2020-08-01_PC_Gamer_(US_Edition

But, somehow, I always (well,

usually) manage to heave my

off-roader out of the sludge. Whether

through dumb luck, determination,

or just sheer pig-headedness, I jostle

myself free, and the feeling of victory

is immense. At least until I get stuck

again down the road, which is

inevitable in these wild,

unpredictable stretches

of mud, snow, and pain.

This is the

SnowRunner

experience. You’ll feel

hopeless, annoyed, and

always on the verge of

rage quitting, cursing as

the broken-down truck

you’re towing gets wedged against a

rock, or your ill-equipped Chevy

pick-up slides off an icy path and digs

itself into a mud-filled trench.

But the euphoria, and the relief, of

conquering these challenges is what

keeps me playing through all of this

simulated hardship. SnowRunner is a

brutal, uncompromising off-road

driving sim that really wants you to

fail—which only makes denying it the

satisfaction even sweeter.

A short tutorial sequence eases

you into the game’s systems, like

switching to a low gear, or firing up

your fuel-guzzling all-wheel drive, to

avoid getting stuck in the mud. But

after this, it’s a full-on sandbox. The

maps are huge and loaded with

missions you can tackle in any order,

whether you’re delivering wood and

steel to help finish a bridge, locating a

missing science team in a snowy

wilderness, or dragging a lost oil

tanker out of a bog.

Completing missions earns you

currency that can be spent on better

vehicles, allowing you to tackle

rougher ground, travel deeper into

the wilds, and take on more lucrative

jobs. Play for long enough, and you’ll

have an entire fleet of trucks, ready to

tackle anything nature throws at you.

There are three locations to slog

through, each with their own unique

terrain, weather and atmosphere. You

start in Michigan, navigating

autumnal forests, winding mountain

paths, and rocky plateaus. The region

has recently been hit by

heavy flooding and

you’re part of the

rescue effort, repairing

vital infrastructure and

delivering supplies to

cut-off citizens.

Then there’s Alaska,

which puts the snow in

SnowRunner, hurling

all manner of wintry chaos at you,

including deep, powdery drifts and

iced-over lakes. This is punishing,

nerve-shredding terrain, which the

game helpfully warns you about

when you first arrive. Losing control

on ice is particularly terrifying,

because at least in the mud there’s

something to grip onto.

And, finally, there’s Taymyr, a

rugged peninsula in the far north of

Russia. Here you’ll find thick forests,

swampy marshes, sloppy dirt roads,

and a bleak overcast sky looming over

it all. Wherever you are in the world,

SnowRunner is beautiful to look at.

MUD SLINGING

There are 11 maps in the game,

littered with hundreds of natural and

man-made obstacles, such as

collapsed bridges, rockfalls, and fallen

electricity pylons. And everything you

encounter, even if it’s just a deep

puddle, is a puzzle to be solved.

Something as simple as dragging a

trailer up a muddy incline can be a

25-minute ordeal, often requiring

multiple vehicles.

Switching vehicles is one of

SnowRunner’s best features. If your

truck gets stuck, you can switch to

another vehicle in your fleet, drive

over, and use a winch to yank it free.

The game also supports online co-op,

so a friend can come to the rescue as

well. Just don’t be surprised if the

rescue vehicle ends up stuck in the

same patch of mud.

If you’re really beyond help you

can respawn back at your garage,

fully repaired and refuelled. But

when you’ve just spent 45 minutes

clawing your way up a mountain, this

is the last thing you want to do. All

that progress will be lost, and you’ll

have to start over. SnowRunner has

absolutely no sympathy for you,

which can be a little dispiriting.

That’s what you sign up for when

you play SnowRunner. You’re going to

be frustrated and demoralized as you

wrestle with its many gruelling

off-road trials. But when you do

finally reach the other side of that

swollen river, flooded trail, or snowy

forest, it really does feel incredible.

You’ll just have to decide if chasing

these victories is worth the stress.

NEED TO KNOW

WHAT IS IT?

A game about driving

big trucks down

small roads

EXPECT TO PAY

$50

DEVELOPER

Saber Interactive

PUBLISHER

Focus Home Interactive

REVIEWED ON

RTX 2080 Super, Intel

i7-9700K, 16GB RAM

MULTIPLAYER

Up to 4 player co-op

LINK

snowrunner-the

game.com

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This deep off-road

sim delights in giving

you a hard time, but

every victory is all the

sweeter for it.

VERDICT

Yo u ’ l l f e e l

hopeless,

annoyed, and

on the verge of

rage quitting

T

here are moments in SnowRunner when I’m stuck halfway up

a mountain, wheels churning pointlessly in the slop, that I

wonder if all the struggle is worth it. The more I fight it, the

worse it seems to get, and I can’t even winch myself out

because the nearest tree or rock is just out of reach.

ICE COLD

Pick a fight with nature in punishing

off-road driving sim SNOWRUNNER. By Andy Kelly

MUD FOR IT

What to expect from the three regions

MICHIGAN

Location: United

States

Terrain: Gravel,

dirt, mud

Obstacles: Fallen

trees, flooded

roads, rockfalls

Challenge level: 3/5

ALASKA

Location: United

States

Terrain: Snow,

ice, mud

Obstacles: Frozen

lakes, snow drifts,

collapsed bridges

Challenge level: 5/5

TAYMYR

Location: Russia

Terrain: Mud, mud,

more mud

Obstacles: Swollen

rivers, marshes,

quarries

Challenge level:

4/5

REVIEW

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