Night shift in Port Wake: happily working overtime in Docked

Kim Muntinga

9-3-2026

Translation: Patrik Stainbrook

Pictures: Kim Muntinga

A potential fortune dangles precariously on a hook, 40 metres above the waves: Docked promises hard graft and strategic management across Port Wake. This simulator requires both a love of machines as well as certain planning skills.

3:15 a.m. It’s raining outside my IRL window, but I hardly notice it. My focus is on the monitor, or more precisely on the gentle swaying of a 40-foot-high cube container dancing on four thin steel cables above the deck of the MS Aurora. One wrong push of a lever, too brisk a start of the trolley, and I’ll sink goods worth a single-family house into the harbour of Port Wake.

Welcome to Docked, the latest treat from Saber Interactive. Anyone who thought there was no improving on SnowRunner in terms of virtual drudgery has never tried to manage a harbour following a hurricane.

A port somewhere between reconstruction and work targets

The premise is as classic as a grimy boiler suit: you mainly play as Tommy, returning after years in the big city to clean up the shambles his father Bill once called a thriving port. Port Wake is down and out after a devastating hurricane: shredded warehouses, bent cranes, infrastructure that looks more like Swiss cheese than a logistics centre. Every so often, you also slip into the role of Mark. He’s the technical manager at the port and a long-time companion of the protagonist’s father.

Your job is as multifaceted as the port itself: your responsible for all the logistics, operating the heavy machinery when loading containers and at the same time taking care of the strategic planning of orders as well as the gradual expansion of infrastructure.

Off the bat, the game surprises me by wanting to tell a story at all. Simulators are often content to provide systems and leave the rest to the players’ imagination. Docked, on the other hand, gives the monotonous rhythm of crane work and container logistics a narrative framework. And a pleasantly down-to-earth one at that.

The story isn’t told in long cutscenes, but rather in passing. Radio conversations, short dialogues with clients, quick slices of text between missions. A freight forwarder who urgently needs medication. A shipowner who no longer trusts the port. A local politician determined to show the city getting back on its feet. Or your family, giving you instructions or just looking to chat with you.

These fragments slowly come together to form a clear picture: the port isn’t just a workplace, but a social hub. With every job, I feel like I’m regaining a little bit of confidence. No big drama with heroes or villains. Docked is all about work, responsibility and the slow rebirth of a system destroyed by natural disaster.

This fits in surprisingly well with the rhythm of the simulation. While you stack containers, plan deliveries and replace damaged machines, Port Wake gradually grows back into the port it once was. Or at least the one it could become if you don’t accidentally park the next container in the water or accidentally drop it somewhere else.

Steel giants against chaos: Port Wake’s fleet of vehicles

The core gameplay surrounds jobs (or missions) and the machines you use to complete them. For example, five containers fell over in a depot due to strong winds, and it’s your job to put them back in place within a certain time. A load of pipes has been delivered to the terminal by container ship and you have to load them onto a truck trailer. But first, you have to clear the way for those trucks, since some old containers are in the way and the trucks can’t get to the loading zone.

I do two jobs a day. This way, the course of the game is fairly clearly defined and firmly linked to missions and orders. A pure open-play mode, allowing you to freely explore and test the harbour without any specifications, is something I miss. Certain maintenance jobs offer variety. The integrated mini-games for maintaining machines are a welcome break from the stressful loading business. Apart from that, jobs are often very samey, especially since the game usually tells you exactly which device you have to use when and how during missions.

Docked is rarely truly difficult in the classic sense. The challenge lies less in the time pressure than in the precise handling of machines: if you work hectically, you’ll quickly damage something. But if you stay calm and respect physics, you’ll quickly get into the right rhythm.

To tame the logistical chaos, the game provides several widely varying mechanical monsters. Every machine feels unique with its own characteristics and pitfalls. Taming these giants is just fun, simple as that. And I’d like to introduce you to a few. By the way, more machines will follow in DLCs.

