After playing Death Stranding 2 and calling it my 2025 game of the year, I've been moving heaven and earth to get my friends to play the first game, especially if they had written it off for whatever reason.

Now, even if you aren't up for one of the weirdest writing and narratives in gaming, Death Stranding has so much more to offer — atmospheric gameplay, calm and wholesome interactions with NPCs, a gameplay loop that rewards patience and meticulousness, and a fantastic delivery system that never gets old.

While there's really nothing else quite like Kojima's odyssey, there are games that evoke the vibe of Death Stranding without all the tar monsters and blood grenades. These are titles you can boot at the end of a rough day, simply getting cargo from point A to point B by truck, spaceship, boat, or even postal van, going on journeys of burden, balance, and solitude.

7 SnowRunner is my favorite driving game

It's you against the elements

No other game has made me feel like an off-road delivery god the way SnowRunner has. We're not talking about merely driving a truck through dirt and mud. What you're really going to be doing is wrestling your truck through hell. Whether it's thick mud, freezing rivers, or icy slopes, every delivery in SnowRunner is a test of grit, patience, and planning. When you finally drop off that load of bricks or metal beams after 45 treacherous minutes, it feels like you've actually earned something.

What makes SnowRunner hit so close to Death Stranding's vibe is the sheer terrain-based storytelling. Your environment isn't just a background in the game. In fact, it's the main antagonist, much like Death Stranding's vast backdrops. The game forces you to think, recalibrate, and sometimes swallow your pride as you fetch a rescue truck to pull your first truck. It's harsh. It's beautiful. And it's a spiritual journey of hauling cargo through chaos. Delivery runs in SnowRunner never stop being rewarding.

6 Elite Dangerous is a spacefaring delivery sim

You can choose the life of a cargo driver in this galactic sim

At first glance, Elite Dangerous looks like a galaxy-spanning space sim. And it is, sure. But dig deeper, and you'll find one of the most immersive delivery simulators out there. Hauling precious cargo from system to system, balancing fuel economy, planning your route, all while avoiding or dealing with interstellar threats? That's the kind of tension and tranquility that will speak directly to you if you are a Death Stranding fan.

There's something rather meditative about making a solo run across the stars. You're alone, like Norman Reedus' Sam is in Death Stranding. There's often complete silence during runs, which is interrupted by the hum of your ship, or perhaps a transmission blip. Sometimes, you'll even drift through black space for an hour just to safely deliver a handful of sensitive materials to a station across the galaxy. And when you do? That docking bay light is the most welcome sight in the universe.

5 Motor Town: Behind The Wheel is a beautiful low-poly delivery adventure

The polygons may be low but the vibes are peak

I do have a soft spot for low-poly visuals, and Motor Town hits just the right spot with both its aesthetic and its vibe. A gem of a delivery sim, it looks like a basic driving game on the surface, but once you start accepting delivery jobs, you realize that it is all about the grind. Driving trucks, vans, or taxis across the tiny open-world map of Motor Town: Behind The Wheel feels oddly serene.

The day-night cycle, fuel considerations, and vehicle handling all add to the immersion, and Death Stranding fans who loved pulling long deliveries would feel right at home with these systems and mechanics. The game isn't trying to wow you with massive cargo hauls or ultra-realistic graphics like Kojima, but it's trying to get you to immerse yourself in the drive, which is what it's all about. And drive you shall, with lo-fi beats playing on your in-game radio while you drop off boxes, fuel tanks, or bakery goods. It scratches the same calm-delivery-zen that I've come to appreciate after playing Death Stranding, albeit in a much smaller, more colorful package.

4 Star Trucker is unlike anything you've seen

Euro Truck Simulator meets Elite Dangerous

A game I can't stop recommending to anyone who would listen, Star Trucker is still in early access, and is shaping up to be a true hybrid between space sim and trucking game. Think Elite: Dangerous meets Euro Truck Simulator. It's a rather simple premise, too — you're a long-haul space trucker, hauling cargo between stations, watching your gauges, dodging debris, and trying to keep your rig together in the vacuum of space.

Somehow, despite the insane premise, Star Trucker still captures that same gritty, slow-burn delivery energy as Death Stranding, only with solar flares and reactor cores instead of rain and tar-monsters or BTs. You're alone for long stretches, you tinker with your ship, and you talk to your onboard AI. You plot out routes and pray you don't run out of fuel. It's effectively the same, deeply satisfying loop of "get this cargo there, no matter what happens", and sometimes, that's all I really need.

3 Sailwind is a sea-faring Death Stranding

Yo-ho, yo-ho, a porter's life for me

When it comes to a sea-faring Death Stranding, I was torn between choosing Sea of Thieves or Sailwind to talk about. I went with the latter, since there's really no quests or flashy HUD here. Just winds, waves, and your cargo as you sail between islands with nothing but the stars, maps, and your instincts. This is a game that demands every bit of your attention, but rewards you with calm, slow, beautiful journeys.

Deliveries in Sailwind aren't about ticking off quests. Instead, they're about understanding your ship, learning to use the wind, and figuring out when to risk a long haul, which, quite frankly, I haven't grasped yet. You stock up on food and water, get used to sleeping in shifts, and cherish every successful docking. The whole process is hard and slow, and heck, even downright frustrating sometimes, but there's a beautiful moment at the end of each delivery when you glide into port with your cargo intact after days at sea. It feels so earned that the rewarding feeling is something I've struggled to find in countless other games.

2 Lake is my new favorite game

Do I need to quit my job and become a mailman?

Lake is one of my newly-found favorite games, and it isn't as huge in scale as the rest of the titles here. This one is more about the joy of making small deliveries in a quaint neighborhood, and having a chat with the residents. You take on the role of Meredith, a mail carrier in a town during the '80s. Your job? Deliver letters and packages, talk to locals, and maybe reconnect with your past along the way.

Sure, Lake doesn't have the punishing challenge of Death Stranding, but the vibe? I'd daresay it's the same, since it's quiet, introspective, and purpose-driven. Every drive through Providence Oaks feels meaningful, even if it's just to hand over something as small as a VHS tape. The game focuses on delivery, but not as a grind. Instead, it makes the whole delivery mechanic a way to slow down and breathe.

1 Euro Truck Simulator 2 is the godfather of all delivery sims

Get in, deliver cargo, and enjoy the ride

Euro Truck Simulator 2 is the godfather of all delivery sims, and it isn't even close. It turns cross-country trucking into a sort of digital meditation. You pick up a load — groceries, chemicals, farm equipment — and hit the road. Cities blur past, and you find yourself flicking on the wipers when raindrops hit your windshield. The radio plays some obscure Euro pop, and for hours, it is just you and the long highway.

Like Death Stranding, this game is all about presence. You feel the miles under your wheels. You care about your cargo's condition, and every completed job gives you a sense of forward momentum not just on the road, but in life itself. In a world of fast-travel and instant gratification, Euro Truck Simulator 2 is happy to make you earn every single kilometer or mile. That's powerful, and the experience of playing this oddly therapeutic game remains with you for a very, very long time.

Delivery simulators really deserve more respect and attention

Delivery sims transport us into a mindset of patience, determination, and quiet relaxation.

Delivery sims are never about just transporting objectives. In fact, they transport us into a mindset of patience, focus, determination, and quiet relaxation. I could be trucking through blizzards or flying solo through the galaxy, but I would have a smile on my face knowing that the journey itself is the story.

If something like Death Stranding made you fall in love with the grind, the solitude, and the meaning behind every step, then these games are your next pilgrimage.