SnowRunner Gen 8 is upon us, Compete and conquer, this challenging game just became more difficult by introducing a racing aspect to Tennessee USA, we are granted access to Burning Mill, which is a 4km2 map covered in racing props. The map includes a rally course, a Dirt circuit, and how would it be complete without introducing the aspect of SnowRunner by adding a Large river, yes I will get stuck in there with you don’t worry.
To add to the already treacherous challenge you will be given multiple time trails with checkpoints to reach the finishing line, for an additional challenge you would be able to co-op this and create a heated race through these time trials.
The game is finally available on Playstation 5 and the Xbox Series consoles with the beautiful environment in crisp 4K resolution and 60FPS with the current owners of the game getting the free upgrade of the game to be able to enjoy the game in 4K along with the new players.
Back to the base game itself, SnowRunner is an off-road sim game developed by Saber Interactive as the sequel to MudRunner released in 2018. You will be provided with 40 different vehicles such as Ford and Chevy to try and conquer the open-world Sim. What do we all tend to miss with these types of games, Co-op, and this has been introduced for up to 4 players, giving you the ability to score lunch by rescuing your friend out of a mud puddle when he gets stuck. If you play alone you are provided with the option to reset your vehicle, but at a cost, you do not go back to the nearest road, but instead will take you back to your last checkpoint.
This adds to the challenge and knowing that each mistake could cost you a lot of time and fuel. Luckily fuel is free and you can monitor your consumption from the HUD at all times, you will also be able to observe the condition of your truck/SUV from the HUD if it might have sustained any damage such as engine damage.
Some upgrades/changes to the vehicles are free, which helps a lot if you are a new player still trying to find your feet. From what we have experienced do not expect an SUV to be able to tow any vehicle or Cargo you see, you would also not be able to take any vehicle over any terrain, a truck might get stuck on a very muddy road and you will see your truck sink further in as you try to get out of it.
We appreciated the brilliant engine being highly advanced with physics and dynamic weather to make the sim as realistic as possible, the trucks/SUVs were not left behind when it comes to the quality, you would be able to toggle 4WD and the Low and High gears to help you overcome the horrifying terrain.
Saber has also introduced Year passes, which means more content other than the base game, satisfying the die-hard fans that just cannot have enough of this game, the 1 Year pass includes everything from Season 1’s Search and Recover to Season 4 (New Frontiers), this will also include additional packs and liveries for the vehicles. Year 2 pass includes a Tatra Dual Pack, a Burning Bright Vinyl Wrap Pack and Seasons 5 through to 8. If you get the Year 2 pass it will include everything from Year 1 pass as well as shown below.
Final Thoughts: With a brilliant physics engine, beautiful scenery and realistic driving experiences one cannot help but enjoy the challenging experience, and either lose your mind or laugh at your own mistakes, Dynamic Weather is something we all wish for in a lot of games, and Saber has included this for us, it is frustrating that you would not be reset to the nearest road if you do make a mistake but this does add to the challenge. It is a game that is possible to play on a controller but the cars would be easier to control on a steering rig instead.
I know you are feeling the need to challenge yourself with this game, so we added the below links for you to be able to purchase them, if you trust our reviews, you may put your trust in them to deliver you next-gen service.
