Or you’re driving your vehicle through a ford, feeling mentally balanced as the water slowly rises above the fender. Or you’re sitting in the driver’s seat of your truck, which is hanging upside down on a cliff, swinging monotonously back and forth above a raging river, held only by the thin steel cable of the winch.
If this sounds familiar, you’ll feel right at home in Expeditions: A MudRunner Game by developer Sabre Interactive. In this game, where you traverse the untamed wilderness with trucks and jeeps, the vehicles are the stars, and the game world is their stage. What can you expect? Plenty of accidents, fantastic successes, fascinating panoramas, and a soothing emptiness that fills many hours of play. It’s easy to get lost in the game, continuously discovering new viewpoints, landmarks, dangerous climbs, and supply drops. You’ll find yourself thinking about completing optional side missions with the last bit of fuel or a damaged gearbox. Perhaps you’ll come across a vehicle wrecked in the mud that you’d love to add to your collection. Will you still be able to bring it back to camp?
There’s always something to do. The solution usually involves a combination of daring tire pressure adjustments, careful winch work, and cleverly placed anchor points. By smart use of the transmission and careful observation of the surroundings, I’ve enjoyed over 20 hours of Expeditions. Major innovations aren’t necessary. The detailed simulation of the vehicles and the terrain they travel on ensures exciting journeys, despite the slow pace, that keep you constantly alert.
There are a few new features that enrich the game. For example, the new drone helps with orientation (why isn’t there a compass!?) if you’re unsure which of two possible routes up a hill is better. Looking at the terrain from a different perspective is incredibly valuable for making progress. You can also set up camps and supply points on the maps, which you can fill with finds or use to get consumables. This keeps diligent explorers in the game instead of sending them back to headquarters. Other gadgets like sonar to determine water depth are also present.
Above all, a change in focus influences the impression you get from Expeditions. While in SnowRunner you were mainly an agent of industry responsible for damaging beautiful areas, Expeditions is more about preserving and enjoying nature. Besides supporting some companies, you assist paleontologists, wildlife researchers, and tourism associations in their work. This focus on knowledge and conservation makes the game endearing and helps you appreciate the areas even more.
And what areas they are! Each of the eight areas in two different countries is stunning. There are 74 expeditions outside the tutorial area, and every map is full of smaller tasks and contracts. By the time you’ve completed everything you need to do, you’ll easily have 40 hours of gameplay.
The game isn’t perfect. The new minigames, where you locate objects or scan cities with the drone, are rather trivial. They rarely hold your attention for more than twenty seconds and add little to the actual gameplay. Still, this is a small drawback compared to the overall experience. The game looks fantastic in the tested PC version and performs to full satisfaction.
Verdict
Like its predecessors, Expeditions manages to strike the brain-teasing, seemingly impossible balance between relaxation and tension almost perfectly. While at one moment you’re completely relaxed and content, sinking into the beauty of slowly rolling through dramatic panoramas, the next moment can be full of tension. For instance, when the optimistic loading of your trailer with spares and higher suspension turns a hill that was always easy to climb into a dramatic wobble.