Steep Reviews

Apart from those things, Steep is a game I really like the idea of. The concept of this cool extreme winter sports game, with great online features as well as content sharing features, combined with today’s graphical standards – it’s a great game idea. In execution, there are a few little things that could have made this game go from good to amazing, and I can’t help but feel a little disappointed in that sense. What I’m not disappointed about is wing-suiting, cruising down the gorgeous mountain side online with real people and the incredible sense of scope that Steep offers. All of the things that Steep does right will definitely keep me coming back for more.

No one man should have all that powder.

Overall, Steep is fun and definitely a world you can get lost in. The map is huge and full of challenges and locations to discover, with each providing thrills and stunts that will keep you coming back for more. Although it could have done better in some aspects, it still provides a fun package that mixes the fun of past arcade sports games, while adding modern elements to not make it feel outdated.

Extreme outdoor sports for those who wish to remain indoors.

As a gamer, the idea of racing down snowy mountain slopes on a plank of fibreglass with less than half a second between the reality of my face being smashed into a tree or staying how it is, has never really been something that appeals to me. However, if I can do that in the comfort of my bedroom in my track-pants with my blanket wrapped around me with little to no risk of face smashing, then sign me up!

Snowboarding is hard – really hard. And expensive. Oh, and don’t forget dangerous. But mostly hard.

Steep won’t create a new generation of extreme sports fans, but it is a solid title for the existing ones.

Steep is a triumph at merging gameplay and presentation to deliver players a sense of place in its beautiful open world. Controlling each sport feels simple yet laser precise, and the diversity in sports and challenges encouraged me to stay in the game even when challenges became too frustrating or uninteresting. Add to this a solid layer of social functionality, albeit shallow when playing with strangers, and you have a game that reaches the great heights it endeavors to recreate.

The best snowboarding game for a long time, with an excellent open world environment… and some very odd, and unnecessary, flaws.

The first time I ever went skiing, on the very first day, I managed to knock every other skier over on the baby slope. After experiencing what can only be described as acute snow blindness walking to the hotel, the first hour on the slopes was mainly stumbling to and from the ski lifts. Finally able to see again, I managed to take my first trip down the smallest of slopes and with perfect vision, watched as I collided with everybody else on this particular mountain. No one was left standing in the wake of my destruction. After that day I fell in love with the majesty of the mountains, and the awesome power of gravity.

If you’ve been following COGconnected’s coverage of Steep you’ll know that I enjoyed my time with the short beta that was released. I was eager to see how the game stood up after having more time to delve deeper into the full experience. I’ve always enjoyed a good winter extreme sports game with 1080 Snowboarding on the Nintendo 64, SSX 3 on PS2 and Amped 2 on the original Xbox being among my favorites. Believe it or not, it may be time for them to move over as Steep might just be the best winter extreme sports game yet. It lacks a few things I’d love to see patched in but overall, like the Christmas season it’s launching in, Steep brings me a kind of video game joy I long for.

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Ubisoft's wayward winter sports game is at its best in moments of solitude and exploration.

The visual design also gives it a sense of homogenity that eventually becomes downright boring. Once you've seen one slope, you've more or less seen them all. Characters don't have much of a sense of personality, and the entire thing feels more like a surface-level experimental photo mode than a fully-formed video game. But, I plan to invest a few more hours into it for the sake of attempting to get a better sense of it before issuing a final verdict.

The simplicity of Steep is its biggest advantage – and initially, its biggest deterrent. Letting players loose in a giant playground seemingly has its limitations if you're not intrinsically interested in the four available sports: skiing, snowboarding, paragliding, and wingsuiting. To be honest, I don't have an explicit interest in these sports, so I wondered exactly what the game would have in store for me. But Steep has a charm that transcends that narrow question through its world design, accessible gameplay, and transmission of a certain joie de vivre that itself is a hard concept to create and convey.

All things considered, it’s easy to recommend Steep. Winter sports fans will love the diversity of disciplines and events. Action game fans will be immersed by the vast open world and missions that demand you explore. Both will love the sheer amount of content on offer and the sublime visuals. It’s not perfect, but it’s unique; accessible, but challenging. If you fancy spending some time flying around craggy mountains or crashing down snowy slopes, though admittedly there’s not much competition, Steep is your best choice. Whether played alone or with friends, it’ll meet your extreme sports needs and more without the risk of breaking an arm or a leg.

Traversing the Swiss Alps in the most extreme way possible.

I enjoyed just about every minute I spent playing Steep. Grandiose, attractive environments serving as the backdrop to varied, intense challenges are enough on their own to make this wintry playground somewhere I was always delighted to go back to and spend more time in - a feeling I still have even after finishing the bulk of the content, though the lack of mechanical customization and progression makes it harder to find reasons to return. Likewise, the core snowboarding and skiing events are enjoyable enough to easily forgive mediocre elements, like the slow and sleepy paragliding mode, that feel like needless gimmicks. I just wish the latter weren’t mandatory.

The recreation of the mountains looks fantastic and it is a lot of fun to traverse them using the four different sport options, but unreliable input controls and many buggy moments are a steep hill to overcome to classify Steep as a great game.

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Steep is an admirable effort from Ubisoft Annecy, one that is chock full of decent ideas, but held back by others. This simulation extreme sports title lays down the foundations for what could turn out to be another staple in Ubisoft’s ever growing catalogue.