Roadcraft aims to deliver a gameplay experience reminiscent of MudRunner, featuring expansive environments and varied missions, though its mechanics feel somewhat outdated. Players can engage in construction tasks with different difficulty levels, but the demo raises questions about untested features like vehicle customization and resource management. While the vehicle variety enhances gameplay, graphics are underwhelming, showing signs of recycling from previous titles. Overall, the demo leaves a mixed impression, with hopes for improvements by the release date on May 20.
A Journey Echoing the Early Days of MudRunner
In contrast to Expeditions: A MudRunner Game, Roadcraft is poised to provide a gameplay experience reminiscent of the original MudRunner. From our initial impressions during the demo, it becomes evident that the game will feature expansive environments filled with specific tasks to complete, diverging from the more open-ended maps seen in previous titles from the studio. Unfortunately, the mechanics currently feel somewhat outdated compared to the renowned Saber Interactive series. Additionally, it’s disappointing that the game lacks intuitive features for discovering side quests scattered across the open maps.
While it may be easy to feel underwhelmed, Roadcraft does seem to deliver a variety of mission types at first glance. Although many tasks involve simply transporting vehicles from one location to another, the game allows players to step into the shoes of skilled builders. Selecting from three difficulty levels (easy, medium, hard), players can engage in constructing sand and asphalt roads, repairing broken pipelines, or connecting an electrical station to a concrete production facility using cable layers. This aspect stands out, as it prevents players from repeating the same tasks over and over again, which is a noteworthy feature.
Moreover, there’s curiosity surrounding the other game mechanics that were not explored in the demo, such as the garage system, leveling up, and company management. If Saber Interactive draws from the successful model of MudRunner for the garage, it could lead to an enjoyable vehicle customization experience. However, the demo leaves us with numerous questions regarding how these features will enhance gameplay, particularly in terms of vehicle upgrades or hiring staff. If the developers successfully incorporate elements from Expeditions: A MudRunner Game while improving the overall experience, the outcome could be impressive.
Is Roadcraft More User-Friendly Than MudRunner?
If you’re familiar with MudRunner, you’ll feel right at home with the gameplay mechanics in Roadcraft. Saber Interactive presents a simulation experience where players must navigate challenging terrain and manage unpredictable weather conditions while completing missions. Mastering vehicle functions, such as the winch for freeing yourself from muddy ground or utilizing the differential for smoother movement, is crucial. The classic MudRunner difficulty remains intact, which might pose a challenge for newcomers to the genre.
On a positive note, Roadcraft shines through its diverse vehicle lineup, essential for mission success. Starting with a scout vehicle at the beginning of each area, players can unlock various vehicles by exploring the environment. This includes cable layers, roller compactors, asphalt spreaders, bulldozers, and cranes for lifting heavy items. The variety of vehicles adds depth to gameplay, and they can be easily accessed through the map menu.
This combination of construction elements and MudRunner mechanics is enjoyable, enhancing the simulation feel in every action. For instance, to load a log into a dump truck, players must master the crane controls. Similarly, building a road requires using a dump truck filled with sand, dropping it at the construction site, compacting it with a bulldozer, and finally laying asphalt.
Roadcraft commits to a pure construction simulation experience, even if we have questions about resource management. This aspect could potentially facilitate building structures like bridges through the map menu, streamlining progress in open areas. However, the demo had limitations, and we’re eager to see how these elements develop, especially the cooperative gameplay feature. Although we couldn’t test it, we anticipate that the cooperative mode could be exhilarating, allowing players to tackle different tasks simultaneously for a more dynamic gaming experience.
In terms of graphics, the visuals are underwhelming. The game seems to recycle assets from MudRunner, which raises concerns about the overall graphical fidelity. The textures appear rough, and there are noticeable stutters that detract from the gaming experience. Collision issues and glitches in the physics engine are also present. However, we do appreciate the diversity in biomes, even if it sometimes feels reminiscent of Expeditions: A MudRunner Game. Our feelings about this aspect are mixed, and we hope that the final release will surprise us positively.
In conclusion, our impressions of Roadcraft are varied. While it builds on the solid foundation of the MudRunner series, the game seems to be stuck in its mechanics, which have seen little evolution, and it doesn’t necessarily feel more accessible. The introduction of construction elements and new vehicles offers a fresh perspective, but the reliance on open areas for gameplay feels like a step back. Additionally, the aging engine shows bugs that persist in the studio’s games. Overall, this demo leaves us with an impression of incompleteness, although there is a glimmer of hope that the final product will include intriguing gameplay mechanics, particularly the cooperative aspect we eagerly await. We look forward to the game’s release on May 20 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series, hoping it can change our initial perceptions.