So, are you ready to embark on a new adventure? “Expeditions: A MudRunner Game” promises incredible emotions, exciting moments, and many unexpected discoveries.
Table of Content:
- Expeditions: A MudRunner Game What is the difference from SnowRunner?
- What can Expeditions show you now?
- Now let’s talk about what we’re going to do in Expeditions
- It’s time to talk about bugs
- Conclusion
- Frequently Asked Questions
Expeditions: A MudRunner Game What is the difference from SnowRunner?
Let’s be clear right away: the new project from Saber Interactive is not Snowrunner II. It is a full-fledged embodiment of exploration and research, which in the original game remained poorly represented.
It’s worth paying attention to the improved physics. Now transportation feels real, heavy, and powerful. Jumping on bumps has become less violent, cars move more confidently, hold on to their wheels more firmly, and generally, their control has become even more pleasant.
Remember how in Snowrunner we had to painfully reach towers to spread light in the fog of war that obscured part of the map? And that was all we could do. In the new game, however, much more exciting adventures and discoveries await you! After all, here exploration is not just a duty, but a whole epic, where every corner of the map hides its secrets, and every task opens new horizons.
Imagine how the transportation of goods became our main occupation in Snowrunner. But only with the appearance of subsequent additions in the game began to appear new tasks for exploration and search for interesting places. And now, in Expeditions: A MudRunner Game, this gaming activity has been given a whole new incarnation.
Players already familiar with Showrunner can breathe easy: the interface and controls remain virtually unchanged. The only thing that can spoil the mood a bit is the lack of a cooperative mode. But don’t worry, the developers promise to introduce it later this year as a free addition. And who knows, maybe it will be just what you need, because, in the end, everyone knows that playing with friends becomes even more interesting and exciting!
What can Expeditions show you now?
Exploration in “Expeditions: A MudRunner Game” starts right from the main menu, or rather, from the garage. Unlike “Snowrunner”, there is no open world that is unlocked immediately – free exploration is only available after completing Expeditions. The game features three regions to explore: Little Colorado, Arizona, and the Carpathians.
The first region is characterized by its small size and includes only 5 training expeditions. The other two regions offer 37 expeditions each. In addition, it is possible to set up additional expeditions with modifications.
And, of course, modifications that add new regions, transportation, and other features are already supported right from the start.
At the start, a limited number of vehicles is available to the player – only 20 vehicles. Among them 11 are already familiar to players from “Snowrunner”, 6 are alternatives to existing ones, which are available as DLC bonuses, and 3 are completely new vehicles. There are only 3 licensed vehicles out of the whole assortment.
We would like to remind you that at the moment the game has no cooperative mode and no photo mode.
The maximum edition includes 4 more seasonal DLCs, which means that you will get 9 more maps and 19 new vehicles. So what you get goes far beyond just the base set of content.
Now let’s talk about what we’re going to do in Expeditions
After the differences from SnowRunner and a brief introduction to the initial content, let’s talk about how to play Expeditions: A MudRunner Game itself.
Exploring the unknown
There’s a certain group of car enthusiasts who love to take their vehicles to places where no path even exists. This is what has become a key feature of – Expeditions.
Unlike previous games, which mostly took place in urban environments where you had to search for lost cars and build bridges, Expeditions in the new game take place entirely in the wilderness. Over many hours of play, you’ll have to explore uncharted expanses, find ancient relics, explore airplane crash sites, and more. This creates a sense of real adventure that was sorely lacking in the studio’s previous games. As you venture into these vast expanses to find parts to improve with your metal detector or take new expeditions to earn in-game currency, there’s a lot of fun to be had.
A new approach to gameplay
The game starts with a detailed tutorial, right down to telling you which buttons to press to drive.
In “Expeditions: A MudRunner Game,” instead of aimlessly moving around the map, the focus is on completing missions. Before you dive into the game world, you choose a mission, a vehicle, and the equipment you need. You have access to all the trucks from the start, as well as the ability to upgrade them. These missions take about 10-15 minutes to complete, unlike the potentially hours-long open-world quests that frustrated gamers.
The game is divided into three regions, each consisting of four sectors. As a result, the base game contains 12 maps, each with around 6-8 missions. Despite this, there is still an exploration aspect: within a mission, you can freely move around the map and discover interesting locations. After completing some missions, a free-roam mode is also available for a specific map.
