When MudRunner released, there was something about it that made me want to play it, but I only did at a show. So when SnowRunner cooled things down, I was excited to play it, I just never got around to playing it. So with RoadCraft on its way, I knew I had to actually commit to giving it a proper go and thanks to Focus Entertainment, I was able to do so. Is this game one that is well crafted, or like so many roads is it full of potholes?

The finer points of control

So I knew that the ground would be a challenge for me in getting around the maps, because that is one of the core aspects of the series, but it was the controls on each of the different machines that proved to be the real challenge. Now by controls I don’t mean the steering of the vehicles, that is the same as it was in past games, and the same as it has been in most car based games. No the controls I am referring to are the special controls for each vehicle, like the cutting arm for a tree excavator or the skid plate on the front of an earth mover.

Each machine has a different set of controls and you will suck at using them at first, because some can be a little complicated. In the build I was given access to, there were three missions, the first one required some clearing of trees, transportation of the logs left over and then laying of new power cables. The first step was easy, once I got close enough with the machine, the game would allow me to press and button and then it would do the cutting. Where the fun came in was attempting to pick up those logs and put them on the trailer to take them to the destination. The claw for picking things up is controlled by both the d-pad and the right stick, plus a button for opening and closing the claw. If that sounds easy, the rotational aspect was dictated by the position, so things would turn right, even when you press left, if the device was in a certain position. My brain struggled with this for a bit and I did eventually get it, but then came the fun of picking up the logs and getting them on the trailer, which was also another learning curve. The skid plate on the front of the earth mover uses much the same functions, but it also has different positions depending on what you are doing, so there is even more to learn there.

Make the plan, execute the plan…

The transportation of logs should have been easy, I got to where the logs starting position was in the scout car, by going off-road, so the logging trail was near perfect heading back towards their final destination. But this is part of the Runner series, so terrain deformation is a big thing and driving a large truck, carrying a number of logs, well it was always going to be a challenge. Thankfully, with some low range gears and a lot of patience, as well as a few backwards slides, I did deliver the logs and it was time for the next challenge.

This two part challenge was easy, first part was to deliver a mobile power generator to its required destination, simple. While there was a road there, the bridge had been taken out, so a little bouncing around some train tracks and I was good to go. The second half of the task required me to lay cable from the existing power station, which was where the trees came from and deliver them to the same location as the power generator. Knowing the path that I had taken with the logs and then from that point to the concrete station with the power truck, I figured that was a smart route for this. Now the machine that lays the power cable, digs the ground as you go, which requires a very large cutting end, so I kept getting caught on tree stumps. My thinking was simple, take my stump removing machine and clear them out and it worked. But when it came to delivering the power cables once I was over the train tracks, I could not dig through asphalt, so it was back to the drawing board.

I opted to use the scout car to try and find a non-asphalt path that I could use, this was fairly easy and had me bouncing around another side of the map and once I had my path set, I began again. Sadly this new route that I had discovered had even more trees to deal with and not stumps, so I had to deal with a lot of back and forth to get around them. But I was successful and was able to connect power, which completed the tasks in that region, so it was time for the next disaster to repair. This required me to build a series of roads and contrary to what Doc Brown said, where I was going, I needed roads. This was another challenge as it did need a constant use of multiple vehicles and I can see this one being a real challenge with mates, but solo it is a lot.

Final Thoughts

This would normally be where I say something like, I am excited for the full game because of insert reason here. But the full game has me worried, if only because of the sheer number of vehicles you will have access to and the number of different control schemes each one will require. My time with the game, there is no other way to say it, but it was overwhelming at times due to the amount of control options. The tree hauling vehicle was easy to drive, but hard to pick up the items, the group of vehicles required for creating roads in the second mission, were all challenging and going back and forth between them require some serious thought. Now the game can be played with friends, which might make things easier, you are on one machine and your friends are on others, but that should not be a requirement for fun. There are still a few months until the release and I would love to see the studio add a simpler control scheme to some vehicles. Once I got used to operating a vehicle and was able to use it as intended, I did have a blast, but that learning curve is going to be a steep and just as challenging as a muddy road in the rain.

RoadCraft will be available on May 21st for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. The preview was made possible by Focus Entertainment.