Exploring Gamepass - Expeditions: A Mudrunner Game

Expeditions: A Mudrunner Game

Being a huge fan of Snowrunner and Mudrunner I was expecting to play Expeditions and feel that same joy. Unfortunately, I did not feel that same joy and excitement while playing Expeditions. The game is all about exploring regions and completing one contract at a time. If you love exploring in Snowrunner but always thought it needed to be deeper and have a higher difficulty, then you may just want to try Expeditions.

Positives

• New Tools

Jack screws and anchor points are a life-saver. The addition of these tools in Expeditions make you realize what's missing while exploring in Snowrunner. The metal detector deserves some love too as it can be very helpful when you start running low on fuel or other supplies. These tools are all a welcome addition that make the trek a little bit easier.

• New Mechanics

Setting the tire pressure was never something I thought would change the game, but it absolutely does. Being able to climb rocks and then go into a mud hole without compromising any traction gives one of the little victories. The echo sounder is an addition that was a much needed sigh of relief, it shows the depth of water so that you don't accidentally flood your truck everytime you need to cross a body of water.


• User Interface

The user interface in Expeditions has been redone and I absolutely love it. I ended up looking at it more than I do in Snowrunner and I think a lot of it has to do with the way the gauges are laid out. It draws your attention way more and is easier to get a reading just by glancing over at it.

• Content

Expeditions is not a short game or just a "spin-off" of Snowrunner/Mudrunner. It has a ton of content and definitely deserves to be classified as it's own game. The game is an in-depth off-road exploration game, it does it so well and will make you think a lot more technical. What seems like simple tasks will take longer than you expected.

Negatives

• The Map

Coming from Snowrunner, I was expecting the map to be very similar, however, it is not. It gets cluttered with things that aren't important and misses things that are, like objective locations.

• Scouting Missions

The drone added into Expeditions is a really awesome idea. However, it wasn't executed very well. Instead of watch towers the drone is used and you have to explore an area with it, this can be difficult as the map is very vague on where you need to explore. The last few percent to explore can be tricky and you need to watch your fuel as your truck may use a lot while your'e trying to find that one sliver of unexplored ground.


• Mission Locking

Expeditions has a linear mission system, in order to unlock a mission you must complete the one before it. Where this really sucks is when you start getting frustrated with a mission and just want to move on. Unlike Snowrunner you unfortunately can't, and this brought me to stop playing and go to other games before trying again.

• Vehicle Limits

One of the things that Expeditions does that I absolutely hate is limiting how many vehicles you can have on the map at one time. I really missed having the option to just go to the garage and grab a different truck and try again. It also made it hard to decide if I want to scout first or take the truck I need right from the start.

• Watch Towers

A missing element in the game was the normal watchtowers that you usually use to scout a large portion of the map. They replaced them with the drone but it just didn't feel as rewarding as the drone didn't cover as much ground or new objectives.

Conclusion

Expeditions feels like a testing ground for features that could be in the next Snowrunner when you first start. As time goes on and you get further in you do start to forget that and get lost in the game, until you get stuck and have to make that same trek in the same truck all over again. Expeditions is not for everyone but it is definitely not a bad game. If I feel in an exploring mood I will head back in and do a couple missions, but it won't be one that I regularly play to complete it. One thing to also remember is that Snowrunner is constantly updated and it sounds like Expeditions will get the same love with constant updates. It will be very interesting to see how the game evolves and what new content is introduced.