The secret of success is to keep going: PETER HOSKIN tests SnowRunner
SnowRunner (PlayStation, Xbox, PC, £32.99 or included with Xbox Game Pass)
Valuation: 
Conclusion: Fine, hard work
What is the opposite of va-va-voom? Tr-tr-stomp, maybe?
Whatever that quality, SnowRunner has it in abundance. And I mean that as a compliment.
This game was originally released a few years ago, but this week it received a ‘next-gen’ update for PlayStation 5 and the latest Xboxes. It was a pleasure to return to its heavy-handling, smoke-spitting gameplay, now with sparkling, smoother graphics.
Your goal in SnowRunner is very simple: use a truck to deliver some wood or girders from point A to point B. Doing more of these jobs will give you access to better trucks, allowing you to trek even further.
What is the opposite of va-va-voom? Tr-tr-stomp, maybe? Whatever that quality, SnowRunner has it in abundance. And I mean that as a compliment
The catch is what lies between points A and B: the waterlogged soil of Michigan, the snow-capped peaks of Alaska, or the cold mud of northern Russia.
These are the areas where you work with SnowRunner, and it really is work. You must push and pull your vehicle through terrain that Bear Grylls would fail to master.
If it sounds frustrating, well it can be. Even after two years of updates, driving in SnowRunner can be more awkward than it (I suspect) should be. Why on earth does it still take me about 17 trips just to hitch a trailer?
But those frustrations add to the warm sense of satisfaction of making it through one of SnowRunner’s trials. You slide, slide, squirm out of danger and then finally success! It surpasses the finish line in most other driving games.
And if you want to race, SnowRunner has even added a mode where you can take on a challenger – inch by inch – on a course. I’ll practice by driving my car through the potholes of East Sussex. Wish me luck.