Badlands Crew

Badlands Crew is a Mad Max-inspired crew and vehicle management game that offers a rich customization system and a variety of missions across a large open-world map. Players command a battle wagon, customizing trucks and crew to suit different mission types. The game features a mix of real-time combat with cinematic slow-motion and strategic micromanagement, including a unique WASTE system for targeting vehicle components.

While many players praise the depth of customization, engaging gameplay, and the game's cozy yet strategic management mechanics, there are notable technical and design issues. Performance problems, especially frame rate drops and input lag, hinder the experience for some. Controls are often described as janky or unintuitive, and the truck editor can be frustrating due to camera and placement limitations. The game also suffers from repetitiveness, slow progression, and overwhelming item clutter that dilutes the sense of meaningful upgrades.

Overall, Badlands Crew delivers a compelling concept with addictive gameplay for fans of the genre, but it is marred by technical flaws and design choices that may frustrate some players.

Highlights

Players especially appreciate the deep and intuitive customization of vehicles and crew, which allows varied playstyles.

The real-time combat combined with cinematic slow-motion and strategic targeting provides an engaging and dynamic gameplay experience.

The large open-world map with diverse mission types and the freedom to choose missions enhances replayability and player agency.

The cozy management system and progression mechanics create a satisfying journey through the wasteland.

The game is seen as a worthy evolution of the Runner Duck crew series, with more control and mission variety than its predecessors.

Criticisms

Performance issues such as severe frame rate drops and input lag become prominent in the mid to late game, negatively affecting playability.

Controls are often described as awkward or unintuitive, with confusing keybindings and problematic camera movement.

The truck editor lacks useful features like an x-ray mode, making complex vehicle building frustrating.

Excessive item clutter with many functionally similar items dilutes meaningful customization and progression.

Some missions feel repetitive and trivial, and the game’s progression can be slow and grindy.

Technical bugs, including mission objective failures and crashes, further impact the experience.