Processor Intel Core i5-12600K 3.7 GHz / AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 3.8 GHz, 16 GB RAM, graphics card with DirectX 11 support and 8 GB of memory, such as NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 / AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT
May 20, 2025
Played on PC
Although there is no mention of MudRunner in the title RoadCraft — unlike SnowRunner and Expeditions from the same developers — it is clear to everyone that this game is in the same category. Large maps where you will not meet a single person, complex landscape and heavy equipment in all its glory — everything is familiar. However, the familiar formula has undergone many transformations, the main one being the change in the type of activity of the “main character”. If earlier we either carried goods or simply explored the surroundings, then here we are engaged in the restoration of destroyed locations. And we do not just put flimsy bridges here and there, but literally revive regions destroyed by natural disasters.
⇡#Help has arrived
As in SnowRunner, the cities and towns here have been reduced to rubble by floods, earthquakes and other disasters: fallen trees have blocked roads, water pipes have burst, and power lines have been damaged. We need to fix all of this, and for this we will need a variety of equipment – there is much more of it than in previous games.
At such moments you regret that you decided to try to shorten the route
Take, for example, the process of road restoration. You open the garage, take a dump truck filled to the brim with sand, and drive to the desired location. Upon arrival, you lift the body and drive forward or in circles, watching how the sand fills all sorts of holes, cracks and puddles. Driving becomes easier, but still inconvenient, so you drive a bulldozer from the garage to the same place and level the whole thing, distributing the sand over the entire area. This will do, too, but ideally you should also bring an asphalt paver and a roller to get a full-fledged road, and not a temporary (and quite dangerous from an operational point of view) solution.
Some roads need to be restored this way for “story” tasks, but nothing prevents you from doing it outside of missions. If you have nothing else to do, you can fill the entire map with sand – both bodies of water in which it is easy to “get stuck” a car, and huge holes that are difficult to get over. In some cases, it is more effective to build bridges, but this is also not easy. This requires concrete slabs: you drive around the world in a vehicle with a crane, collect the appropriate junk, take it to the factory and from there go with the slabs wherever you need to. It is important to consider that not every shiny piece of junk is good for everything – you can’t create slabs from a chain-link fence beaten by life, but you can make new pipes, but other factories do this.
We’re going to fix something.
Although you improve roads for yourself, among other things, you often need to do it for others. The thing is that many quests are not limited to searching, delivering or restoring – often after all this you need to plot a route on the map from one point to another, so that the AI-controlled convoys can freely travel back and forth and transport materials or something else. When this gameplay element was announced, suspicions arose that the idea was so-so – you yourself are barely driving through all this mud, getting stuck on every bump, and the virtual dummies will have even more problems. And so it turned out – you have to mess with them more often than you would like.
The larger the vehicle the convoys are moving on, the higher the chance of running into difficulties. While a player can get out of many situations and quickly correct his own mistake by rolling back or driving around an obstacle, these guys follow only the set points and do not see the obstacles in front of them. A pebble rolled under the wheels – they will be led in the wrong direction. There is a bump on the sand-covered road – the truck will probably flip over. You need to drive up a hill – you have to pray that everything goes well. That’s why sometimes you pave roads where you will never go again, simply because without it the hapless convoy will not let you complete this task and open the next one. At least they all drive on asphalt without problems! But, as you can understand from the description above, laying it is a real hassle.
The asphalt isn’t always perfectly smooth, but it’ll do.
⇡#Easier, but not much
At the same time, the conditions in RoadCraft are not as harsh as in previous games in the series. The landscape is half-destroyed, but a little more friendly, especially when you fill the most unpleasant areas for equipment with sand. In this regard, the developers decided to remove the winch from everything except the light scout cars. Although, even in their case, the winch does not always save, since the points to which you can attach a cable seem to have become fewer – fallen trees, for example, in RoadCraft are just decoration. Here you do not get into hopeless situations as often as in previous games, but you still sometimes miss the winch – or at least auxiliary consumables like anchors, which were added in Expeditions. In this game, there are not even any – if your truck is stuck, then either bring a crane there or call a friend, there are no other options.
