SNØ: Ultimate Freeriding Review

 SNØ: Ultimate Freeriding is a casual arcade-style downhill skiing game developed by Studio Gauntlet. There isn’t much to say about it, what you see is what you get, so let’s just right into the review.

The game is all about skiing at your leisure, going down mountains and pulling off sick tricks. You can also pull out a parachute at any time to glide over the snow, should things get a little too crazy. The controls are simple to grasp and make it easy for anyone to pick up and play. It’s a little annoying to see the controls pop up every time you begin skiing, but it’s helpful for when you need a quick refresher.

Mountains are procedurally generated, with different biomes, obstacles, and weather. Not only do they look really pretty, but they can also provide a serious challenge depending on what the conditions are. You can be skiing in the dark through a forest of trees or in the middle of a blizzard where you can barely see anything in front of you. It makes each run a little exciting to see; I definitely loved it when I got mountains that just consisted of steep hills with rocks and tree trunks to use as ramps for big air. You can retry mountains and even save them if you want to practice them, so you’re not always riding down different biomes every time.

Upon starting the game, you’ll have a couple of choices to make. There are three modes: Infinite Run (go as far as you can while scoring points), Score Attack (get as many points as you can within a certain distance), and Zen (no points, just ski). They’re all pretty similar, which doesn’t really change how you play the game all too much, but they are there, and with Infinite Run and Score Attack modes, seeing your place on the leaderboard provides some encouragement to try again. You can also choose between a normal set of skis or a sit ski. They don’t control very differently from what I played, but it did make me look up what a “sit ski” is, so it’s a nice little feature.

As you ski down the mountain, outside of Zen mode, you’ll be earning points for every successful trick and near miss you get, building up a combo to get more and more points. However, if you glide in the middle of a combo, it’ll cut it. Bail before the combo timer runs out, the score won’t count. It actually makes you think as you ski, how much you’re willing to risk for a higher score before you cash in your points. I’ve definitely lost incredible scores after particularly good runs, ending up with zero points at the end, but all that did was make me want to try again; It especially evokes this feeling once you find rabbits on your run. Manage to catch one and you’ll unlock a cosmetic, although these little guys are tough to find.

There isn’t much to SNØ: Ultimate Freeriding, but I think that’s why I really liked my time with the game. It’s a simple concept executed really well, and that’s why you should give it a shot. There’s no filler or frills, only a nice skiing game to cool down to after your day is done.