Doing this work can sometimes surprise you with nice unexpected meetings. Last week in Paris, on the occasion of What’s Next, Focus Home Interactive, we had the chance to play with The Surge 2, and Plague, The: Innocence and witness a beautiful and full-bodied demo Greedfall. But do you know which of all these has been the game that has left us satisfied? None of the three, and not for particular their demerits, anything! A small room was dedicated to MudRunner 2, following the acclaimed experience the off road exit in 2017, which we rewarded with a seven-round round. Careful, we are not talking about a “normal” game dedicated to the world of off-road, but a project without compromise, a sort of, drop by the daring comparison, Assetto Corsa transport on a pallet in muddy trails, mule tracks and, more in general, in the worst of weather conditions and environmental. A simulation of the total and rigorous and then, where the physical is the absolute protagonist.

Getting dirty is beautifulThe writer is particularly good at traction, a locked differential and speed reduced, but remained open-mouthed in front of the fidelity with which the physics of the game reproduces the behavior of the various means of water, mud and stones. Let’s say that the level of a fetish for the splashes of mud and the wheels mired that turn to void is equal to that of the refractions on the body in a Gran Turismo or a Forza. But what “speaks” exactly Mudrunner 2? The synopsis is brief: in a map of montana (ten times that of the first chapter), which recalls the most wild of the United States must lead at the pace of a snail for carrying out the work of transport. Most jobs we perform in a flawless manner, the more we decrease the level, the more objectives you open up more possibilities of customization mechanics and aesthetics we have. Well, this is it, but it is not enough just to drive in a considerate way to prevent the goods from falling from the body of the pick up, or worse from the long trailer of a truck. The game invites us to abandon the well-trodden routes, which often not even we are, to venture into the middle of the country to save time and gasoline. Just a shame that in this way, we need to vedercela with the mud, the rocks not even do the trial, with rivers, streams and treacherous rocks ready to bucarci the cup of oil hidden under the peaceful flow of the water. The one next to the abbiocco, at the same time, however, invites us to a total concentration to lead to the destination of the load. And in this “race” against the challenges that mother nature inflicts upon him, we cannot but be fascinated by the gentle sway of the suspension that actually sail over the rocky terrain. Or better still from the water spray that rises when you pass over a puddle or a stream. Without forgetting, however, the mud, the splashing at full speed from the wheels that seem to need to wait for a milder climate to get out of the morass they are finished.

We have rarely seen it simulated in a way that is so believable the worst enemies of any driver. Thus, it is clear as MudRunner 2 really is a game without compromises, hardcore, all round, but also extremely spectacular despite its total lack of spectacular adrenaline. At a content level, we have had a small taste of the presence of snow and ice, elements that in previous iterations were present only as a mod made by the users. Here, too, the physics is perfect, the tires leave obvious traces, and if unfortunately we end up in an area of fresh snow and the high is really difficult to get out, not to speak of the ice. At the level of the cars in the garage he showed us, in quick succession, trucks, articulated trucks, earth moving equipment, vans, and pick-up. Of course, completely customizable, as is written above, both in terms of aesthetics which is primarily mechanical. And it’s not trivial to make the engine more efficient by increasing the torque, but also, for example, provide a trailer, of a ‘crane’ is best to move crates heavier or buy a snorkel other than placing it higher up for wading the rivers that are impossible to overcome previously, almost as if we were in a Metroidvania… in Short, a lot of variants in play, for an experience that opens and becomes larger with the progression, and that is not afraid to intercept only a niche of users. A niche pretty big, however, seen that the very first chapter, the one where you match the series Spintires has sold over a million copies after a successful Kickstarter.