Resources
There are only two types of loot in the game – dinosaur remains (which can be exchanged for money in the base) and scrap metal (which can be turned into spare parts in the base using a specialized workshop module that I was not given access to during the training). Both of these types of loot, as well as equipment, can be found in airdrops throughout the map. In addition, airdrops can also contain supplies such as spare parts and fuel.
Improvements can now not only be found throughout the terrain but can also be obtained as rewards for completing quests.
Toward Realism
It’s important to note that for those looking for a more realistic gaming experience, there is an option to disable waypoints and goal markers.
However, there are also some drawbacks. With past games in the series focusing on tough and challenging adventures for both vehicles and drivers, some fans feel that “SnowRunner” made the gameplay more accessible, and they will likely find that “Expeditions” goes even further. From my experience, I can tell you that there aren’t as many challenges here – you rarely get stuck in the mud, you have more gear to help you out of tough situations, and the trips are shorter due to the more compact maps.
New mechanics and a little bit about traveling
In the world of jeeping, it’s not only important to know how to ride, but also how to manage your wheels. Inflate and deflate your tire pressure as needed. More pressure means less traction, but also less fuel consumption. Drive on semi-deflated, just remember that doing so will result in increased fuel consumption and risk of tire damage.
When you approach a river, activate the echo sounder – it will help you find a crossing and cross the water safely. If you’re not sure what’s over the next hill, launch the quadcopter where it’s allowed. Controlling it can be even more difficult than in reality. And missions where you have to hold on to one point are just annoying.
You have to use the drone, especially when you constantly encounter missions for 100% exploration of the location. In general, unlike SnowRunner, there are a lot of different missions here, but the main one is always exploration. Climb a hill, use binoculars, notice an abandoned tower? Hurry to it! Arrived? Get ready for the QTE.
Oh, and there’s a nice pond and there are fish in it. Why don’t we explore? Are those dinosaur tracks? Well, it’s time to explore. There’s a lot to explore in Expeditions. The gameplay is simple, but it distracts from the driving. It’s like taking a breather in a completely different format.
About Equipment
Now you can equip your vehicle with a lot more equipment, including various gadgets that will make the life of an explorer easier – such as:
- Binoculars: with these, you can survey the terrain on a horizontal level and measure the distance to objects.
- Drone: exciting flights up to 80 meters from your car will allow you to cover the whole area around you, detecting airdrops and other interesting objects.
- Echo sounder: with its help, you will be able to determine the depth of a body of water with just one launch.
- Metal detector (not installed on all cars): its range is about 200 meters, highlighting finds: resources – red, items – blue, and improvements – green.
Each car is now equipped with inventory slots and devices that determine its carrying capacity and transportation capabilities. Enhancements can expand this functionality by providing more cargo space or adding additional means of transportation. The developers aim to make you feel like a real logistician, planning each mission, choosing the necessary equipment and the right vehicle for the task, and waiting for new challenges on each new terrain.
Repair Points
You can now repair your car 10 units at a time, carefully spending repair points. If you need to repair multiple units but resources are limited, you can invest a little in each, getting to a base for a full rebuild. Or take a big truckload of parts to “top off” your supplies, like with fuel in Snowrunner. That’s just great!!! It’s a realization that makes the player’s life easier.
However, repairs don’t always come easy. If you behave carefully and don’t get into critical situations, you may not need repairs. An expedition usually doesn’t take long, and in that time your vehicle is unlikely to take so much damage as to require a full repair. At the end of the expedition, your vehicle will be ready for action again and your repair supplies will be replenished.
Customization and protection
The game now offers even more options for customizing your fleet of cars. You can now install a protective bumper or dodger, which will protect your car: it will receive much less damage in a collision. However, this mechanic has one drawback: bumpers and protective dodgers can ruin the appearance of your car.
Most (17 out of 20) of the available cars in the game are not licensed, so their appearance has been modified to avoid copyright issues.
When it comes to improving the suspension, everything remains as simple: we can install a more powerful engine, and choose a suitable gearbox, tires, winches, and so on. And as for the body dodgers, now they have become even more practical. In addition to the familiar cargo platforms, we can now add cargo baskets.
This was already in the games of the studio, but now we can customize them independently. For example, if we have a long journey in front of us, we can take more gasoline with us. In addition, installing reinforced bumpers and protection significantly reduces the damage received by our car from obstacles. And, of course, the ability to repaint the vehicle and put various stickers on its surface remains unchanged.
