Spintires: MudRunner (Xbox one/ Xbox Series X|S)

Game description:

MudRunner (formerly Spintires: MudRunner) is a 2017 off-roading simulation game developed by Saber Interactive and published by Focus Home Interactive. It was released on October 31, 2017 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One and is a spin-off/sequel of the 2014 Windows-exclusive Spintires, which was developed by Oovee Game Studios. Similar to Spintires, MudRunner has the player control off-road vehicles as they traverse locations to complete objectives. The game was released in Japan on Nintendo Switch on June 18, 2020. A sequel to MudRunner was released on April 28, 2020 titled SnowRunner.

Gameplay:

MudRunner is an all-terrain simulation video game which tasks driving through muddy unpaved roads in aging Soviet vehicles with nothing but a map and a compass. The aim of the game is to transport logs to their destination without depleting resources (such as fuel) or damaging the vehicle. There is both a single-player and multiplayer co-op mode that both use the same main six maps (base game), with an addition of 3 American maps and 2 Russian maps along with DLC content. Over the game's time, there have been 4 batches of DLC content added introducing new vehicles (some licensed), new gameplay maps and challenge maps. The main game maps often included various off-roading elements such as water bodies and rivers, paved roads, trails and changes in elevation (particularly evident in maps such as "Island" and "Downhill") which enable the player to experience a larger and more accurate simulation of the genre.

Game review:

A MudRunner Game certainly isn’t a replacement for the supremely addictive SnowRunner, but its more untamed wilderness maps and huge truckload of exploration-focused missions do see it function as a very worthwhile complementary experience – despite some aggravating mission gating and a bit of an unfriendly map screen. Its unique brand of slow-paced bushwhacking won’t ever be for everybody, but successfully taking a truck on a trek through terrain that the toughest trailblazers would fear to tread is still an oddly satisfying challenge that proves the journey is always more important than the destination.