Video games have always been a big part of my life, and though my reasons for being passionate for the medium have evolved and shifted as I’ve aged and learned, I have always fundamentally understood why I appreciate the aspects that I do. I’m in touch with my need for power fantasy and escapism, for emotionally stirring storytelling, for true organic scares. But I can’t truly express to you good people exactly why I am so drawn to SnowRunner, a sandbox long-haul trucking simulator from Mad Dog Games (Saber Interactive).
Look, I understand that the genre drop alone might be enough to send thumbs and mice a flurry as they work to quickly close this article, lest boredom drowns them like so much thick, heavy mud. I would have done the same thing a couple of years ago even. I grew up around big trucks, so they didn’t hold as much mysticism for me as they do for some young folks. I appreciate a big machine, but they’ve never been my focus. And games not about racing or destroying them just seemed a bit mundane. However, I have always enjoyed chore and structure-based titles like Harvest Moon and its spiritual successor Stardew Valley, finding a sort of meditation in the rhythms of farm maintenance. So in recent years, I gave the Farming Simulator franchise a try and found that not only did I enjoy the same managerial flow, but the added level of realism and interactivity really scratched a new itch. Washing, maintaining, and buying new farm equipment was satisfying. The mysticism of giant machines seemed to have kicked in for reasons unknown. So when I first saw the trailer for SnowRunner, with the over-the-top serious score intercut with shots of giant trucks slogging through thick sloppy mud and smashing snowbanks, I knew I’d found my holy grail.
SnowRunner, when cooked down to a fine reduction, could be called an “anti-racing” game. The loose story drops you and potentially three other friends online -as an up and coming big rig fleet (or sentient truck squad, if my wife is to be believed)- into three major areas around the world to offer aid in the aftermath of various disasters. This aid comes in the form of picking up and delivering supplies and resources for fixing up each area. For instance, the first area takes place in Michigan after a massive flood, and your first task is to deliver wood and steel to the workers fixing a destroyed bridge. As simple as that sounds, and as basic of a fetch quest it may seem, the difference is in the pace at which you work. Unlike most delivery titles, speed is less a factor than safety, as the thick mud from landslides can cause your truck to become slowed or stuck, out of control rivers can flood your engine, and rolling your vehicle will stall it. You have to carefully plan each and every trip, avoiding danger when you can, and traversing it when you must, in order to rebuild and clean each map, further opening new safe routes and vehicle parts.
And in the immortal words of my guy Tobias Funke, “Oh, look at all these parts!” There are many varieties of vehicles to get the jobs done, from small crew cab pickups for scouting routes to giant rigs ready to hitch up with giant fuel trailers. Each vehicle can be outfitted with different wenches for pulling your vehicles out of sticky situations, tires for different environments, different trailers and beds, engines with more power, snorkels for traversing deep water, onboard cranes for loading cargo, cosmetic rims, flashing emergency lights, the list goes on. There are so many tools at your disposal for conquering the wild and often messy world. Around the map, there are hidden upgrades to be sought out and drowned vehicles that can be salvaged with the right torque to yank them free.
When you’re not taking contracts and fulfilling jobs, you are free to roam the maps as much as your vehicles will allow. There are watchtowers scattered around the maps, that when reached will remove the fog from the map menu, allowing you to find new gigs, secrets, and challenges. There are timed challenge deliveries that can be done for more money and fame, both of which are needed to get new parts and raise your chances for success.
All of this when just analyzed still can sound tedious. Though a lot of games, particularly action RPGs, go about these exact same tasks and gameplay loops, they do so with insane shows of strength and bravado, flashy moves and choreography. SnowRunner will give you none of those things, but there is a beautiful thrill and satisfaction in completing a job in this game. While the game’s score is a serviceable mix of twangy blues instrumentals and twangy rock instrumentals, turning it down and throwing on your favorite podcast or playlist, taking that in along with the white noise of engine purrs and the incredible nature ambiance can be a calming experience. The graphics are beautiful, with long draw distances, colorful skyboxes, and the always satisfying terrain physics. Carving a new path through thick slimy mud is a slow and constantly evolving dance that looks quite realistic, and feels weighty and like a challenge to conquer.
I can’t flat out say that if you like the satisfying loop of maintaining your farm in a game like Stardew that you will enjoy the loop of slogging supplies through the mud. But I will say this: in one session I drove miles through tight woods and slippery hills with my big rig and a full heavy trailer, got nearly flooded out in a redirected river, and almost ran out of fuel, but in the last mile became impossibly stuck. Using the combination of my truck’s wench, and finally using the wench and horsepower of a second truck for recovery, I managed to deliver my load and remove a fallen power line from the road. It was every bit as satisfying as selling a final successful crop on the last day of the season or making it to bed from the mines of Stardew at !:50 AM.
For a game that seems like just work, SnowRunner is actually a massively fun, and massively scaled title. At six hours, I have yet to really even experience the titular snow of the Alaskan area, so I see this as being another title with tons of mileage that’s worth investing in. If you like trucks, exploration, zen-like work sims, or even just the idea of being a sentient Chevy with Spider-Man powers, it definitely is. SnowRunner is currently available and on sale on Xbox One, PS4, and PC, for $37.49*, $33.49, and $31.99 respectively.
*With Xbox Live Gold account