Name: Spintires: Mudrunner
Developer: Saber Interactive
Publisher: Focus Home Interactive
Released: 31.10.2017
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Reviewed on: Xbox One
Acquired: A copy of this game was provided from publisher for review purpose

Spintires: Mudrunner is what the developers is calling the ultimate version of the indie hit Spintires on PC. It is also now available on consoles where they have put in all the content to release it on both PC, Xbox Oneand PlayStation 4.

This Off Road Simulator was originally released on PC in 2014, , where they put you in control of vehicles in difficult terrain to navigate through different tasks. This is still what Spintires is about, but now with more vehicles, missions and challenges to give hours of content to play with.

Campaign

Spintires is very straight forward when it comes to the campaign, this is a pure gameplay kinda game. There is no story or main character, it’s you as a player against mother nature. You have missions that you have to complete to unlock new ones in different locations, and with different objectives. You also have bonus task you can do to get extra points, which  helps you unlock things faster. Missions can take time to complete and you might have to start over again and again. The size of the maps can look overwhelming sometimes, when you are driving as slow as possible to not be stuck in the mud. And when you have to drive all over the map to complete missions, you will use time to get to know the terrain, find gas stations and to find log stations.

8/10

Graphics

Spintires: Mudrunner will not win any awards when it comes to graphics, it is not bad looking game but it has its flaws. It looks good when driving around in the forest or on the mountains, and their is great texturing. But there is no reflections in mirrors and windows can be a bit difficult to see through, which makes cockpit view really difficult to use as a camera angel. It runs smooth with just some cases in frame drop, it’s not so much that it ruins the experience. It’s locked in on 30fps on console and runs in 60fps on PC. I guess this is a decision they have made to make it as stables as possible on consoles.

7/10

Gameplay

Spintires is a new experience when it comes to gameplay, it has been popular to make games in recent time that focuses on realistic gameplay and physics. And Spintires is one of them, that focuses on the environment and how it reacts to the vehicles. The ground reacts on the weight, speed and the weather. All this is a factor when driving on it and how easy it will be, and you will have to use a strategy when driving to manage to get through.  The cars have their own personality and feels different from each other, and you will have to choose wisely what type of cars you will take with you. You can set up a “team” of cars before each mission, so you have to set it up after what you need to succeed. You have trucks, tractors and 4×4 and more to choose, and they have their own abilities. Trucks are great for transportation of resources, 4×4 cars are great to use in terrain and to help trucks when stuck and to repair, and tractors are used to lift wood and plowing. This makes the game deeper when you can’t  just take whatever you want to use, but have to bring with you that can help you. All vehicles are fitted with a winch that you can use to help you, it can drag you or just hold you in place if you are in places it is a bit steep. A nice feature with the winch is that you also can attach it to other vehicles to drag each other, but also when attaching it to vehicles they will go in auto-drive. So you can take the hole team with you in a convoy, so you always have all the resources with you. I felt often I was more focused on driving from A to B and trying to not ruin my vehicle or not run out of fuel, that I completely forgot the objective. I really got drawn into the environment and when things didn’t go as planned I would be so focused on fixing it that I completely got lost in time, so often I would spend just hours on one mission without even completing a objective.

9/10

Controls

Controls are pretty fair use since it is about driving vehicles, but with some flaws. This is a game ported from PC to consoles, and they have managed to implement that pretty good. A nice feature I liked was when shifting gears you could use your right stick to change gears with just a press of the stick and push it in the direction of what type of gear you need. You can also put it in crawling gear and high rev gears, or just put it in automatic and don’t have to worry about it. Steering can be a bit difficult since there is no rebound on it, so you always have to make correction and it can be a bit slow, so often I would crash in places that is tight.  

Controls are not complicated (which some PC Ported games have tendency to be) there is always a window in bottom corner that tells you what feature the buttons do. Camera can be problematic to control sometimes, it’s pretty flowy-ish so you always have to wobble it around to try to find the best angle to see from. It’s something you will be used too later, but it can be difficult sometimes.

7/10

Replay Value

Since Spintires is mission based you can always try again and again to get a higher score or to try out new vehicles. Or if you want to use new methods to complete the objectives or maybe get the bonus objectives. You also have challenge mode you can use time in, which can be great if you’re not having much time to play and main missions takes to long for you.

The best feature is the multiplayer where you and three other players can play together to complete objectives. You can save it and continue later where you left, but you can also free roam around. Multiplayer is the definitive mode to play since you can do everything you can do alone with others. It can make things easier but also harder since you don’t have control of all the cars and what they do. So it’s a game you can always play even when completed, since you have unlocked more to use or play on.

8/10

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• Story 8
  8/10
• Graphics 7
  7/10
• Gameplay 9
  9/10
• Controls 7
  7/10
• Replay Value 8
  8/10

Verdict

Spintires: Mudrunner is a game that can give hours of playtime, and challenge you. This is maybe more a game for those who like simulator games or just want a deep off-road experience. It’s not something for those who like racing games or drive on tarmac obviously, but wants to drive like it is a trip. It’s a new and deep experience, but it’s a kinda game that takes time to complete and play.

Overall

7.8/10

7.8/10

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Pros

• Great gameplay
• Best Off-Road physics
• Hours of playtime
• Multiplayer

Cons

• Steering
• Camera