Review: Expeditions A MudRunner Game

From the comfort of the couch? Yes please!

The dilemma: You look outside to find the fifth consecutive day of freezing rain and your trusty steed is getting ready for its long winter’s nap complete with trickle charger cords a dangling.

The possible solution: Grab a good off-roading video game, a cup of coffee and a warm blanket and settle in on the couch.

The contender: Expeditions: A MudRunner Game from Saber Interactive for $29 available for Switch, PS4/5, XBO, X & S and PC.

The verdict: Let’s start by admitting that while this is an off-road centric video game, this one isn’t dedicated to quads and side-by-sides. The emphasis here is mud (in case MudRunner in the title slipped past you) and when we say they send you out in it in a wide variety of vehicles, we mean it. From Jeeps and SUVs to 6-wheel customs to tracked haulers to tow trucks and even flatbeds, variety is the name of the game here!

The game play: If you’re expecting a wide open, mud slinging arcade style race experience, run, don’t walk away from Expeditions. This is a driving simulator and a swampy one at that. Simply pinning the throttle and plowing ahead is a quick way to get frustrated.

Before now, the MudRunner and SnowRunner series have been slow-going puzzle type games where the player is tasked with moving wobbling loads of cargo across slippery and sloping terrain. Expeditions is a little different in that, well there aren’t really roads to speak of here. Additionally this one is less about simply transporting cargo and more about getting through the ugly stuff to solve the objectives the game throws at you. Some examples may include seeking out a dino fossil or trying to uncover an aircraft wreckage.

You begin at your base camp and have a nice inventory of equipment to select from to take with you on your expeditions (you might want a jack if rolling over is a good possibility, a winch for steep climbs, a metal detector or a drone (which you actually get to fly) to map out a new area before drudging through).

Then you’re off to puzzle your way to the destination… Control is nice and smooth and, again, this is a game that requires patience and reasoning. Sometimes the way you think will work is too steep or too deep and coming up with creative solutions is the only way to progress. Getting hopelessly stuck is a very real possibility in Expeditions, in which case you have to call for rescue to the nearest camp but, like in the real world, this ain’t cheap. Part of the game’s appeal comes in managing your in-game cash. You didn’t think fuel was free, did you?

This one is less about reaching a destination and more trying to accomplish the objectives being asked of you.

Any downsides? A few. Sometimes the objectives really aren’t all that clear. For example, you may be required to fully explore an area to unlock it on your map only to discover they literally wanted you to plod along over every square inch before you’re allowed to advance.

There will be many situations along the way where you’ll wonder exactly what is being asked of you only to figure it out by trying everything you can think of until finally something works.

Conclusion: This is a weirdly addicting game! At first you’ll marvel at the little details (spinning your wheels a lot? Try lowering the PSI in your tires. Need to get over a fallen tree that threatens to hang you up on the frame? Attach your winch to the stump on the far side) then you’ll get frustrated the first time a section makes a fool of you. You may even vow never to play it again. But then a few hours later, you will. And the moment you conquer that tricky objective, you’ll start the next one. This will go on until you’re stuck (literally and figuratively) and the whole process will repeat anew.

It can be frustrating and obtuse at times but it can just as easily be rewarding and satisfying. The rice of admission is low enough to give it a go if you’re on the fence and we can attest it is a great way of eating up long winter hours spent indoors. Best of all? No having to hose of the machines in the freezing rain when you get done.

Editor’s Note: Since we tested the game, it seems a variety of new editions have been released including a Supreme Edition, Year 1 Edition, a Second Season called White Dawn, a Third called Icy Shores and so on. These include bonus objectives, new vehicles and maps. The original tested here is a great entry point into the franchise and, as a bonus, is getting more and more affordable as additional versions and expansions come out.