Expeditions: A MudRunner Game blew me away. Over the last decade or so, driving simulation games have continued to evolve more and more to the point you can train on them for real-life applications in certain circumstances. As someone who has played various games in this genre for many years, I have always enjoyed seeing what developers have been able to add to their games to make them more appealing or realistic. So, when I had the opportunity to check out Expeditions: A MudRunner Game, I was excited to see what improvements they have made over the original MudRunner.
Expeditions is an off-road simulation game where you aim to explore various rugged terrains in one of several different off-road vehicles to complete various tasks. From climbing steep hillsides to splashing across creeks and rivers and even trudging through sloppy and sticky mud, each course is loaded with obstacles to challenge even the best drivers.
Starting Expeditions for the first time, you are walked through a very thorough tutorial to show you how to not only drive your given vehicle but how to use various tools and devices to progress through each course, such as drones, winches and even echo sounders to see how deep water around you is visually.
“Each vehicle in Expeditions has its own list of pros and cons, adding to the experience, and they can make different terrains easier or harder, depending on the vehicle’s characteristics.”
Driving around the various maps and terrains, I really had to watch each move and place I drove as a single wrong movement could result in me rolling my truck down an embankment or flooding the engine if the water is too deep. While the challenge was quite intense at times, I was blown away not only by the details in each vehicle but also by the details in the environment around me.
Muddy terrains would leave ruts and tire marks as I slipped and slid through it, and even resulted in me getting stuck a handful of times, leaving me to have to winch myself out of my predicament. The same could be said for the rough rocky hills in the Arizona map, at least a handful of times, I would find myself caught literally between a rock and a hard place.
Each vehicle in Expeditions has its own list of pros and cons, adding to the experience, and they can make different terrains easier or harder, depending on the vehicle’s characteristics. For example, some trucks may have higher ground clearance and much larger tires, but the added size of the truck can make it tougher to squeeze through tighter areas on the map, whereas smaller SUV-sized trucks can fit in those tighter areas but lack the added height to get across taller rivers and creeks.
The inclusion of drones allowed me to park my truck in a safe spot while scouting out my best route from the air and seeing what the terrain is like ahead of me. This was especially helpful in the rockier terrains as I could map out where the smaller dips and inclines were to easier get around the map.
“As far as simulation games go, Expeditions: A MudRunsimulation gamesut on top as one of the best games I have tested to date.”
Using the Echo Sounder was a new aspect for me in any game, as many other vehicle games I have played do not offer “gadgets” like this in them. I could easily use it to find where I could safely cross water beds without risking sinking my truck or getting swept away from a strong current, resulting in my needing to recover my truck.
Many other gadgets are also available in Expeditions as you progress and purchase them through in-game funds, allowing users to really uncover and explore parts of maps you could never have thought to in other games. I easily wound up spending several hours in the game, fully immersed in the diverse environments and seeing what all Expeditions had to offer.
For players who want an even more fun experience, Expeditions will eventually release a co-op mode for players to play with friends. Together, up to 3 friends can help each other navigate around and assist each other in these unforgiving environments.
As far as simulation games go, Expeditions: A MudRunner Game comes out on top as one of the best games I have tested to date. It is loaded with challenges while providing diverse and expansive maps that continue to test me and my driving skills with each turn of the wheel. If you are into driving games and want a game to challenge your skills, this is the game you’ve been waiting for.