STS crane (ship-to-shore): the immovable giant

The landmark of every port. As I climb into the glass cabin 40 metres in the air, the world below me feels tiny. The gameplay here’s a balancing act of patience and physics. I steer the trolley – the carriage on my crane that moves the spreader over the ship – across the deck, lower the grabber and align myself with the swaying load weighing several tonnes. Acting too hastily would cause a disastrous turnover.

Reach stacker: the powerhouse on the ground

This massive reach stacker is my all-rounder. It might look clunky, but it controls with astonishing precision. Despite the huge jib, it remains stable even on uneven ground after the storm. It lifts, pulls and pushes without me feeling like I’m constantly fighting the weight. Perfect for uprighting overturned containers or loading trucks with millimetre precision.

Straddle carrier: walking on stilts

My personal favourite. This huge steel frame on legs passes directly over the rows of containers. The cabin is stuck to the top of one side, so getting your bearings is completely maddening at first. I have to position the carrier exactly above a load while staring down through a pane of glass between my feet. It’s a balancing act on eight wheels. I love it.

Terminal tractor: a tireless hauler

It might be the smallest vehicle in my fleet, but it’s the heart of horizontal transportation. The terminal tractor is pure, loud and powerful – built to confidently haul trailers through the port. Coupling is quick and easy, and while it’s surprisingly agile when unburdened, it shows its powerful, controlled strength with a heavy trailer. It’s no diva, but a workhorse: reliable, direct and essential for the flow of goods between the quay and storage area.

RTG crane (rubber-tyred gantry): my mobile guardian

The RTG is a rubber-tyred gantry crane spanning entire rows of containers. It moves slowly but majestically over these blocks, while I have to stack containers with centimetre precision. What sets this crane apart is its enormous working range: it covers large areas of the stacking area and enables even high towers to be precisely restacked. It isn’t fast or elegant, but it’s unbeatable at bringing structure to my yard.

RMG crane (rail-mounted gantry): the precision artist on rails

The RMG is a true master of order in my port. It’s firmly attached to rails, giving it a clinical stability that no other machine can match. No swaying, no jerking, no uneven ground getting in the way. Steering this giant feels like I’m handling a high-precision instrument.

The automation is clearly noticeable: the crane helps me while aligning the spreader, and hearing it engage with a clean click is one of the most satisfying moments during my whole day at port. The RMG is often the last stop before a container is sent on its onward journey by train.

More than pushing around containers

The highlight of Docked is gearing. I’m not just a driver, I’m a planner too. I invest in infrastructure or new machines. I build a second and third depot, enlarging it or buying a second reach stacker. However, I also come up against natural limits here due to how the game’s set up.

Many machines or infrastructure measures aren’t available from the start, but have to be unlocked through milestones in the campaign progress first. Only when certain sections of the port have been restored or new contracts arrive do further infrastructure nodes open up, which in turn unlock new equipment, expansions and production routes.

This progression never seems artificial, always logical. However, it once again triggers my desire for an open-play mode.

Technology, sound and presentation

Visually, Docked stages Port Wake on an impressive scale: the towering steel scaffolding, the rain on container sets, the cones of light from work vehicles. Machine models are animated in great detail and believably. The game doesn’t set new standards graphically, but it looks good enough.

Acoustically, the game is solid and its machines sound powerful. The background music seems a little generic, but doesn’t distract. In technical terms, the game’s stable. The interface is functional, but could be clearer in some menus. Overall, however, Docked presents itself as an amazingly polished simulator.

Docked was provided to me by Saber Interactive for PC. The game has been available for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S since 5 March.

Kim Muntinga

Editor

Kim.Muntinga@galaxus.de

My interests are varied, I just like to enjoy life. Always on the lookout for news about darts, gaming, films and series.

---

Review

Which films, shows, books, games or board games are genuinely great? Recommendations from our personal experience.

Show all

These articles might also interest you