I’ve really dug Funselektor’s minimalistic and relaxed vibe-heavy arcade racers over the past few years. Absolute Drift’s brill, Art Of Rally’s great, and I also liked retro F1 management sim Golden Lap. Their latest work in collaboration with Strelka Games – due out this year – is off-roader Over the Hill, a SnowRunnery terrain-treverser for people who want more of a driving dreamy sojourn than they do a driving Dark Souls, and they’ve just shown off a look at its version of Algeria.
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Ancient ruins, sand-swept valleys, and fallen meteorites dot the Algerian plateaus, and I’m sure I’ll have plenty of time to stare at them as I attempt to winch myself out of a ditch I’ve clumsily rolled into because I’ve tried to take a hairpin too fast in my old Landy. Though, I may regret such loutish driving if it causes me to miss out on some the of resources these falling space rocks contain.
Driving aside, Over the Hill’s arguably the cosiest of Funselektor’s works yet, with the option to pitch camp out in the wilderness when you fancy a break or night falls. You couldn’t do that in Art of Rally or Golden Lap, which I think was a missed opportunity to see how a circle of tents wold stand up to an Audi Quattro flying overhead or a bunch of single-seaters screaming by as they wonder why the apex of turn one’s on fire and being used to toast marshmallows.
Sadly, the studio are still being coy about when exactly this year Over the Hill will drive out into the wilderness. That said, the latest closed playtest if it is taking place from April 24th to 26th on Steam, with sign-ups open here from now until April 16th. That says to me the full release can’t be a million miles away, assuming the devs don’t hit any impassable patches of muddy bog.
