[HOT] : SnowRunner – A sequel that has it under the hood? Part two

But the title easily catches up with its snowy landscapes. At the center of the name and the promotion of the game, the landscapes, especially of Alaska, will dazzle you with realism and allow you to escape. The snow, ice and sleet, very present this time (the Michigan mud had to be replaced), will require you to master your road equipment and in particular the trailers, which can very quickly send you into the background, while still being a bit more accessible than Michigan mud. Russia offers a mix of the two worlds.

Realism taken (a little too much) to the extreme

If there’s one thing we can’t fault SnowRunner for, it’s its realism. We particularly welcome the modeling and customization of vehicles as well as the realization of the sets and the driving experience, although sometimes grueling.

Each of the vehicles has its own capacities: hitch, differential block, AWD (all-wheel drive) which will allow you to get out of the worst passes, or the winch, a great find which will also help you get out of muddy terrain by hanging on. to the nearest solid element. The spotting is legion here because you could find yourself stranded and having to repatriate your truck to the garage after 30 minutes of road and thus start your entire journey for the current mission.

The game clearly puts you at the center of your destiny because without any indication, you will have to find the best path and the best racing car in order to carry out your mission. You will also have to manage your gasoline thanks to the possibility of refueling at various service stations scattered on the road, but also be careful not to hit your vehicle too much so as not to damage it and thus block your progress and your upgrade skills.

But this realism has sometimes been taken a little too far to the extreme. Indeed, one can quickly feel discouraged by the difficulty with which it is difficult to move forward, whatever the path to take, to carry out certain missions. And although the title promises us complete freedom to complete missions and other tasks in the order we want, most of the challenges in the first third of the game will require you to have special equipment, unlockable thanks to a previous mission, this which means that we can only feel taken by the hand in a world that wants to be sandboxed.

In addition, one of the things that is most lacking in this new title, it is in particular the management of the camera during certain situations. For example, when you are close to buildings, the camera finds itself stuck above your vehicle, whereas it happens to be rather smooth and precise in normal driving. No need to dwell on the ___pit view offered by the game either, because although much improved since the previous opus, it does not offer anything transcendent. The modeling and the movement of the hands on the steering wheel are not striking and the dashboards are hardly worked on.

The interface itself is quite nice and has been changed considerably since the previous installment. Rather intuitive on console, you will know exactly which key combination is used to perform which action. The map itself will only really serve you to locate your next waypoint because it is not so precise other than to show you the roads and paths. The soundtrack unfortunately remains discreet, dotted with a few sounds although the sounds of the engines and other shocks are terribly realistic.

Note that SnowRunner offers an online multiplayer mode for up to 4 players. This mode consists of carrying out contracts with the help of other players from around the world with the possibility of helping each other in the event of a hard blow (towing, use of the winch etc.). What to give a little life to a title too calm otherwise. Unfortunately, the mode was relatively empty during this test before the game was released.

Not insignificant to emphasize, the game will offer mods via the mod.io platform with tons of vehicles or maps created by the players. For now, only a few vehicles were available on PC for a ridiculous in-game price. But we could not test them because they will not arrive until later on consoles.

Finally, be aware that SnowRunner promises to expand even more in the coming months as a year of additional content is scheduled by the developers. In addition to offering free content for all players, this will be an opportunity to offer season pass holders new vehicles, missions and challenges with the promise of a major expansion soon.

SnowRunner largely raises the bar following a first Spintires opus: MudRunner shy and very dull. Extremely remarkable beauty thanks to a brand new graphics engine, the driving simulation of off-road vehicles is renewed and convinces with its assumed realism in all respects with a physics engine that will not forgive driving errors. Much larger than its predecessor, it will be easy to get lost in the varied landscapes offered by the title as well as by the multitude of objectives to achieve. We must also salute the dozens of possibilities for customizing the forty or so vehicles available. Despite everything, we regret the unfortunate disappointments, particularly in the management of the camera or a poorly measured difficulty in the first hours of play as well as a still unsatisfactory ___pit view, among other things. In short, a game that will take time to master but which is enjoyable once well in hand.