Release Date: 02/12/2016
Played On: PS4
Available On: NS / PS4 / Win / XBO
Time Played: 12h 34m
Progress: About a third of the events + lots of free-roam
Developer: Ubisoft Annecy
Publisher: Ubisoft
Whenever I think about Steep, it causes me to furrow my brow and wonder about the nature of its release. It came out at the end of last year after a short announcement at E3, but in the wake of some pretty big titles. This unexpected game from one of the biggest publishers in the world just kind of came out, then disappeared again with little fanfare.
That's not to say that the game hasn't been successful. I'm not aware of sales figures, but a new expansion for Steep is scheduled to release soon, and there are still people playing it whenever I log in. I guess the bit that perplexes me the most about this game is that it's actually really good, so I wonder why a company like Ubisoft did little to hype it up.
I mean, name any big games publisher and I could probably cite a number of average or flat out bad games that they have hyped the hell out of to sell more copies. Most of the time it seems like the big boys are obsessed with marketing the shit out of anything they're selling, for fear of losing a single sale. It never matters if the product is good or not, it's just about making money, so why not hype a game that's actually good?
Actually I think that big companies are beginning to show how insecure they actually are with certain games. Think of the first Shadow Of Mordor game, which by all accounts was well received and considered to be a decent game. The company wasn't so sure though and went through a little PR shitstorm when it tried to limit the game's exposure and prevent journalists from saying anything negative prior to release. Are these huge companies so afraid that what they're selling is so terrible that they have to try and stop people talking about it before they buy it. I think this is a unique insight into the hive-mind of large corporations, and it would appear that the Emperor really isn't wearing any clothes.
Along comes Steep, with little fanfare to back it up or push sales. It was the release equivalent of dropping a flyer into your letterbox, which would end up in the bin before the message was even read. If I hadn't seen a few videos and streams of people playing it online, I never would have noticed the game's release until much later. Thankfully though, I did get to see some folks exploring the mountains and ripping through the snow, because it didn't take long for me to fire up my PS4 and make a purchase.
In some ways it can be hard to describe what Steep is in more detail than a mixed Xtreme Sports game. Essentially it's an open world of some realistic mountain range (maybe the Himalayas… to be honest I have no idea), where you can ski, snowboard, paraglide, and wingsuit your way around. At numerous locations across the map, you can find events that have specific start and end points, along with winning conditions, or you can just go for it down any part of any mountain.
Freedom is what it's all about, as there is nothing stopping you from exploring every inch of the map. Although some parts might be harder to get to early on, you can basically go to anywhere you can see, and the map is large enough to feel big. Consisting of a bunch of mountain peaks, there's a good variety of wintery environments as well from iced lakes, to deep flowing snow, and dangerous rocky descents. There are even hot air balloons scattered around the map, in case you feel like jumping out of one and flying your wingsuit to a new location.
With the amount of events and different disciplines, there's quite a lot to do on the mountains. Eventually it can be a bit overwhelming as you look out across the landscape and see countless markers for events that haven't been completed yet. It can be a bit frustrating when you're looking for a linear path to progress on, but Steep kind of asks you to embrace the free-form nature of its world and simply take on events as they come to you.
In fact, one of the most interesting aspects of the game is the Mountain Stories, which are unique events and challenges found on each mountain peak. They often ask you to follow a NPC down the mountain, as they narrate a mythical story of lore that speaks to the earth and the natural world. It can be a bit "dude-bro" at times as you cut some sick lines through the powder, but these events actually provide some personality to what is otherwise quite a bland game.
That is to say that despite all the events available and how fun it is to pull off a dangerous fast line down a mountain, the world feels empty. There's a persistent multiplayer system that will make other players appear in your game as you travel around, but it's only ever two or three at a time. When you arrive at a new location, often a couple of other players will spawn in as they're playing the same event. When you leave and go somewhere else, some other players spawn in at the new location, and so on. You can buddy up and explore the world with friends, but the sparsity of human interaction is hard to ignore.
Especially on areas of the map that feel like they would be more populated, like the ski resort or huge ski ramp. There aren't any NPCs in the world at all, aside from the few that appear during events or flying the helicopter that transports you around. So when you rock up to take on the massive ski jump at the resort, but there's nobody else anywhere near you, it feels a bit lonely. I hope in future iterations, they flesh out the world a bit more and make it feel more alive, because right now the isolation is intense.
Maybe that's the idea though, as you're trudging through snow on some of the most remote mountain tops in the world. If that's the case, then give me the option to stop other players spawning into my game and let me truly be alone. The weird mix between obvious online interactivity, and a lifeless empty world is utterly striking.
I also hope that in future they add in a custom character creator, because the available playable characters on offer are an obnoxious bunch of twats. I get that they're all probably real people who are extreme sports super starts, like how Tony Hawk games have real skaters, but give me the option to at least shut them up. Whoever you choose will be super chatty as you shred your way across the mountains. Every time you get some air your character says something about how great they are; in fact every time you do anything in the game, your characters provides some exclamation about how awesome they are. It's really damn annoying and I ended up trying every character until I found one who was the least chatty and said the least douche-bag sentences. I mean, why force players to play as a bunch of characters who are all total dickheads? This isn't a tightly scripted drama, it's an extreme sports game!
On the plus side, there are a whole lot of customisable outfits and equipment that can be unlocked and equipped. It's easy to play a bit of dress ups as you find the correct outfit for every occasion, which stands in stark contrast to the rest of the game.
This is basically the biggest problem I have with Steep, which is just how disjointed the entire game feels. The guts of the gameplay is fun and challenging, but then there are other systems tacked on like the odd multiplayer integration. There's no customisation for the awful characters, but loads of cosmetics to choose from. It almost feels like Steep was cobbled together from a bunch of different studios that each had their own idea about what the personality of the game should be.
It's the kind of dissonance that I'm willing to forgive on a first try for a new series, as there are no doubt kinks to be worked out. Even in the best development scenario it seems reasonable that there would be some teething problems that only raise their head when the game is out there being played by lots of people. I can forgive Steep for its shortcomings, because I like to think that they will either patch in improvements, or make some positive changes for the next game.
Although, with the way games are going at big studios, it seems like Steep might have been slipped out under the radar to create a soft launch of a new service model. Perhaps they didn't want a lot of fanfare at first because there are decade long plans of how Steep will be updated and integrated into a long term model for games-as-service. Honestly, I don't mind if that's the case, so long as they learn from the initial launch and patch some improvements into the game, because what's already there is solid and a lot of fun.
Please make the first patch a custom character creator, or at least an existing character deleter or silencer.