Spare parts
What are these spare parts for? In addition to repairing cars, they are also useful for removing debris and building bridges. The process works similarly to Snowrunner: you drive up to a certain point, press a button, and voila – the bridge is raised and the rubble is removed. The only difference is that now you don’t need to carry loads, you just need to bring a truck with a bunk.
Specialists
Specialists are additional buffs. They are presented in the form of cards but are not limited to just characters in the garage. They bring a lot of benefits, giving you new opportunities.
For example, one of the specialists can increase the radius of flight of the drone by 200 meters, and another – to increase its height by 20 meters, and so on. You can justify it by saying that they improved the drone’s battery or changed the blades to make it fly even better. But what about the specialist who makes your car invulnerable to water? Because thanks to this miracle man, your car is transformed into a real submarine, able to easily overcome any water obstacle without a snorkel and without taking damage. It sounds fantastic.
Dispatch, slide, garage
All right, ready to ship? All right! But here’s the problem: the coup on the first slide, and now you have to go back to the headquarters.
Congratulations, you’ll have to reassemble all your gear, and you’ll even have to sell it for less than you bought it for. This is similar to the situation from Escape From Tarkov!
How often does this happen? Constantly. In SnowRunner, at any time you could call another vehicle from the garage for help. But here, only the equipment you went on the expedition with is available. That’s where the difficulties and fear of getting stuck after 40 minutes of adventure come from.
It’s time to talk about bugs
Expeditions: A Mudrunner Game is certainly not without its flaws. There are a lot of bugs and flaws. For example, to load textures, the developer advises to turn on the setting “high” instead of “ultra”, stones are sticking to the belly, and the module lacks textures, or even the game crashes or does not save progress.
The physics, while deep, can be extremely ruthless. You’ll often have to maneuver your truck, and at any moment you could get stuck behind a rock, in shallow water, or fall over a hill.
Believe me, this will happen often, especially if your trip is interrupted because of a tree. If you drive too close to a tree, the truck will get caught in its branches and that will be the end for you. While there are plenty of tools to help you navigate the terrain, nothing can help you if you get stuck in a tree. No winches, no anchors, no jacks – nothing will be able to help you. You will have to leave your truck and walk to the nearest campground.
Conclusion
Forgetting everything and going on a long journey is what true adventure is all about. Of course, the game is not without its flaws, as it often is. The graphics may not always be perfect, and textures sometimes disappear right before your eyes. But when you’re on the verge of overcoming a slope or once again stuck behind a tree, excitement and adrenaline run through every cell of your body. It’s like fighting a boss in Dark Souls – every attempt brings you closer to victory, and every failure teaches you something new.
And yes, if you look only at the assets and graphics, you might think that the price is not justified. But the money invested isn’t just buying a game, it’s an investment in emotions. Every minute spent driving a truck is a new adventure, new sensations, new emotions. Someone chooses racing tracks, and someone – off-road.
Expeditions is not just a game. It is a way to get away from routine and feel the wind in your face, to feel the adrenaline rush when every moment can be decisive. It is a real adventure, full of surprises and unpredictability.
Nevertheless, “Expeditions: A MudRunner Game” is not recommended for those who are just getting acquainted with the series. It is more suitable for those who are looking for new emotional experiences and exploratory adventures different from the usual cargo transportation. Against the backdrop of other games offering endless track racing, “Expeditions” looks uniquely fresh.
Some players have expressed concerns about the current state of the game, but are confident that the developers will fix most of the issues and add new content, including a co-op mode, over the next few months. They recommend diving into “Expeditions: A MudRunner Game” in the future when the game will be more fully developed and possibly offered at a discount.
Frequently Asked Questions about Expeditions: A MudRunner Game
What is “Expeditions: A MudRunner Game”?
“Expeditions: A MudRunner Game” is an off-road driving simulator in which players take on the role of a heavy truck driver and make expeditions through various off-road terrains.
Can I play with friends in co-op mode?
No, Expeditions: A MudRunner Game does not currently support this feature.
Are there any modifications for Expeditions: A MudRunner Game?
Yes, there are modifications available for the game that add new maps, and vehicles.
What platforms is the game available on?
The game is available on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch.
Where can I buy Expeditions: A MudRunner Game?
In official store pages – Steam, EpicGames, Xbox. Also if you want to save money, you can buy an offline account.
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