In 2014, Spintires was released exclusively to Microsoft Windows and delivered a more realistic experience in off-road driving simulation. It was published by Oovee Game Studios, IMGN and developed by Pavel Zagrebelny, who later went to work for Saber Interactive to develop its spiritual successor, MudRunner, in 2017, published by Focus Entertainment.

Together, they made SnowRunner in 2020 and Expeditions: A MudRunner Game in 2024. In 2025, RoadCraft is ready to hit the road, or what’s left of it, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.

As the leader of a company specialised in restoring sites devastated by natural disasters, players will have a wide variety of construction vehicles and machinery to rebuild the local industry. Players will be clearing debris and faulty equipment, rebuilding roads and bridges damaged by harsh weather and much more.

RoadCraft plays much like its predecessors but focuses more on restoring disaster sites. Players will explore locations where harsh weather conditions and natural disasters have torn them apart, and it’s up to them to return them to their former glory. Players will start with a 4WD to scout the locations and see what needs to be done, but they can also scout the locations in any vehicle they have available. Missions and side missions will become available as players progress. Side missions are optional but highly recommended to make life easier later on.

Traversing on treacherous terrain is the biggest feature that sets this franchise apart from similar games. The wet and muddy grounds add to the difficulty of getting from point A to point B. Occasionally, you may be able to take an alternate route, but it can take much longer, or it may not be an option at all.

Players can now build roads, which are part of some missions, but they can also build them in other locations if they wish to make things easier for every vehicle. Roads can be made with just dirt, or players can add pavement on top to make them more solid. Bridges can also be built, and certain buildings can be restored. As players reach these missions, they’ll have access to more vehicles to complete the tasks.

There will be a lot of loading up vehicles with concrete slabs, steel beams, and more using cranes and transporting them to where they need to be. Bridges and buildings will automatically be built as the required materials are supplied. Building all these roads, bridges, and buildings can take quite a while, even hours or an entire day, but it is incredibly satisfying and rewarding to those who are willing to put in the time.

Some side missions can be done by AI drivers who will assist the players in providing the materials and other needed materials. Players will need to meticulously plan, put out a route for them, and make sure they can get to their destinations safely, as they can easily get stuck in muddy roads or get caught in debris in their way.

This is where clearing debris and building more roads early is handy. Players can continue their other tasks while the AI drivers are busy, but there is an option to select a camera that follows the vehicles if players want to see them traverse the routes they’ve set and the roads they’ve laid out. This is great if players want to take a break and sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.

The game also has online multiplayer with crossplay, in-game voice chat and shared progression on all platforms. Up to 4 players can work together to rebuild all the places struck by disaster. Since I could only test this during the review period, I could only try it a few times with other random players who also had early access, but the multiplayer experience has been great so far.

There wasn’t much lag in personal experience; the in-game voice chat helps coordinate various tasks between players, and crossplay helps open it up to even more players online. As they say, “more hands make light work”.

As players will see all the locations a lot, they’ll also see all the progress they’ve made with all the roads they’ve laid out, bridges built and buildings restored; it gives them a great sense of satisfaction for all the hard work they’ve done and see the difference they’ve made. Their progress

can also be seen on the map screen, which is a literal bird’s eye view of the entire in-game environment. They can see everything they’ve built and restored, where they’ve parked each vehicle and any recent tyre tracks they’ve left behind.

Physics is an important part of RoadCraft, and just like its predecessors, it provides a sense of realism as vehicles try to make their way through rough and muddy terrains. If the ground is too soft, vehicles will sink in more they spin their tyres, and it gets worse with heavier vehicles or vehicles carrying heavy loads. In all the previous games, every vehicle had a winch to attach it to surrounding objects and pull them up a hill or out of a muddy spot. In RoadCraft, however, only the scout vehicle has a winch, which makes it more difficult to get other vehicles to where they need to be. However, it also creates an interesting challenge for players to think outside the box.

An issue with only one vehicle having a winch is that it’s the only one that can pull open gates from the outside. This is an odd design choice because, in real life, the driver would exit the vehicle and pull the gate open by hand. This problem could easily be solved by having the gates open on their own in this game, because it’s inconvenient if the one vehicle with the winch is so far away.

In previous games, players had more control over the gears, but this removes that feature for a simplified gear system, which some fans won’t be happy with. Having to refuel your vehicle has also been removed, but that does mean there’s less to worry about, and players can focus on everything else. All the vehicles work well and are easy to operate, but the controls are sometimes inconsistent. For example, when using cranes on different vehicles, the functions aren’t always assigned to the same buttons, so this can cause some confusion among players. It’s not a major issue, but this could cause some accidents and sabotage the missions.

The graphics already looked impressive in the original game from 11 years ago, but they get better and better with each entry. RoadCraft’s graphics are impressive, and even though you’ll mostly see disaster sites and loads of mud, there are still some breathtaking sites to enjoy. They look even better from high up on a mountain, and the sites slowly change with all the work you’ve done, which there is plenty of with the vast number of hours upon hours of gameplay. There isn’t much of a soundtrack as there isn’t any music playing during the game for the most part, but there are some relaxing road trip-like tunes in the menu screens.

RoadCraft is part of a franchise that has made something unlike anything else. The realistic physics, the challenges it provides, and the time it takes to rebuild and restore everything will give anyone a new appreciation for those who work in the industry, all from the safety and comfort of their homes. Many wouldn’t think this concept would work for a video game, especially when so many other games represented it so poorly, but RoadCraft and its predecessor have all proven it can be much more fun than you’d expect. RoadCraft is a long road that many can enjoy for hours on end.

Written by: Sammy Hanson