Not going to lie, I have been a while since I have played a MudRunner/SnowRunner game and now I have Expeditions A MudRunner Game. The last one was SnowRunner and I had a blast playing this and if you read that review you would know that it was my first time playing a game in this franchise. So, when I saw that Expeditions was coming out, I knew that it was a must-play for me and to further add to my arsenal of games I have played in this phenomenal franchise.
It has dropped at a good time of year as I had spare time in between other games I want to play to be able to focus whole heartedly on it and get the most out of it without having to juggle between games. I was lucky enough to get a PlayStation 5 copy of the game and after it was done installing, I began my Expeditions across Arizona and the Carpathians.
This time around you will find yourself mainly tasked with exploration, this was a nice change of from the previous title. Don’t get me wrong there is still plenty of lugging heavy vehicles through some extreme environments but you will come to realise that the best way to get the most out of Expeditions is to go on a Expedition. From arid deserts to steep mountains and forests, you’ll get to explore the uncharted lands of Arizona and the Carpathians.
Brimming with hidden wonders like Dinosaur Fossils is one of the many key groundbreaking breakthroughs you can stumble across on your travels. Not to mention the number of forgotten ruins and hidden wonders just waiting to be found. At launch, there is a breathtaking 32km2 of explorable maps that over time will get bigger with the live service content rolling out of the year. Buckle in, get your vehicles ready and begin your wild adventures across these spectacular maps.
Whether you are a long-time player of the series or your first time venturing into the MudRunner/SnowRunner franchise Expeditions will cater for you. Its advanced physics-based gameplay offers a perfect feel for what it’s like driving vehicles through the wilderness. In this instalment, you will be focusing mainly on exploration when it comes to the missions. Due to these missions tasking you with traversing some difficult terrain, your vehicles can be equipped with state-of-the-art tools and gadgets to make your chances of success in the wild a lot more probable.
There are winches, portable anchors and even drones to help scouting the area easier and make what feels like impossible terrain to cross become a lot more manageable. With every new mission/expedition you venture out on, it is always worth choosing the best tools for the job and strategically planning your routes.
Speaking about preparation there are over 30 expedition modifiers that can be used to improve your skills in the field. Hire specialists that match the mission’s profile that you are doing to give you that extra boost out in the wildness. You are also able to build supporting structures while out and about that will provide you with perks such as new supplies and additional vehicles just in case something happens to your main one (which something probably will) and you need to get out of a muddy situation.
The more of the game you play, the more specialists become available. I find myself jumping between the two maps just to make sure they are roughly around the same level in terms of missions. I also like making sure that I have certain vehicles and equipment available for when I tackle the harder missions. Anyone who has played a MudRunner game in the past knows just how tedious some of the missions can be as well as unforgiving.
I do love being able to customise my vehicles. Before heading out on missions it is nice to go into your garage and make sure that you have all the right vehicles for the job. By completing missions, you will earn money which you can then spend on new vehicles and modifications to get the ultimate arsenal for any expedition. You can get light scout vehicles, heavy scout vehicles and big trucks.
For the exploration side of the game, I will always use my scout vehicles as they allow for more nibble travel, however, if I need to pull another vehicle out of the mud or perform more heavy-duty jobs you know I’m pulling out the trucks. Making sure you are ready for every situation is the key to success in Expeditions: A MudRunner Game. It’s better to have everything on hand than to not. The ability to change the colour of your vehicles and add visual changes is a nice touch and it also makes identifying your vehicles when planning missions when they are in the garage.
There is plenty to stumble across while you are out doing missions. You can come across side missions, new climbs and landscapes that can easily side-track you from the original mission. You will find yourself returning to locations multiple times if you are wanting to complete all that Expeditions has to offer. The first tutorial area (if you will) does a solid job of easing you into what to expect and giving you pointers on how to get out of certain situations.
Like changing your tyre pressure and even using low gears. These can make a scenario that feels like you’re stuck become easier to get out of. Just make sure you are bringing extra tools to help you and don’t make the silly mistakes I have where I hadn’t planned for a situation and then it happened. For example, not packing enough fuel or anchors for my winch to connect to.
Graphically the game is amazing and runs smoothly on the PlayStation 5. It feels extremely polished, and I love the level of detail they have gone into with the locations you can visit and the physics of the environment. Each of the 20 vehicles (at Launch) can be customised to make you more successful and ready for your Expeditions. I even like the small details of being able to choose the colour of your vehicles.
I love all the different attachments that can be added to vehicles to help make missions easier to tackle and prepare yourself for the environments ahead. The audio is spot on, the vehicles sound like they should, and it is brilliant to be able to use the drone and fly around these locations. You can truly get some amazing birds-eye views. The soundtrack is what we expected from the franchise and it completely captures everything it did successfully in the last game and has built on them in Expeditions.
With the Mudrunner and Snowrunner series of games, there is always plenty of content at launch to sink your time into. They then work on releasing new content and vehicles to keep the game feeling fresh and with Expeditions getting a Co-op mode later this year, it will enable you to have all the fun again with friends or fellow Mudrunner lovers. There is also the Year 1 seasonal content that will come out and add to the game’s already 100+ hours of gameplay (This is just playing the main story).
Even though Expeditions is challenging I still feel like I can play it in my downtime and to relax, it is a different style of challenge, one that doesn’t mean I have to sweat against kids playing games they shouldn’t be or still trying to become Elden Lord two years after the initial launch of the Elden Ring. I knew what to expect this time around after playing SnowRunner. However, I did feel like Expeditions did a brilliant job at easing you into the game with an in-depth tutorial area and then allowing you to go off and tackle the main two areas at your own pace.
After every mission you complete, you can build off of and use the skills and techniques that you have learned to overcome the harder missions. I can honestly say you won’t find yourself with nothing to do in Expeditions A MudRunner Game.
Conclusion
For the incredible asking price of £29.99 from Argos in the UK you can get your hands on Expeditions: A MudRunner Game. It carries on the super addictive gameplay that SnowRunner offered us and expands on it with more exploration-focused mission which I enjoyed. Don’t get me wrong there are still some major aggravating moments when your vehicle overturns and you can’t get out of the situation, or you forget to pack enough fuel and run out three-quarters of the way through a mission but oddly enough I just brush it off and go again.
This slow-paced exploration might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but for this gamer, it offers me a satisfying challenge, hours of compelling gameplay and a sense of reward when I’m able to haul large loads over extreme distances. Saber Interactive has yet again provided a truly brilliant addition to the SnowRunner/Mudrunner off-road simulation franchise and keeps to its core gameplay with the addition of new tools and toys that help with the new exploration angle they went with in Expeditions.
Only true hardcore fans will plough through the hundred-plus hours of climbing over rocky mountains and pulling yourself out of mud pits and fords but I highly recommend you check it out. For those reasons, I’m giving Expeditions: A MudRunner Game an 8 out of 10.
Expeditions A MudRunner Game – Launch Trailer
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