RoadCraft review: A bumpy ride worth taking

Saber Interactive, the developers responsible for making brilliant titles like Snowrunner and Mudrunner, are back again with another exciting automobile simulation title, RoadCraft. This time, bigger and better than ever. RoadCraft has already exceeded both Snowrunner's as well as Mudrunner's player count, proving its potential. As someone who enjoys freedom and open-world elements in video games, RoadCraft is definitely a worthy contender for one of the best vehicle simulation titles this year.

While the game does satisfy the inner child in you who wanted to handle heavy vehicles and machinery, it certainly is not for everyone. Let's dig into more details about RoadCraft in this review, before you start actual digging.

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RoadCraft is an exceptional construction sim that's not for everyone

Gameplay and mechanics

The game starts fair and simple- with you naming your construction company and selecting one out of the two available vehicle options. Without giving any spoilers (not there are many possible to give for such a game) you can expect to see a fair amount of concept building but not a proper story as you get in other titles. You are expected to take care of certain sites that are now destroyed due to natural calamities. You gather stuff, build roads, take them to the destination via tricky roads, and then move on to the next objective.

In total, there are eight different chapters/maps where the game takes you. Every stage is built with a process in mind and you have to follow it accordingly as well. While the game will not really let you believe that you are not allowed to use your creativity, when you sit back and think, there are not really multiple ways to solve a certain task. However, it is worth mentioning that every task that you complete will provide a great deal of satisfaction. Finally driving on a perfectly smooth road after spending hours repairing, and constructing it certainly feels good.

Luckily, resources are not extremely scarce in the game as well. It is not finding things or thinking of a plan that is tough in the game, it is actually executing the plan that might take you multiple attempts. While we are at the topic, do note that it is definitely not a good idea to take shortcuts in a game like RoadCraft. The game really punishes attempts of shortcuts, especially while driving. We will discuss more on that later.

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Deep and immersive control system for a better overall experience

Micro-management in the game feels wonderful (Image via Focus Interactive)

The game kind of throws you right into the puddle without much hand-holding. RoadCraft explains the controls and then you have to learn and understand everything else on your own. However, you will not need any YouTube walkthrough or guide to understand the controls as they are fairly simple. It is not the difficulty in understanding these controls that will pose a challenge, but the sheer amount of controls available to take care of that can be a little overwhelming.

Luckily, the keybinds are always visible on the screen itself, making the entire process a lot easier. You can simply refer to the HUD if you don't remember the controls and continue the fun.

As it is obvious, you will be expected to drive heavy vehicles on tricky terrains. And if for once, you let the Need for Speed fan inside you get the better of you, you will immediately find yourself either flipped, or in a position from where it is impossible to recover. Fortunately, you can select the 'Recover' option to respawn at the last checkpoint.

All in all, what I am trying to say is that the game might get too technical too soon if you are not someone who is already slightly aware about how these vehicles work, or how realistic simulation driving titles work. You can refer to this guide to learn some valuable tips regarding the game.

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RoadCraft's realism is unbelievable

There is a vast variety of vehicle options available (Image via Focus Interactive)

Yes, I really mean it. The game is insanely obsessed with realism. However, not in a good way always. While on one hand the game features immensely real life-like physics- realistic driving elements, difficulty varies on every terrain, every task needs to be done differently; on the other hand, the game lacks realism in some basic areas. For example, when you are loading a truck with sand for building a road, the sand just rains in the back of your truck. You can actually see a little raining animation filling your truck with sand.

Similarly, another thing that I noticed during my time with the game was that even though the game tries to be as realistic as possible when it comes to vehicles and driving mechanics, on the other hand your vehicles never runs out of fuel or take any damage. Side note- you don't need to turn off the differential locker or the all-wheel drive option because the fuel tank never actually empties. While I could not stop appreciating Saber Interactive for putting a lot of attention to such small details, at the same time I was disappointed with the game missing some really basic elements.

Now lets discuss a little about the vehicle options available. Despite there being more than 30 vehicles, there is no way to customise or upgrade your vehicles. This is one thing that is missing in RoadCraft when you compare it to Saber Interactive's previous title of this genre, SnowRunner. Apart from choosing the one out of two vehicle options that we discussed earlier, and choosing a livery for your car, there is pretty much no other customisation possible at the moment.

There is no night driving as well, which when I think about now makes me feel relieved. For someone who is not very familiar with such simulation titles, it would have only made things worse. But this might be a turnoff to those who love playing such games. Oh, and you can never see your hands when driving in first-person mode. It definately feels very weird to see the steering wheel rotating from left to right but no hands to operate it. Well, agreed it is not entirely a deal breaker, but it most certainly stands out in a game that tries to be incredibly realistic.

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In conclusion

Completing tasks provide utmost satisfaction in RoadCraft (Image via Focus Interactive)

To conclude, I would like to say it again — the game is not made for everyone. It is a fairly niche title that will only cater to a specific audience. The game is well-crafted, with a lot of attention-to-detail, huge maps, and some incredible driving mechanics. However, it is extremely slow paced and requires a ton of patience. If you are someone who is victim to constant scrolling and short form content consumption on the internet, you might find yourself in a very tough spot with this game.

For fans of construction and realistic driving simulation titles, RoadCraft is actually one of the best titles ever made. For someone who gets thrill out of making an uneven road better, or aligning slabs and iron ingots, RoadCraft can be the perfect pick. But again, some of the lacking elements in the game are not easy to overlook.

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RoadCraft

RoadCraft: Sportskeeda Gaming review (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming)

Reviewed on: PC (Code provided by Saber Interactive)

Platform(s): PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5

Developer(s): Saber Interactive

Publisher(s): Focus Entertainment Publishing

Release Date: May 20, 2025