I really should learn to take this stretch of trail a bit more carefully. The one that runs precariously alongside the edge of a lake, dipping and getting muddier right at the point when it’s easiest to gently stumble into the water if you’re not paying enough attention. The one which seems the only passable route around a mountain to the final cabin I’ve yet to visit in this autumnal stretch of Canadian backwoods. I really should be more careful, I lament as my Land Rover sits uselessly slumped on its side under the waves, its engine having drowned a good five minutes ago.
Unlike in Saber Interactive’s ruthless off-roading sims - the likes of SnowRunner and scoutier spin-off Expeditions - getting stuck like this in Over the Hill doesn’t feel akin to being murdered by a mischievous haulage demon who’s been plotting your demise ever since you set out in the wrong lorry. Instead, it’s like being murdered by a hippie who’s suddenly grown very angry that you aren’t living in the moment and taking in the surrounding nature. Less driving game Dark Souls, more driving you towards owning a pair of hiking shorts.
In both cases, forging a path through grassy woodland, along muddy tracks, over narrow river crossings, and up rocky mountain rises are the challenge. Over the Hill’s demo hands you a not-quite-Land Rover Defender, and sets you free to explore Emerald Lake, an autumnal corner of the wider Canadian wilderness that the full game will boast. There aren’t any big missions pointing you in certain directions, or imposing any orders as to how you go about getting from A to B. Instead, your free to roam as you please, with the map offering a nice smattering of points of interest to uncover as you explore to the sort of relaxing soundtrack that’s become a hallmark of Art of Rally and Absolute Drift developers Funselektor’s various adventures in chill and/or retro vibes-heavy motoring.
As you roam - solo or with a few mates - along bumpy trails or untamed terrain, you discover cabins that serve as respawn points. Emerald Lake has six, acting essentially as regional hubs you travel from and can return to whenever you need to refresh your battered jeep. Starting out from them, you brave tougher terrain to discover what the other POIs have to offer. Some are scenic lookout towers offering a photo mode snap-worthy vista, others are tasks (like pulling another vehicle out of a tight spot), and many are just crates containing cosmetics you can slap on your motor next time you visit the merchant's customisation shop.
Indulging with each of these activities earns you points to spend on car upgrades, like a more powerful engine or bigger snorkel to help ford streams . Arguably the most interesting, though, are the challenge trails. These are checkpoint runs through sections of especially rough terrain and can very much live up to their name, especially if you’re not quick to spot when you’re about to tumble over the edge of a narrow passa-
Thunk. The faux-Landy being of the classic square variety, it’s not difficult to end up slumped over on your side, wheels spinning like the flailing arms of an upended tortoise. This is where the winch and jack can come in handy, with both working exactly like their counterparts in Expeditions, right down the winch mounting point interface being one that Saber sim vets will instantly recognise. Ping a wire out from your car and try to drag it back upright with the help of a nearby tree, or use the jack to instantly respawn your vehicle back on its wheels. Both are simple and intuitive to use, examples of Over the Hill adopting from its scrappier inspirations in the right places. One difference arises, though, when you get stuck in a manner you can’t solve via winch or jack, tumbling into a lake and ending up the wrong way up and with a waterlogged engine that no longer goes, for instance.
Playing solo in SnowRunner or Expeditions, this is the point where you’d have the option of warping back to home base and picking one of your other vehicles, to ride out in and try to rescue the stuck one from its predicament. The cavalry’s coming to save the pinned-down battalion, except you’re at the controls of both. Over the Hill, on the other hand, only seems to offer the option of having your mates save you if you’re playing in a group, leaving lonely off-roaders to give up and abandon their trek home when their initial ride can’t go any further. It can be a tad frustrating, but it helps to add a bit more jeopardy to a driving experience that’s otherwise not as unforgiving as Saber’s sims.
It’s not designed to be, though. While you can opt for manual gear changes if you fancy, I’ve been driving around on auto, occasionally switching between high or low gear settings when I need a bit more grunt to get up hills. There’s no fiddling about with locking diffs or grinding through 50 different gear setups thus far, which suits Over the Hill’s more relaxed style perfectly. It wants you to be able to take in the views without being too worried that one misstep will leave you damned to hours of churning futility. It wants you to try and spot some wildlife. It wants you to hunt for fallen meteorites using its equippable radar, and have a light rain shower begin to gently drizzle down as you hunt. It wants you to pitch camp under the stars as you rest up for another day’s outdoorsy roaming.
It’s a game I’ve got a good few hours of solo play under my belt in thus far, and its Next Fest demo has left me very convinced it’ll be brill if you’ve got a gang of fellow off-roaders to roam with - but still a tad unsure if the solo experience’ll be as consistently enthralling over the length of a full game. The wilderness is beautiful, but without that sense of camaraderie when it bites, a bit of slogginess might start to seep in and dilute the rural relaxation.