Expeditions: A MudRunner Game

Genre: Driving Simulation

Players: 1-4 Co-Op (Local Wireless / Online)

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Review:

The MudRunner series on Nintendo Switch has consistently been aiming for a niche potion of an already-niche audience. These Driving Simulation games are already slow-paced, methodical, and highly challenging in a way that many players will find tedious and frustrating, but on top of that the Nintendo Switch release always makes it harder to appreciate the games’ excellent graphics by making huge sacrifices to get the game to run on Nintendo Switch.

In this regard, the series’ third game, Expeditions, is no different. This is the first game in the series to be released on Nintendo Switch alongside the other versions, with both this version and the PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One versions of the game all releasing in 2024. And while it does some things better and some things worse than its most recent predecessor, SnowRunner, in the end you’re still in for the same sort of experience.

For those who are unfamiliar with this series, the MudRunner games are all about completing tasks in vehicles in a rugged offroad environment, where you’re not competing against other players or racing against a clock, but simply trying to get around and do things with uneven, muddy, flooded, and overall treacherous terrain. This is a game where the sort of puzzle you’ll have to solve will be how to get out of a muddy ditch, and solving it may well take you a half an hour where you fight for every foot of progress.

This is a challenging game that will make some players give up quickly, but to its credit I think this is a game that starts out a bit easier than its two predecessors, thanks to your starting vehicle being far more capable this time around. You’ll also have access to a wider range of tools, such as a device that measures water depth to tell you what’s traversable and what’s deep enough to drown out your engine, as well as a drone you can send up at any time to survey the nearby environment around you.

However, there are downsides here too. While Expeditions retains the series’ large, open environments, this game isn’t set up like an Open-World game in the same way that SnowRunner was, and I feel this is to Expeditions’ detriment. You can still freely explore the environments, but only within missions, or within an exploration-specific mode that won’t let you complete tasks while you’re at it.

There are some standard issues the series has long had that remain here too, such as overly-confusing menus, a camera that requires constant babysitting, and steering controls that don’t reset to neutral on their own, leading to frequent overcorrecting and snaking back and forth when you’re just trying to drive a straight line.

And as usual, when it comes to the presentation, I need to give both praise and criticism at the same time. Expeditions is absolutely gorgeous, with lush, varied 3D environments filled with detail, and this time I think this game has managed to top itself with beautiful-looking water and the absolute best-looking mud I have ever seen in a videogame, with real-time deformation that has players digging gouges into softer mud, that has mud caking your tires, and then washing it off in a convincing way when you move through water. Add to this some very nice lighting and textures, and you have a beautiful-looking game.

Except, on Nintendo Switch, that beauty is seen through a vasoline-smeared lens due to reduced resolution, and the foliage, shadows, and textures are constantly popping in and out around you. The result is a game that looks stunningly beautiful and butt-ugly in equal measure. Oh, and don’t trust the screenshots on Nintendo’s page, as they clearly don’t come from the Nintendo Switch version of the game – the screenshot I have above was taken directly from gameplay on the Nintendo Switch itself, and is a better indication of what to expect.

There’s one more feature that this release adds, and that is full mod support on Nintendo Switch, allowing you to download vehicles, maps, and even campaigns created by other players. There’s not quite as much content here as I would hope for, but it’s still nice that players have a way to extend their play beyond what’s included in the base game without having to purchase DLC (though paid DLC is also available).

In the end, I think I still prefer SnowRunner over Expeditions – the way that game truly let players loose in its Open-World and gave them incentive to explore truly made every victory over a tough part of the environment into an exhilarating moment. However, Expeditions adds enough new features and lowers the high challenge level just enough that I think it’s not far behind its predecessor. However, in any case, this is still not a game for everyone, and even those who enjoy this will find it’s going to be a much better experience on other platforms that don’t have to make the sort of graphical sacrifices the Nintendo Switch version does.

tl;dr – Expeditions is a Simulation-style Driving Game that is a sequel to MudRunner and SnowRunner, and eases up ever so slightly on the series’ punishing gameplay. That said, it’s still a challenging and at times frustrating game, and the lack of SnowRunner’s better-constructed Open-World elements make this a slight step down in my opinion. And as with the prior games, the absolutely beautiful environments are made less so on Nintendo Switch, which gives the game a huge graphical downgrade over other versions. Despite its flaws, this is still an enjoyable game, but it’s not for everyone, and if at all possible you’ll want to play it on another platform.

Grade: B-

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2024 Game Awards:

Runner-Up: Best Driving/Racing/Sports Game, Best Graphics

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