Expeditions: A MudRunner Game Review (Steam)

by Jim Smale · Published February 29, 2024 · Updated February 28, 2024

Expeditions: A MudRunner Game Review, Embark on scientific expeditions with this new off-road adventure from the creators of MudRunner and SnowRunner. Lead research missions as you drive a variety of all-terrain vehicles, using high-tech tools and managing your camp and crew to ensure your success in the wild.

Expeditions: A MudRunner Game Review Pros:

Decent graphics.
18.73GB Download size.
Steam achievements.
Full controller support.
Graphics settings – display mode, resolution, target display, v-sync, fps limit, limit fps when in the background, anti-aliasing, FXAA, motion blur, sharpening, film grain, first-person fov, third person fov, Legacy camera, and visual quality preset.
Advanced video settings – terrain draw distance, grass density, object quality, effects quality, shadow quality, texture quality, texture filtering, ambient occlusion, water quality, volume fog, light shafts, and mirrors.
Steering wheel support.
Controller settings – vibration, swap shoulder button options, Invert axis, and sensitivity slider.
Keyboard settings – Invert the axis and sensitivity slider for the mouse, keyboard bindings can be remapped.
Steering wheel presets for custom, Logitech G29, Logitech G920, Logitech G923 PS4 layout, Logitech G923 Xbox layout, Thrustmaster T GT, Thrustmaster T80, Thrustmaster T150, Thrustmaster T300, Thrustmaster TX, Thrustmaster TX with clutch pedal, Fanatec DD1 Xbox layout, and Fanatec DD1.
Mod browser with Mod.io integration.
Four save slots.
Opening tutorial section getting you to learn about tire pressure, gears, movement, and taking and making deliveries.
Change gear types on the fly like auto, high, AWD (all-wheel drive), and low. Gear choice affects petrol consumption and how you interact with the terrain.
Tyre pressure can be changed on the fly, which affects petrol consumption but gives more or less grip.
Full damage model and you have a repairs shortcut to quickly repair parts like engine, tyre, drive train, etc.
Full 3D World with 360-degree camera control.
Offer both first and third-person views.
Three regions – Little Colorado, Arizona, and the Carpathians. (Little Colorado is the only one unlocked initially)
Locations will have set missions that progress the story, and free roam is exactly that.
Echo sounders help tell you the depth of the water.
Jack screws have a limited use but they can flip your vehicle when upturned.
Winch is back, pick a winch spot on your vehicle and then attach it to a tree or winch point, you can pull or push your vehicle.
Day and night cycle.
At any time you can recover to the headquarters or base for a charge.
Find hidden climbs, Ford’s, and pickups and upgrades.
End of expedition breakdown showing cash earned cash spent on repairs, damage, rewards, and any loot you found.
You are free to play how you want.
The physics and movement of the vehicles are some of the best.
You can freely jump between locations once unlocked. (they unlock after the tutorial)
Find airdrops and trade inventory with your available space.
Jobs can range from scouting an area out to rescuing stuck trucks and checking seismic vibrations and much more.
Each vehicle has a rating for PWR, strength, and fuel consumption along with the usual different lock choices, recovery cost, compatible devices, and fuel tank size and liveries.
Massive open world areas.
Fully customize your vehicles from cosmetics to new wheels, gearboxes, engines, etc.
You have a team and sometimes you have to take a particular team with you. These guys get hired and unlocked along with unique buffs for your equipment.
Six types of team members – mechanics, logisticians, hydrologists, Jaegers, Operators, and managers.
Adjusting things like tire pressure will temporarily change the stats of your vehicle so letting down tires on a certain terrain will improve the grip stat.
Find optional tasks and missions for unique rewards.
Three types of vehicles – scout (small vehicles usually cars and used to check out areas), Off-road (big rig-style multi-wheeled behemoths that can scale mountains and carry huge loads), and Heavy vehicles (carry the biggest loads and require tons of upgrades to just function).
The Codex houses all the info and the game manual available from the pause menu.
Clear checkpointing in missions, newly discovered points of interest fill in and show icons when discovered.
Hills are like puzzles and you have to work it out.
Binoculars are key to scanning areas and getting new icons marked on the map, plus it’s really good for looking at possible routes.
Visual searches and inspections trigger a time-based mini-game.

Expeditions: A MudRunner Game Review Cons:

Outside of the opening tutorial, the rest of it is bad as it doesn’t help guide you through the menus and procedures and you could do with that.
A lot of shortcuts to remember for all the gadgets and tools.
It feels like you take damage way too easy.
The camera is not always ideal to help with judgment calls and is a nightmare in any wooded area.
The music is almost nonexistent and you don’t seem to have a radio.
Cannot remap the controller buttons.
The whole game doesn’t feel connected, it is just a checklist of events and missions, and it all feels self-contained.
Takes a lot of getting used to what you can and cannot climb and drive over.
Hitting any obstacle whether it’s a terrain or hill climb scenario, it all comes down to just cycling through the same loop of tools to try and it becomes more a rhythm than feeling like an achievement of brains.
Trees just feel invincible, Only small shrub-looking trees actually react to your weight in a winch situation.