Steep Review (PS4)

[CujoMatty]

Not going to lie I was pretty worried about how this review was going to go but im glad you nailed it I don't usually care too much about reviews but I want this game to succeed so not only will there be support for a long time but also sequels and maybe even EA will see the value in pursuing another Skate title.

This game came out of nowhere and I played the beta and fell head over heels literally for this game. I have easily 30 hours into the game and am only 35 percent completion simply because the part of the game I enjoy most is finding unique runs and mastering them. I haven't had that enjoyment since Skate and feared I was never going to play a game like that again. What makes that even more enjoyable in Steep is the no loading and instant travel and respawn. Retrying a line numerous times is so much easier and enjoyable when its instantaneous.

Ubisoft Annecy did something very special here that hopefully lays the ground work for even better things down the road. Back to the mountain for me.

[CujoMatty]

Quote: Originally Posted by DBMcGee3

I can appreciate the beauty of the landscape, and I agree the variety in gameplay is commendable. That said, if snowboarding is your main interest, this is the wrong game for you. The whole momentum system is done horribly wrong, guys just fly around like rockets all the time, even on flatter ground, and squirrely landings don't seem to slow you down or penalize you like they should. I've also yet to see any grinds anywhere, although it is possible to grind from what I understand. Personally, I found the wingsuit to be fun for a short while, but the novelty wore off, and I just don't care much about skiing. For me, 'Infinite Air' is a much better fit, and a far more realistic take on snowboarding. You can also go wherever you want without the threat of a pending microtransaction. Some people may be into that sort of extortion, but I'm not.

Most people are saying the opposite about speed and their dislike for the g force meter that curbs speed so i'm not sure what you were experiencing. I mean no disrespect, but what is the point in commenting on Mark Mcmorris Infinite Air in the Steep review section? I own both games and enjoy them but its apples and oranges. Mark Mcmorris is going for a realistic snowboarding experience who's strong point is doing singular runs with a major focus on the tricks. Steep Isn't trying at all to be that. Steep didn't even have the name of the tricks display when you did them for both beta's. They added them in right before release and Steep doesn't even have a grinding mechanic lol. Steep is about the mountains and plopping you down to explore and throws a wide variety of challenges for some structure. If your mentality going in to steep is to bang out challenges then ya its not going to be good. Saying that if snowboarding is your main interest that Steep is wrong for you is pretty misleading. Steep is about winter sports and a wide open mountain range playground and the snowboarding is really fun. Mark Mcmorris is just about snowboarding. They are both good in their own ways but comparing the two is like saying The Golf Club is a better game than Grand Theft Auto 5 because there's golf in both.

[asu666]

Quote: Originally Posted by Buddywalker

That is the only thing that really annoys me about Steep. There is no need to be always online. You can play any challenge as a single player. Otherwise I hadn't bought Steep.

Me too, I was going to buy, but online only requirement killed it. I tend to keep great games, so a mandatory server connection makes them more like a long-term rental.

[DBMcGee3]

Quote: Originally Posted by CujoMatty

Most people are saying the opposite about speed and their dislike for the g force meter that curbs speed so i'm not sure what you were experiencing. I mean no disrespect, but what is the point in commenting on Mark Mcmorris Infinite Air in the Steep review section? I own both games and enjoy them but its apples and oranges. Mark Mcmorris is going for a realistic snowboarding experience who's strong point is doing singular runs with a major focus on the tricks. Steep Isn't trying at all to be that. Steep didn't even have the name of the tricks display when you did them for both beta's. They added them in right before release and Steep doesn't even have a grinding mechanic lol. Steep is about the mountains and plopping you down to explore and throws a wide variety of challenges for some structure. If your mentality going in to steep is to bang out challenges then ya its not going to be good. Saying that if snowboarding is your main interest that Steep is wrong for you is pretty misleading. Steep is about winter sports and a wide open mountain range playground and the snowboarding is really fun. Mark Mcmorris is just about snowboarding. They are both good in their own ways but comparing the two is like saying The Golf Club is a better game than Grand Theft Auto 5 because there's golf in both.

Fair enough, and honestly I'm still considering giving Steep a go, because I just really love the exploration part, and extreme sports games just rub me the right way in general. I've been watching tons of videos and I'm coming around to the idea that you can do more than race down the mountain at 100 mph, including some pretty cool grinds, believe it or not.

Honestly, I think I'm still just a bit miffed about Infinite Air getting a 3.5, from the same reviewer if I recall. It felt irresponsible then, and after seeing this review and having played both games, it irks me even more. It's one thing to prefer one or the other, but no way you can tell me that this game is 4 points better than that one, especially when his reasoning for the bad review essentially came down to "the controls are hard to learn".

