Over the Hill, a rather chillaxed take on brutal Saber Interactive off-roading sims like SnowRunner, is the latest game from vibesy driving enthusiasts Funselektor. The folks behind the likes of Art of Rally and Absolute Drift have assembled untamed wildernesses in the cold Canadian hills and the boiling desert of Algeria, before handing myself and Julian the keys to some 4x4s. Here’s our verdict.
Mark: Right, I’m getting to the top of the snowy peak this time. You just watch me. My Unimog-shaped behemoth of an off-roader, imbued with the finest tech the Germans can devise for making short work of any terrain, is nearly fully upgraded. It can get me there. I will not end up rolling down a whole mountain again, the roof of my near-indestructible half-lorry/half-jeep bouncing off the rocks like a pebble being lobbed down the Grand Canyon.
I’m gonna use my little poles to winch myself up and use my jack to put myself back on my wheels if I fall over. I will not end up wedged helplessly between two stone ledges again, engine roaring in futile fury. I am going t- crap, I’ve taken too much speed round a bend and tumbled off a cliff towards the valley below. Have you fared similarly, Julian?
Julian: I want to say that my many hours of Spintires, SnowRunner, and MudRunner have left me in good stead, but while driving the first challenge trail I discovered in Over the Hill, I was pootling along a lakeside waterfall with too little care, clipped a rocky outcrop and ended up wedged between two rocks with my engine rapidly filling with water. I'd like to say that was the one and only time I made that mistake, but there is a joyous bounce to Over the Hill's offroading that can also make fools of us all. I can't help but pick up speed as I drive down a mountain trail. I should switch into a lower gear, take my time, maybe assess the path before descending, but where's the fun in that? So, quite a few times now, I've found myself wedged between a couple of rocks, the wheels of my dinky 4x4 roaring but finding no grip.
For the most part, those failures haven't been too painful. Restarting back at a nearby campsite rarely means too long a drive back to where I lost control. Though, when wedged, I would prefer a few more toys to get unstuck – all too often there's no nearby tree to wrap a winch around. This will reveal how much further into the game you are than me, but I've not unlocked the jack or poles yet. I'm still making do with the starting winch (though I've upgraded the cable length with the points I've earned for exploring most of the starting region).
Do they change things substantially?
Mark: As soon as you’re able, investing in more gadget slots for your ride is a must. Since you earn upgrade points through discovering objectives while exploring the world, and interacting with them in whichever way is offered, you do have to get by early with just a single tool slot. As such, you’ve only got one jack or portable winch point to whip out if you get into a jam and, as you’ve outlined, there’s not always a friendly tree nearby to help out. There are four slots in total once you’ve bought them all and provided whatever tool you fill each of them with does get you past one obstacle or back on the road after one miscalculation, that essentially gives you four lives to use until you’ve got to consider resetting to the nearest camp. Naturally, if you’re like me and your first fall is all the way down a mountain, you might need to head back for repairs anyway.
It certainly keeps you on your toes, despite Over the Hill’s otherwise friendlier vibes than its tougher inspirations. I think the thing that keeps the former feeling less like Driving Dark Souls is the fact it keeps things admirably simple from a mechanical perspective. You’ve got the option of sticking in the high gear setting to go fast, or the low setting to more easily grind up hills without excess wheelspin, but there’s no shuffling about between a bunch of settings, having to remember to engage your locking diffs, or needing to worry about running out of fuel before you reach your next stop.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/over-the-hills-off-roading-simulation-winches-you-in-with-a-more-laid-back-take-than-snowrunners-but-itll-still-bite-careless-drivers
