I’ve spent thousands on my racing game rig, but MudRunner isn’t built for it

SNOWRUNNER’s massive open world gave us Death Stranding vibes, and if you’ve played the last one, you know that’s a compliment.

It put the MudRunner name on the map with millions of players and regular content updates to this day.

Thanks to this, Expeditions: A MudRunner Game was highly anticipated, with fans assuming it would be bigger and better than the previous game.

Instead, Saber has gone back to MudRunner’s roots with a more level-based approach, albeit with new twists and systems from the previous game.

This goes against what made SnowRunner so popular. There was a sense of challenge in exploring a world that is fighting against you.

With these smaller maps, the waypoint system is a downgrade from SnowRunner’s.

The open world forces you to plot your route on the map before you start, while here you can see where to go.

There are side quests that encourage you to explore the map outside of the main expedition, offering more vertical and more difficult driving challenges.

Main expeditions can take a very long time, with checkpoints activating randomly and no way to save them manually.

This means that you should be prepared to lose progress if you leave the game mid-expedition.

After you complete an expedition you can stay as long as you like to complete quests, but it can get a bit tedious in these enclosed sandboxes.

But it does add significant content to the game, worth hundreds of hours, and this is where the more challenging elements can be found.

Each expedition ends with a general request to explore the area, and this can be frustrating due to the accuracy of the trigger points.

Operators change the gameplay in interesting ways, requiring you to manage both your budget and your vehicle.

The cars are the stars this time, rather than the trucks, because lighter vehicles often make traveling easier.

Each level also indicates which vehicle best suits the course, but you can go against this advice.

Expeditions: A MudRunner Game exceeded our expectations from the preview, but we can’t help but miss SnowRunner’s open world.

It feels like a step back for the series, even though the game itself is still a fun experience.

If you want to read more game reviews, check out our Balatro review.

Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.

All the latest PS5 reviews from The Sun

Learn about the latest PS5 releases from our expert reviewers.