Proton/Linux: Mudrunner

I had my eye on this game around 2017, but felt it was too expensive and perhaps my computer couldn't handle it back then. Now it's an easy peasy task for the 1660TI GPU and Steam/proton.

I've never been too enthusiastic about truck or car games, but with this and Eurotruck Simulator 2 I've played two truck-themed games in recent times. 

There's something for little boys here: huge trucks and splattering mud around. Some of the scenarios in the game relate to the film The Wages of Fear (1953), its remake Sorcerer (1977) and the McGyver episode Hellfire (based on the 1953 film). I'm unsure if the nerve-racking nitroglycerine mission features in the game, but it's made of similar stuff.

Perhaps there's a narrow category of "car games for people who usually don't like car games", and Mudrunner might fit it.

I'll instantly say I enjoyed the short challenges more than the main game, there was always variety of tasks, equipment and environments and it didn't get boring.

In contrast, the main game gives you tasks that are rather meandering and even a little dull. Deliver 8 points worth of logs to the log mill(s), while avoiding running out of fuel, damaging the trucks too much or flipping over. All while the vehicles move rather slowly through the terrain and the problems remain similar.

The physics are realistic enough, but there's inevitably some uncanniness. Sometimes I feel it is obvious the truck and the load would flip over, yet they don't. Whereas when it does flip over, I sometimes ask if it would have really happened that way.

Trying to cut corners where there's uneven terrain, often has disastrous results...

The sense of getting more and more stuck to a position is made very palpable. Fortunately, there's a powerful winch for getting out of these type of situations, and if that's not enough or possible another truck can give a bump. Fortunately the winch isn't super-realistic, you can instantly connect to nearby trees, no matter what the terrain is.

The missions usually feature a jeep that can be recalled instantly to the current position, which is good for scouting unexplored areas and tagging those navigation flags which uncover map elements. The jeep is rather easy to flip over or wreck to pieces. 

The instant recall seems somewhat against the spirit of the game, but I guess there had to be some kind of helpful element to the game.

Ultimately the biggest draw, the mud, isn't such a big factor in many maps. You just have to persevere. The game is more about finding safe enough routes and not getting lost in the dark.

When I at first saw the visuals years back, it looked like some kind of pinnacle of ultra-realism, and yes the mud and water effects are still quite well made and the car models have detail.

Felled woods crack and twist under the wheels, and you can mow some of the smaller plantation. The mud cakes on your wheels and your truck gets wet after dipping into the water.

After seeing most of the tricks the game has to offer, I didn't feel a huge draw to complete all the maps, or perform better. But I might return to it occasionally.