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If you loved the intricacy and attention to detail in games like Snowrunner and Mudrunner, then Roadcraft is likely already on your radar. Heck, with its launch today, you’re probably already hauling dirt and laying down slabs as I write this. But for the unaware, or for those curious as to whether Roadcraft is for them, you may be interested to learn about how its launch day has gone. Well, on Steam at least, player counts are looking pretty good, and are massively higher than anything its off-road driving sim predecessors achieved. However, there’s work to do on the user score front.
I didn’t expect Roadcraft to muscle its way into the PCGamesN team’s early Game of the Year discussions, but that’s exactly what’s happened. Ed’s glowing Roadcraft review discusses how its seemingly esoteric subject matter – building roads in devastated environments using a range of machinery – has been brilliantly gamified into something that feels almost meditative. Laying down a new road is “the sensational equivalent of kneading dough,” apparently, and I can certainly see where he’s coming from.
The realistic off-road driving physics of Mudrunner and Snowrunner are here once again, which pushes you (and your friends, given this can be played as a co-op game) to be precise and controlled. You’ve also got to make sure your vehicle is even able to navigate certain routes.
From there, you use your lineup of machinery to clear debris, level out terrain, fill in ditches and holes, lay down new surfaces, and even construct bridges. It’s a steady, methodical game, and given the strong reputation that Mudrunner and Snowrunner has established, players have been keen to try out this new evolution from Saber Interactive.
Roadcraft just launched today, May 20, and it has reached a very impressive peak concurrent player count of 33,761 on Steam. This is significantly higher than the lifetime peaks achieved by the beloved Mudrunner and Snowrunner, and last year’s less-well-received Expeditions.
However, while the player counts look strong, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Mudrunner and Snowrunner both boast Steam user scores of around 90%, such is their quality, but Roadcraft is sitting on a surprisingly low ‘mixed’ rating of 57%, at the time of writing. I’m mostly seeing complaints about the control scheme and quite a few people comparing this to the (in their eyes) superior Snowrunner. Day one user reviews do tend to be quite reactive and on the harsher side, especially when a game launches with some teething issues, but this score is lower than I thought it’d be.
Nevertheless, if you like building games and crafting games, and want a fresh experience that also challenges your driving and teamwork skills, Roadcraft is certainly for you.
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