscraper and straight down to the bowels of hell itself to support Nero and the others as they fight off demons from the giant Qliphoth tree let off in the middle of the city.

Plus, the van doubles as a portable base of operations for Nero, Dante, and the rest of the demon-fighting crew to upgrade weapons, and special moves and receive some healing after fighting for their lives.

7 Warthog - Halo Series

Warthog summoned to the platform- Halo

If you’ve played Halo at any time growing up or even now, chances are you’ve driven a Warthog at some point in your campaign. This armored truck is capable of all-terrain drive as well as taking a hit or two from ballistic weapons, something you’ll need when exploring across enemy lines.

This Hog earns every bit of its huge nickname through sheer size alone, but it’s also hard to drive, almost to the point of being unwieldy, at least until you get used to it. Soon, you’ll be able to drift with the best of them in no time using the emergency break, though it’s not recommended you should.

6 Clusters Of Trucks - Clustertruck

Clustertrucks are racing toward the goal inside of a void

These diesel trucks don’t demand a lot of attention from you with flashy colors or horns that play musical themes in the same monotone notes. No, they are a system of trucks seemingly on their way to a place resembling heaven, or at least the truck approximation of such a place.

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They aren’t trying to knock you off either, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to slow down to let you jump on their backs You never find out where they are going, or if they have a destination in the first place. They almost act as if they are a hive mind, joining together and breaking apart the formation on command.

5 Road Hog XL - Rocket League

Orange Road Hog in the middle of the frame - Rocket League

This hog isn’t for just anyone to tame in Rocket League. The steering on it can be rough if you aren’t used to the way the weight responds to the speed, but it can corner and drift with the best of them once you learn how to time the brakes. That’s just the start of what this truck can do.

The best feature the Road Hog has going for it is its hitbox. Most players will gravitate to the quick, sleeker bodies of the Dominus or Octane, but this boxy beauty has a larger hitbox than the sports car bodies. The bigger the hitbox, the better contact with the ball, and the more goals you make. An easy trade-off.

4 Sweet Tooth - Twisted Metal Series

Sweet Tooth vehicle driving down a road - Twisted Metal

If you were to simply say the phrase ‘Twisted Metal’, it’s safe to say that the first vehicle someone would visualize would be the ice-cream truck of nightmares, or maybe it's giant mech form. You’ll be getting more than what you bargained for if you try and order ice cream from here. Instead, you will be met with an arsenal of weapons, and a clown who would take pleasure in using them on you at the first chance.

As mentioned, it comes armed to the teeth with homing missiles, but the most insidious weapon it has is napalm cones. Are they a joke pointed toward using an ice-cream truck in the deadly competition, or just a funny coincidence? No one is sure, but the driver definitely doesn’t care what you think.

3 Surfboard Trucks - Mario Kart Series

A pink truck carrying an oversized surfboard drives in front of Mario - Mario Kart 8

First introduced in Mario Kart 8 these trucks provide players with ample opportunity to cover some good distance on certain tracks, and maybe even dodge those pesky blue homing shells that can ruin your good race. This is a much better use of trucks instead of becoming obstacles you’ll have to try and navigate around.

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A surfboard isn’t the only way ramp trucks appear in the game, they also sport the default truck look with the (in)famous Wario logo on the front. If you aren’t careful when coming across one of these, they will knock you out of the race for a few seconds, similar to how bananas make you peel out. Pun not intended of course.

2 Mako - Mass Effect Series

Mako sits on top of some rocks in front of a crashed Normandy 1 - Mass Effect

It’s hard to imagine a future where the trucks we know exist today would have a place traveling among the stars to planets far out of our reach. So it makes sense that the trucks of Mass Effect would be built differently and able to withstand the harsh environments of space travel. Combined with the lack of proper gravity and oxygen, a regular Ford would not suffice.

The Mako is specifically made for the Normandy and comes with a promise of quality. Until you get down to the controls. The vehicle controls like you’re driving on ice, but it can take plenty of damage, giving you enough time to try and either escape from the thresher maw or finish it off with the cannons.

1 Shinra Truck - Final Fantasy 7

The gang waiting on cloud inside the Shinra Truck - Final Fantasy 7

Trucks and Final Fantasy don’t tend to go hand in hand. Airships sure, but trucks? Of course, the sci-fi setting of FF7 is the first, and the only at the time, game of the franchise that was set in a setting that resembled our own close enough to where cars and trucks were commonplace. Knowing all of this doesn’t stop the highway sequence at the end of Midgar from being any less iconic or memorable to lovers of the game.

There’s a chase scene where you have to protect your friends from the onslaught of Shinra forces and trying not to fall off your bike simultaneously. As if that weren’t chaotic enough, the scene gets capped off with almost driving off the edge of an unfinished highway and fighting a mecha tank. A classic.

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