Other gameplay changes have divided fans into two camps, and I am more of the player type who likes them. For example, you no longer need to monitor the amount of fuel and take spare canisters with you in case of a long trip – there is no such indicator at all, and this is great. The equipment no longer gets damaged even in serious accidents – great, the engine does not break if you run over a small stone, as it used to be. Night time is also absent in the RoadCraft universe – great! I will never believe that someone liked to carry cargo in pitch darkness. It seems that all this simplifies the game, and this is true, but overall it does not become much easier than its predecessors – there are still enough difficulties.
There are no spare parts in the game, so you won’t find them in the world. The collectibles here are toy cars, which give a lot of money in stores
For example, the concept of autoloading has practically disappeared. If you roll up a vehicle to a warehouse and want to place a load on it, this is not done with one button, as in SnowRunner, but you need to lift each individual object with a crane and put it on a platform or in a trailer – each pipe, each plate, and so on. For small objects, some “Mule” is suitable, which has a crane and a place to put everything, but it is not suitable for large-sized things. The process is a bit tedious when you do it for the fiftieth time, but this innovation, apparently, decided to compensate for the above-mentioned simplifications.
But the co-op mode remains, and it is better than ever. First of all, because of how much different equipment is needed for certain tasks – obviously, with at least one comrade the process will go faster. There are many quests – both story and side – and while one performs the main task, the other explores the surroundings and finds factories, power lines, deposits of junk and other points of interest. While one is busy pouring sand, the other drives the bulldozer. While one paves the way for convoys, the other corrects the unevenness, because of which the helpless AI can do nothing. You want to distribute tasks in the “coop” all the time, since it speeds up all the processes. And most importantly, the progress is saved in a separate “save”, and if you have gone far through the game together, you can continue from the same point alone.
In a co-op, lifting each other with cranes is more fun and faster than jumping from one car to another on your own.
***
RoadCraft offers a fresh take on a beloved formula, and for the most part it succeeds. The spirit of previous runners is preserved, a couple of annoying mechanics have disappeared, and the new features make the gameplay more varied and exciting. There are some controversial decisions, and future patches would like to see significant improvements to the AI convoys, but otherwise RoadCraft is a great simulator that offers a lot of creative freedom. But be careful – it’s easy to lose track of time while rebuilding regions and laying asphalt.
Advantages:
- Restoring destroyed locations is more interesting than regular cargo transportation;
- A wide variety of equipment for different needs;
- The ability to change the landscape using sand and asphalt;
- Annoying mechanics from previous games are gone, including the damage system and switching to night time;
- A stable cooperative mode in which progress is saved.
Disadvantages:
- Sometimes it takes a long time to tinker with helpless AI convoys, creating ideal roads for them;
- There are practically no cars with a winch, which reduces the chances of rescue in awkward situations.
Graphic arts
The dilapidated locations are beautifully detailed, and it’s fun to watch them change as they’re being rebuilt. When a road that’s been smashed to pieces is completely transformed by your actions, it’s hard not to fall in love with RoadCraft.
Sound
An unobtrusive soundtrack that does not irritate even in the most difficult situations. But many will probably turn on their own music.
Single player game
The game can be easily completed solo, gradually completing tasks one after another, but be prepared to be a jack of all trades – just laying asphalt requires four different machines.
Estimated time of completion
Around 100 hours, and that’s no exaggeration. You can get through it quicker in co-op, but it’s still not a game where you have to rush.
Collective game
Inviting friends and joining other players is very easy, and progress in co-op remains in a separate save file, with which you can then continue playing solo. The joint mode speeds up many processes – you can help each other at almost every step and in every task.
General impression
RoadCraft changes the usual MudRunner formula, and does it successfully for the most part. Now we are not just transporting cargo, but are engaged in the restoration of destroyed locations and observe their transformation in real time. Instead of old annoying mechanics, new ones related to convoys appeared, but it seems that they can be quickly fixed with patches.
⇡#Rating: 8.0 / 10
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