Spintires: Mudrunner Review

Spintires: Mudrunner is a follow-up to Spintires released on Steam. It is not a direct sequel but an improved version of the original off-roading simulation game. With Spintires support coming to an end, fans were left wondering what would happen to the series. After some confusion, Spintires: Mudrunner was officially announced. Saber Interactive took over development and Focus Home Interactive would be publishing the game. Fans now were curious what this meant for the game’s creator, Pavel Zagrebelnyj. He has since joined Saber Interactive as a lead developer on the game.

 Release Date: October 31, 2017
Platforms: PC, Xbox One, PS4
Publisher: Focus Home Interactive
Developer: Saber Interactive
Genre: Simulation
ESRB: E for Everyone
MSRP: $39.99

Much like the original game, you are entrusted with driving vehicles around rugged terrain. Vehicles from small to large are at your disposal. In every map, your biggest enemy is the environment around you. A mud pit waiting to claim its next victim is around every corner. If the mud doesn’t get you, then the rocks will be looking to put some dents in your vehicles.

The first challenge is to provide an experience that hasn’t been previously available on current consoles. Another challenge the game faces is trying to provide enough content to bring previous players back to the series. Overall, the game does successfully overcome both challenges but with some caveats.

The Roar of an Engine

The audio package can be a varying assortment of positives and negatives. Engine sounds seem authentic enough for the experience. Natural sounds also add to the experience. These sounds help bring the player into the atmosphere. Even hearing your tire tread through the mud adds a sense of satisfaction. Hearing every sound emit from a tree falling is also satisfying. Especially if you’re the one responsible for knocking it over. During the night cycle, the ambient noise changes to sounds you would expect. Such as bugs chirping and owls hooting.

Unfortunately, there aren’t enough extra audio options included in the game. One problem is there is no option to have music playing while driving. In an open map, this can hinder the experience by making it feel empty. Music is instead used to let players know where the lumber mills are located. When you get into a specific range the music will slowly get louder as you get closer to the lumber mill. It is an interesting feature but feels extraneous since you can easily find the lumber mill on the map. They do allow you to turn the feature off. A dedicated radio playing the menu music would have been a nice addition.

Getting Back in the Mud

For an off-roading game, there are plenty of options available for players to explore. Options include Casual, Hardcore, Challenges, and a Multiplayer mode. Some of the differences in Hardcore mode include not showing navigation routes, not being able to recover vehicles, and the inability to skip nighttime. There are 19 vehicles to enjoy over six maps. These vehicles can range from a Jeep to a full-size tractor. You can unlock all these trucks using progression points from completing each map. Every vehicle does handle differently and can be equipped with different tools.

A tutorial is also provided with the game to help anyone unfamiliar with the predecessor. Having had no experience with the original Spintires myself, the game really helped prepare me as it relayed enough information for me to build upon as I played.

The problem is that if you don’t enjoy a specific mode chances are you will not enjoy the other options available in the game. Casual, Hardcore, and Multiplayer modes are generally the same since the objectives don’t change. Players who play objectively and don’t explore may feel like there isn’t enough content there.

Flinging Mud with Friends

Multiplayer allows up to four players on a single map. There is only an online co-op mode available, no split-screen options. You can either create a public lobby or a friends-only lobby. Multiplayer works similarly to Single Player. Players can explore any of the six open maps while retrieving and delivering logs. Multiplayer saves function the same as how they work in Single Player. You can leave the session and come back to the same spot.

Assigning roles to players in your session helps add to the experience. I’m glad the developers left it up to the players because some players will just enjoy exploring the maps. I usually helped people out of the mud but still had fun. There were a couple times where we had a whole chain of trucks connected after each one of us got stuck. This was especially fun because we had to brainstorm the best solution to get out of the mud. We even had to repair and refuel each other’s trucks. Exploring the maps with friends helped the maps feel less empty.

Mods from the previous game will also carry over to Spintires: Mudrunner. The game will also continue to support mods on the PC. Hopefully the game will find a following on consoles because adding mod support to consoles would help the game achieve a longer lifespan.

Fighting Nature

There are a couple challenges the player must overcome. Players will have to manage their trucks fuel and damage. Garages and fuel stations are available on the map to help. Mud and water will try to destroy your vehicles. Each truck is equipped with a winch that can get you out of these situations. It’s up to the player in order to get out of the situation. The map is also a helpful gameplay element since it displays useful information like water-depth and terrain.

Casual and Hardcore mode focus on exploring the open map. Players are tasked with picking up and delivering logs. These maps can take up significant time to complete. This is both due to map size and obstacles.

The Challenges mode will give players specific objectives to complete. These maps are smaller and more dedicated than the maps provided on Casual or Hardcore mode. This mode also aims to provide more difficulty. Each map provided a satisfying challenge that was fun to play. More maps should’ve been available because only 9 are provided in the game. A Multiplayer option would’ve been a nice addition as well.

Marvelous Mud

Graphics really stand out in the game. The physics engine stands above everything else. Getting to see the mud and water physics react is truly a sight to see. The mud will deform based on what vehicle you are driving and at what speed. The day and night cycle also helps add to the package. Exploring at night can add some more challenge as obstacles are not as visible. You will want to turn on your headlights at night since there no lights along the paths.

Another important graphical aspect is the user interface. It may take a little bit to learn everything but certainly isn’t hard to comprehend. Driving features like differential lock are simplified to check boxes. More information like Fuel and Damage are also displayed as health meters. All this information could’ve easily taken over the screen but is neatly tucked into the lower left corner.

Even though the game looks good, it can feel empty at times. This is especially true in the Casual, Hardcore, and multiplayer maps. Environments are dense with foliage but there is not much else besides that. Adding in some non-interactive wildlife could have helped players feel more immersed in the environment.

Verdict – Spintires: Mudrunner

Overall, Spintires: Mudrunner provides a good off-road simulator that isn’t available in many other games. The biggest challenge this game faces is bringing in previous and new players. Previous players will find a better overall experience. If you own Spintires on Steam, a loyalty discount will be available. New players looking for off-road games will also enjoy what the game provides. The only problem is the game could have been so much more with some small additions. As a casual player, I would have to seriously think before buying the newest release. I just don’t think there is enough there to really warrant purchasing unless you really enjoy off-roading. If you don’t enjoy exploring an open map in a vehicle, then it is very hard to recommend since most of the modes revolve around this concept.

I might sound negative but I am still interested in coming back to the game to continually play. Also with so many games out, I still set aside free time to play it outside of reviewing it. Learning and getting to drive each vehicle will help bring players back. Having to think about how to rescue a vehicle from the mud also brought an exciting challenge to the game. Another aspect that will bring players back is getting to play with friends.