In Steep the mountains speak, sort of

Before hurtling down mountains at ridiculous speeds on flimsy bits of wood, those at the Steep preview event were told this new IP from Ubisoft is “more than a sport game”. And while extreme Winter sports encompass the majority of the game, Steep tries to deepen your experience via exploration, and by giving these mountains that you’re hurtling down a voice.

Yes, the mountains speak…sort of.

When I heard the words “I am mountain” on the summit of Aravis, I thought I was in an ad for a Sony Bravia TV. An airy, ambient track was playing over the top as I was skiing down the white decline and all that was missing was something at the end telling me how much the newest 4K telly will cost. Steep’s main problem is how seriously it takes itself – it is, after all, a game about extreme sports where you’ll comedically end up on your ass, seemingly break multiple bones, then miraculously recover and go back for more races and score attack challenges.

These Mountain Stories, as they’re called, are the more out-of-the-ordinary options on this sprawling snowy map where Steep tries to give you more than what you ask for. It reaches for these poignant moments of calm and wonder, but in my time with it they felt like a massive departure from the rest of the game, where it was willing me to pull off some gnarly and bodacious tricks, dude.

But then, Steep allows you to approach these powdered hills how you like: zip around the land and organically discover points of interest, or use the map to dip in and out of time trials, races, and score attacks – in my few hours with the game, I found the latter to be the best way to get from A to B. However you choose to get around, the main aim of Steep is to build your rep, which will allow you to level up and enter harder, more complex events, eventually becoming the best snowboarder-cum-skier-cum-paraglider-cum-wingsuiterman the world has ever seen.

There’s definitely a difference in quality between these four sports, with some seeming redundant at the best of times. Like all aspects of Steep, though, the game never forces your hand, and on a lot of the downhill events you’re able to pick between using your snowboard or your skis – some don’t even pigeonhole you to that degree, and give you the opportunity to use the aforementioned two, as well as the option to paraglide, use the wingsuit, or walk to get to your goal. Thankfully, switching between modes of transport involves a quick option wheel that can be accessed at any time, making the switchover quick and painless.

Whizzing down one of the massive death traps can feel exhilarating on a snowboard or a pair of skis, but come to a section where your options have been exhausted and you can only stroll to your objective. While it’s not exactly one of the game’s disciplines, walking is an option on your multiple choice wheel, and sometimes there’s no other logical way to get to where you need to be. It’s safe to imagine that it’s pretty difficult to walk up the Alps in a couple of feet of snow, and it’s painstakingly recreated here. Naturally enough, it kills any momentum that you’ve built; in one particular instance, after paragliding toward a mountaintop, I landed a bit short and spent three minutes walking up it, which felt like a lifetime. Here, the realism could be toned down somewhat, to allow for a more fun time.

When Steep drops all pretence and doesn’t get you to look out into the distance at the pretty view that I feel they think is more breathtaking than it actually is, it can actually provide that fun time. Above all else, snowboarding is easily the most accessible and best craic. The analogue sticks control your movement and speed on the ground, and your trick rotations in the air once you’ve used the shoulder buttons to propel yourself off one of the many kickers littered across the mountain range. While you can faceplant into the freezing blanket, I felt like landing a trick was automated at times; almost making things a little too easy. But that’s more than I can say for skiing,which feels like the poor imitation of a good time that the snowboard provides, or the horrendously dull paragliding challenges – not only is the paragliding dull, but it’s awkward to control, too. 

It would be remiss of me not to mention how good falling toward the Earth at an alarming rate is, though; the wingsuit is absolutely terrific — like the snowboard, it’s very easy to pick up. Stand on a raised bit of terrain, leap off, and glide across the sky, racking up points by coming close to obstacles, without smacking your head into them. If that doesn’t sound like a good time, I don’t know what does.

Partying up with players is easy as well; all it took during the preview event was the press of a button, and a number of us were battling it out on our own leaderboard, specific to an event. It’s clear Ubisoft wants Steep to be a social game as playing with friends and sharing replays of your runs is encouraged, but the success of that will depend on how servers fare at launch. 

There’ll always be a section of the audience that yearns for another 1080 Snowboarding, or SSX, because nostalgia digs its claws into all of us. However, even after only a few hours with Steep, I can say this isn’t going to satiate the appetite of those looking for a modern day equivalent. Its mood swings between Poe-faced and wacky too much, and some sports could’ve easily been sacrificed, Certain moments, however, prove that Steep can provide a thrill no other current-day titles can, by flinging you down a mountain at breakneck speeds. It’s just a pity when you have to walk up it and hear the words, “I am mountain.”