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Mad Max didn't really make any Game of the Year lists, yet I feel that it's been hugely overlooked, and that it has plenty to offer.

The game, on paper, should've just been another boring Ubisoft open-worlder: camps to infiltrate, viewpoints to climb up to and survey, skill trees, upgrades, and all the usual stuff that makes up your average Watch Dogs/Far Cry/Assassin's Creed. Yet Mad Max felt way more special, and a lot more fresh and fun than it should have, because this game isn't about the features – it's about organic experiences.

Mad Max (the game) is based on the Mad Max (the movie) universe, in which resource shortages leads to the collapse of civilisation. In Mad Max (the game) you play as the titular Max, who is journeying to the Plains of Silence when he is attacked by a group of War Boys led by Scarborus Scrotus. They steal his Interceptor and leave him for dead, and Max wanders about until he comes across Chumbucket, a hunchback that created his own car-based religion and claims that Max is a Saint. He gives Max the Magnum Opus, a car that's originally a rusty chassis on wheels, but can be upgraded throughout the game.

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The Magnum Opus can be upgraded in the pause menu using Scrap – a currency that can be found scattered all over the wasteland, mainly in Scavenging Locations. These are marked on the map and have a certain amount of scrap inside – once you collect it all, the marker disappears. These locations are all over the gaff, so you'll never be too far from some scrap if you need to upgrade. Scrap can also be earned from captured Camps – more on that later.

Back to the car: the Magnum Opus has many categories that can be upgraded, from the engine and exhaust to its sniper rifle and its grapple hook. The Opus can also be upgraded into Archangels, pre-made car recipes that give the car a stat boost if completed. For instance, if you want an extravagant car that's as tough as it is vibrant, try the Pinky Finger, a spike-covered blue-and-pink roadster, whereas if it's speed that you're looking for, try the Speed Demon. It's a cool system, but mixing and matching the parts by yourself is also fun.

The way that the Opus feels is amazing; even though there isn't a handbrake – only acceleration and braking controls – cornering feels great when you've upgraded your car enough, and the huge amounts of speed gained when you boost is insane. Not only that, but the boost allows you to accelerate with ridiculous speed and ramp fairly high, too.

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Still, combat is the best thing about the Opus, as it gives you so many options to improvise and innovate – a combination of Max's shotgun, the harpoon, the car's ramming capabilities, the Longshot, and the Thunderpoon gives you tons of possibilities. In one instance, I used the Thunderpoon to take down a car's armour, then harpooned the door off and shot the driver with the shotgun. Still, it's all the more satisfying to shoot the exposed gas tank or simply yank the driver out and see him ragdoll past you. There's always a huge amount of explosions in any Mad Max battle – but then again, what else would you expect from developer Avalanche?

Hand-to-hand combat is very well done, too – it's very Arkham, with normal attacks, heavy attacks, and counters being the staple. You can upgrade Max to give him new abilities, such as a shoulder charge or a shiv finisher, but the best thing about combat is when Max goes into Fury mode, a state-of-mind that gives him extra strength as he runs around dropkicking and suplexing enemies. It's very entertaining and sometimes downright funny, yet hugely effective.

These two types of combat are mostly combined when you have to take down and capture Camps of varying types. First of all, you'll have to take down the perimeter defences, which could consist of flame tubes, snipers, or fire-slinging catapults, which can be taken out using the car's harpoon, sniper rifle, and shotgun. Then, you'll have to go inside and take down the cronies within, who'll usually have a War Crier hanging above them and giving them a statistical buff. You can take down these War Criers with a shotgun blast or by breaking the crane that they're hanging from, but sometimes it's funnier to leave them be while you take out the men on the ground; when the War Crier is the only one left, he'll exchange in some "Well, this is awkward" dialogue that always makes me chuckle.

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After that, depending on the camp type, you'll either have to blow up some oil pumps or transfer tanks by using either the shotgun or the numerous fuel cans scattered about to end the takeover with a literal bang. What's coolest about taking over camps is that they usually have friendly scouts outside that can give you tips on where to find treasure or where to best enter the camp. It's a cool system.

These camps are usually full of scrap and project parts, as well as historical relics. Project parts can be collected and put into use in strongholds: for example, collect all armory parts and you'll get an ammo refill whenever you enter the stronghold; collect all of the Cleanup Crew parts and every car you trash will be harvested for scrap.

Capturing camps, killing snipers, using hot air balloons to manually survey the area, and taking down "Scarecrows" – giant flaming lanterns with bodies hanging off of them – lowers an area's threat level. Every time that a threat level is lowered, more upgrades for Max and the Magnum Opus are unlocked. Max can be upgraded with scrap and with "Griffa tokens", which can be cashed in to the mystical Griffa in exchange for stat boosts and other upgrades.

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Mad Max, in essence, is all about survival and collecting resources. Water is essential as it gives you health, and can be stored in Max's canteen. It's a good idea to top off whenever you see a water source, as it's few and far between. Fuel and food is also quite scarce – fuel is essential for your car, and food is an alternative health pickup and comes in the form of tasty maggots and scrumptious-in-comparison Dinki Di dog food. The fact that all of this stuff is few and far between makes you feel as if you're actually struggling to survive in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, something that not many games accomplish.

The world, in general, feels as dystopian and as destroyed as it can get – historical relics echo a better past: after Max finds a picture of a dog, he claims "we didn't eat dogs back then", giving you a sense of horror about this messed-up world. The tornadoes and electrical storms are a hugely impressive sight to see, but the flying debris and lightning could kill you in an instant. Stranded tankers, bones of dead whales, and other remnants of civilization are scattered about.

And that's the main reason why you should try Mad Max – it has an interesting, depressing backstory, yet the gameplay is as fun, crazy, and sprightly as you could imagine. These are things that shouldn't work well together, but I think that this excellent adaptation of the movieverse strikes the perfect balance.

Do you think that Mad Max was overlooked this year? Stuff your mouth with dog food in the comments section below.