There are some games that try in every way to bring a breath of fresh air to the genre, especially when it comes to racing games. Snowrunner, born from the collaboration between Know e Focus Interactive (together again after the results obtained by funny MudRunner, released in 2017), it tries to push off-road simulations into uncharted terrain, further pushing the playful possibilities related to physics and realism at the highest levels. It remains only to understand how much and how an "unusual" racing game can somehow try to entertain users simply by putting aside the adrenaline of speed in favor of the accuracy of the driving model. Spoiler: it can be done.
ATTENTION, rough terrain
Snowrunner, at first glance, seems to be the usual B series title, with no original ideas on its side and able to entertain for a few hours or so. Once you take the pad in your hand, however, you realize how the Saber title actually has an almost unexpected energy, that is triple (in size) compared to what we saw with the previous MudRunner. Three new regions - Michigan, Alaska and Taimyr in Russia - with as many interconnected environments are in fact our playground to be explored. The driving model and more generally the realism induced by physics are combined with a design of the setting that is always attentive to detail, whether we are talking about the roadside tree or the rock, passing through the performance of the vehicles (we will return to this point a little lower). In short, nothing seems to be put by chance, just as nothing seems to be left to chance or to the bad management of an inattentive physical engine, while we go through the various settings with great effort and commitment.
Despite the comparison with Death Stranding may appear out of place and somewhat forced, we assure you that the feeling is just that of Sam Porter Bridges' adventure, but on four wheels. The fleet, we said: compared to MudRunner, there are really a dozen steps forward, given that we will have a truly remarkable number of more or less performing cars on our side, including the introduction of very special special vehicles, for a total of about 40 racing cars. To carry out the missions and contracts that will be assigned to us, we will be able to put our hands on a truly surprising number of vehicles, each of which has unique characteristics and driveability, which will make the various crossings a 360 ° challenge, first of all. against ourselves. They range from having to build an oil pipeline or a bridge, clear a road from landslides or landslides, or groped to recover another car that ended up in breakdown in spite of itself.
Drive carefully
Yes, the ghost of repetitiveness is really one of the few malus of a product made with enormous attention to detail, of cause: the various missions, tasks and more generally the challenges that we will be called to accept will often be very (too) similar. between them, despite the fact that no mission will be truly identical to the previous one (thanks also and above all to the particular environmental conditions and the road surface, just as happened in Sam's numerous crossings in the title of Kojima Productions). Luckily, the automatic saves will take away the frustration of having to start a mission all over again. Finally, it Swarm Engine - that is the proprietary engine of Saber Interactive, already seen in the fun World War Z - will ensure that every trip is a fair sight for the eyes, thanks also to the fact that the various settings will tend to change as we pass.
