SnowRunner Review (PS5): New-Gen Off-Roading

As a successor to MudRunner, SnowRunner launched in April 2020 with just one mission: reinvent the off-road adventure in a way that nobody has managed to do before.

Saber Interactive has pushed everything to the next level, starting with the maps, which are now much larger, and ending with the vehicles that you can drive. There are plenty of models from renowned brands, including Chevrolet and Ford, as well as a lot (and I really mean a lot) of customizations to build your ultimate off-roader.

These upgrades are playing a vital role in how easily you can complete a mission. For example, once you unlock the Alaska missions, you absolutely need chain tires, otherwise, you’ll find yourself stuck in the snow even with the lightest cargo.

While SnowRunner has been around for about two years, the new-gen version, which went live recently alongside Season 7, is supposed to come with several notable improvements.

So let’s see what the PlayStation 5 version is all about.

First and foremost, the most notable change is the addition of 60 FPS and 4K resolution support. In other words, if you enjoyed the graphics, everything is substantially more refined now, with SnowRunner looking just like a 2022 game. Truth be told, additional polishing still seems to be required here and there, but the mud and dirt, as well as the surrounding nature, all appear to be highly realistic.

The dirt and the mud physics are more polished, and without a doubt, this is an essential part of the gameplay experience given this is what SnowRunner is all about.

Overall, the UI update powered by the PlayStation 5 hardware is without a doubt welcome, though when it comes to the new-gen experience, not everything is milk and honey.

For example, the DualSense vibration support is almost entirely missing, and to be honest, this is kind of a big letdown. After reviewing Supercross 5, which came with incredible DualSense support, SnowRunner feels like a PS4 game that was rushed to PS5 just to give it a refresh without actually putting too much work into it.

The DualSense vibrating motors can help put a lot of weight into each vehicle, especially when getting stuck in mud or snow, and unfortunately, Saber has failed to take advantage of a piece of technology that can provide incredible feedback to the player.

Other than that, SnowRunner also comes with much faster loading times on the PlayStation 5, but this isn’t necessarily a surprise given the new-gen hardware.

The gameplay hasn’t changed that much, and to be honest, SnowRunner still feels like the game that you can’t get bored with.

Probably one of the best things about SnowRunner is that you can always unlock new regions and therefore explore more wilderness, essentially allowing you to start from scratch on a different map.

However, the larger maps are a double-edged sword. While they indeed allowed for the addition of new missions and more locations, they also make SnowRunner feel very slow at certain times, especially when the place you have to reach is at the other end of the map.

It’s hard to find something to really complain about in SnowRunner, but there still are a few things that would need additional polishing, such as the steering, the camera angles, and maybe the sound. I know that most people like the audio, but since we’re at autoevolution here, I expected the engine roar to be more realistic, especially when trying to get a vehicle out of the mud.

CONCLUSIONS

SnowRunner on PlayStation 5 is the great game you know but prepared for the modern world. Well, sort of, as the 60 FPS support does make the game feel smoother and the 4K resolution allows for more realistic graphics, but the lack of proper support for the DualSense controller is something totally unexpected. And disappointing too.

Otherwise, SnowRunner continues to be a fantastic off-roading title on pretty much every single front. The lineup of vehicles is just great, the mud physics is super-realistic, and the addition of more and more maps and locations makes it harder to ever get bored playing it.

At the end of the day, the new-gen version is an update that just makes sense, and in some ways, it makes SnowRunner adorably addictive.

Rating: 85/100