[CujoMatty]

Quote: Originally Posted by DBMcGee3

Fair enough, and honestly I'm still considering giving Steep a go, because I just really love the exploration part, and extreme sports games just rub me the right way in general. I've been watching tons of videos and I'm coming around to the idea that you can do more than race down the mountain at 100 mph, including some pretty cool grinds, believe it or not. Honestly, I think I'm still just a bit miffed about Infinite Air getting a 3.5, from the same reviewer if I recall. It felt irresponsible then, and after seeing this review and having played both games, it irks me even more. It's one thing to prefer one or the other, but no way you can tell me that this game is 4 points better than that one, especially when his reasoning for the bad review essentially came down to "the controls are hard to learn".

Ya that I agree with a million percent. Infinite air is way better than 3.5. The funny thing to me was that the controls aren't even that hard. Maybe that's because I was playing a ton of skate 3 right before I got infinite air. I dunno but ya in general I'd say infinite air has gotten a raw deal.

The biggest thing hb studios really did wrong was make infinite air too expensive at launch. It's not even because it's not worth how much it was because it really is, I just think a lot of people passed on it who probably would have played it for 20 or even 30 bucks. I myself took 2 days to talk myself into it and I'm generally pretty reckless with my money lol. They should have built up the fan base then charge full price for infinite air 2. I see they are dropping the price now but with all the negative reviews it might be too late.

[thegut]

Steep is beautiful, and the concept of open world terrain is ballsy and commendable. However, some design decisions have left me bewildered and frustrated.
First of all, paragliding should have only been for personal exploration only. Trying to race ungainly, slow moving, and unrealistic controlling paragliders around the mountain is an unbelievably bad idea. It is not fun and only pulls users out of the experience and back to their couch wondering who in the hell thought this was a good idea.
Secondly the controls are terrible. For a game aiming for realism, there is a lack of nuisance and tightness in control that is unforgivable. I don't feel like an elite snowboarder when I play this game. Hell, half the time the game doesn't even recognise when I release R2 to make a jump. Most of the runs don't require careful management of speed and line. The more difficult lines use ice to reduce control and the line is determined by the amount of tricks you need to pull. The illusion of being on the slope is undermined by the very controls and events the game forces you to endure.

I'm still having a good time but for the love of God get rid of the paragliding events and tighten the controls. I would rather fall down 1000 times due to my own mistakes rather then play with my fingers crossed the game will recognise my controller input.

[DBMcGee3]

Quote: Originally Posted by DBMcGee3

I can appreciate the beauty of the landscape, and I agree the variety in gameplay is commendable. That said, if snowboarding is your main interest, this is the wrong game for you. The whole momentum system is done horribly wrong, guys just fly around like rockets all the time, even on flatter ground, and squirrely landings don't seem to slow you down or penalize you like they should. I've also yet to see any grinds anywhere, although it is possible to grind from what I understand. Personally, I found the wingsuit to be fun for a short while, but the novelty wore off, and I just don't care much about skiing. For me, 'Infinite Air' is a much better fit, and a far more realistic take on snowboarding. You can also go wherever you want without the threat of a pending microtransaction. Some people may be into that sort of extortion, but I'm not.

After caving in to my impulsive nature and buying the game over the weekend, I must humbly say I'm having a pretty awesome time so far. The mountain is absolutely breathtaking, enough so that I find myself just wandering around quite a bit, and thus far my limitations in terms of drop zone access have not been too annoying. I've finally taken a bit more to the controls, and as a result I'm truly enjoying the snowboarding, and I like skiing far more than I thought I would actually. I've even taken a shine to the wingsuit, further diversifying my experience. Like others have said, I could take or leave the paragliding. It's kinda cool to fly through a valley and check out the scenery, I just don't much enjoy the racing challenges, as the controls aren't great for that facet of the game and it just isn't much fun in my opinion.

At the end of the day, great game. Lots of unlockables, which are video game crack to me, and lots of cool online components. Love the replay system as well. My biggest gripe is probably the frame rate issues. Hopefully a PS4 Pro upgrade will at least improve upon that a bit. Does anyone know if the game already has been or will be patched for the Pro? Thinking about grabbing one this weekend. Waiting on my Christmas bonus like Clark Griswold, lol.

[CujoMatty]

The game runs at 60 frames on pro but not locked so there are occasional frame rate dips but I only noticed it once. I also noticed that there is virtually no pop in with the pro as compared to the beta I had on Xbox one anyways. As for official patched in support such as 4k ubisoft announced a while ago they were supporting the PS4 pro they just haven't revealed when and what exactly to expect.

As for the controls, it is a fairly common complaint so I think it's justifiable to assume things will probably get tightened up. In the meantime however you do get used to them. Timing the jump is tough at first because it does feel like you have to release earlier than maybe you should. My 2 biggest tips are:
1. Don't hold up on the left stick. It will screw up your jump every time.
2. Speed really matters. The game is meant to punish you if you go too fast. In real life the faster you go the less control you have and the surface youre on also effects control severely. Watch the documentary higher on Netflix and you'll see what I mean. The tip is to speed check with the right analog stick to help control the g meter. After a big slope or big jump press down on the right stick to turn your board sideways and you'll slow down just enough to gain control back. You see it in real life all the time in the xgames or dew tour before guys do jumps to control speed. You cannot just go full boar down the mountain like ssx in this game and honestly that's a good thing.