MudRunner
MudRunner is a 2017 off-roading simulation game developed by Saber Interactive and published by Focus Home Interactive. It was released on October 31, 2017 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One and is a spin-off/sequel of the 2014 Windows-exclusive Spintires, which was developed by Oovee Game Studios. Similar to Spintires, MudRunner has the player control off-road vehicles as they traverse locations to complete objectives. The game was released in Japan on Nintendo Switch on June 18, 2020. A sequel to MudRunner was released on April 28, 2020 titled ''SnowRunner.''
Gameplay
MudRunner is an all-terrain simulation video game which tasks driving through muddy unpaved roads in aging Soviet vehicles with nothing but a map and a compass. The aim of the game is to transport logs to their destination without depleting resources or damaging the vehicle. There is both a single-player and multiplayer co-op mode that both use the same main six maps, with an addition of 3 American maps and 2 Russian maps along with DLC content. Over the game's time, there have been 4 batches of DLC content added introducing new vehicles, new gameplay maps and challenge maps. The main game maps often included various off-roading elements such as water bodies and rivers, paved roads, trails and changes in elevation which enable the player to experience a larger and more accurate simulation of the genre. The map setup is very similar to the previous installment "Spintires" in the series as maps contain similar amounts of these elements and naming.The game includes various real life aspects of off-roading simulation including additional fuel usage when engaging features such as all-wheel-drive and a differential lock. The game also incorporates a dynamic environment with a day to night game cycle as well as terrain deformation physics. When selecting a map in single-player mode, a choice can be made between "hardcore" and "casual" difficulty levels which include different parameters for the game, being increased fuel consumption for hardcore compared to casual, a reduced ability of navigation with checkpoint markers becoming more vague, the inability to enable differential lock when driving in automatic gearbox and the main adjustment being the necessity of using a crane to manually load up logs and pack them into your vehicle as opposed to automatic loading in casual mode.
Various add ons can be equipped to allow tasks to be complete such as fuel tankers and log trailers of each different sizes. The game's object is to deliver a total of 8 load points to either 1 or 2 lumber mills in a single map, with different log sizes providing varied amounts of load points. All vehicles in the game are organised in different classes which represent their utility and offroad capabilities, with each vehicle yielding a different number of "balance points". These balance points add up to a sum for each map, and when completing the map the number of points used to achieve this is stated, with the lowest number of points used being the objective for total completion.
The game has a challenge mode that presents nine small maps each based around a specific gameplay function meant to teach the player the different aspects of the game which was later increased to 11 total challenge maps after the addition of the American Wilds DLC. Each level also has three bonus objectives which can be completed to earn achievements; they offer no in-game rewards.