The Sports Desk – Three Issues For Ubisoft's Steep

by Matthew Kato on Nov 14, 2016 at 09:00 AM

Ubisoft has just concluded its free Steep open beta, where the game's philosophy of mountainous exploration via different methods (wingsuit, skis, parachute, and snowboard) is on full display. The game is due out on December 2 (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC), and based on my experience with the beta, I still have a few things I'd like to see cleared up before it comes out.

Getting Around
With a large expanse of mountains available (there are seven mountains with over 100 challenges listed in the beta), there is no shortage of things to do in the game. Accessing all this content isn't difficult via a map you can zoom in/out of; there are start points for runs that populate the map as you unlock them. But the one thing I haven't seen in the beta is the ability to drop in anywhere on the map.

While you're free to ski/board/fly around the environment without stopping, and replay challenges by returning to the world map, the sense of exploration is dampened by the fact that you can only transport to designated drop zones or challenge points. These open up as you level up and explore the environment – as do different mountains, so it's restrictive to see an area on the map with a steep cliff or plenty of trickable objects, for instance, and not be able to go there.

You can buy helicopter tickets later in the game, so perhaps this solves this problem and lets you drop anywhere on a whim.

Updated Note: Reader Umar has just told me that at level six for 4,000 credits you can purchase 20 helicopter tickets, and be dropped anywhere you highlight. Later on, unlimited tickets are available. Good to know!

How Extreme Can You Get?
The game features skiing, wingsuit gliding, parachuting, and snowboarding, with runs that cater to each discipline. Each feels pretty good, whether that's the tricks you pull off on your board or skis, or the sensation of gliding through the air. I'm curious to see how things progress from here. I don't see a trick list for any of the disciplines, so I'm not sure how expansive or complex the tricks get. I'm also curious if in the final version of the game or some time later after a certain level, for example, the game gives you the ability to switch between the sports on the fly. In the beta you can do so when you're standing still, but how cool would it be to be able to parachute from a summit and then pop on your skis when you touchdown halfway down the mountain?

Another gameplay element I didn't see a lot of in the beta were slidable rails. There were towns dotting the alps that had snow-covered roofs to jump off of, but there conspicuously weren't slidable rails in those towns. The deck rails were broken up by wooden knobs, and my attempts to slide or even "bonk" them only resulted in me crashing.

I spied what looked like a snow park filled with half pipes and rails on Mount Blanc, but the location wasn't open during my time withe beta. I certainly hope this is a place that enables board slides, and, hopefully, isn't the only location to do so.

Air Supply
Finally, I'm curious how the game's progression feels. As I mentioned, you can unlock different mountains and challenges as you gain XP, and you can also buy a plethora of gear to customize your avatar. As you level up, I'm curious how engaging the glidesuit/parachute events are. Drifting peacefully over the beautiful scenery with a parachute has its moments, but the air races and follow-this-line/go-through-this-gate events I encountered simply weren't that fun. Unless you can switch between disciplines freely like I mentioned above, I hope the game's air sports – as well as the skiing and snowboarding – can evolve and continue to offer new experiences.

In my time with the beta, there's certainly some attractive parts of Steep. Social options (including the ability to create and share challenges) abound, customization is alluring, tricks are nice and solid, and the camera/replay system – with its GoPro views and ability to watch any part of a run – is actually fun to play around with. Hopefully the game's core components can provide a good backbone when the title comes out next month.

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