SnowRunner developed by Saber Interactive and published by Focus Home Interactive is now available on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
SnowRunner is a physics-based driving game in which players will have the freedom to drive over 40 vehicles in the most challenging terrains in the World. From delivering, picking up, exploring, taking on contracts, tasks and more. SnowRunner gives you the freedom to do what you want with what has been created and with mods built into the game, you can add even more to your world to make it your own. Each of the contracts, tasks or jobs give you different objectives that never feel too samey, for example, I was trying to help fix a flooded farm which required multiple trips and had me learning about customising my truck to take on the full load without struggling and getting stuck. I enjoyed the challenges I faced they all felt different and the reward was worth it. Though for god sake, try not to overturn your vehicles with a full load, what a nightmare.
SnowRunner surprised me, it’s not my usual kind of game but the trailers were fantastic, I wanted to give it a go for myself and I found it to be such a stress reliever. I enjoyed exploring the environments the team at Saber Interactive have created, it felt like everything was interactive, the way the tyres went through water and mud, the way the trucks create such unique looking tracks and finally the way you can interact with the environment to help yourself out of tricky situations, I loved it. Every drive felt unique, when you customise your vehicles it was a new aspect of the game to learn which also provided more open-ended fun. One challenge I did last night was finding camping spots on mountain peaks and driving on such thin roads with such a catastrophic drop on the other side was exciting, I did almost fall a few times but luckily I had a winch to stop myself from fully falling over. Moving onto Alaska, ice-road trucking was also fun but don’t rush there as I did with a basic truck kitted with only highway tyres, it will not work out in your favour. To unlock more to be able to traverse more difficult environments you must take on any jobs, tasks or contracts to build up your XP and bank balance, then you’ll be able to kit vehicles out for specific tasks, it makes levelling up very rewarding and pushes you to keep on going. I’m not great at the game at all, it took me almost an hour to finish the farm task due to my own mistakes but I never wanted to stop or give up, the experimentation with different vehicles is the fun of it.
SnowRunner is probably one of the best looking driving games of this generation, each little segment of terrain looks and feels handcrafted. From the mud-soaked paths to the broken bits of road, this game is beyond beautiful. I loved the first areas forestry, the flooded farmlands and even the towns look beautifully crafted, there’s nothing to fault with its graphical design. The soundtrack is also perfect, the slide guitar matches up so well with what you’re doing, there is nothing like after a stressful day, sticking SnowRunner on and driving to that brilliant soundtrack, it is fantastic.
Verdict
SnowRunner surprised me, it’s beautiful, addictive, relaxing and I just want to keep on playing more. I never ran into any issues, the controls were perfectly done, the vehicles kitted out with so many options and there is so much to do you’ll find yourself hooked and finding it hard to quit the game. I can’t wait to see what modders can do with this game, especially since they will be able to introduce there own levels soon, I was thinking how cool would an apocalypse level be trying to deliver supplies to bunkers or surviving communities? I can’t find any fault with SnowRunner, and I can’t recommend this title enough.
10/10
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