Snowrunner arrives on Switch: Mud-running goes mobile
One of the best console driving games is now available on Nintendo's portable console, and it was well worth the wait.
The console may be smaller but the cargo's just as ornery.
I've been quite forthcoming regarding my affinity for Snowrunner and Mudrunner before it, a series of driving games that generally entail hauling cargo with a series of ever-bigger trucks across terrain of similarly increasing scope. Now, the latest entry in that franchise is coming to the Nintendo Switch, just in time for us all to start traveling again.
If you haven't tried Snowrunner, it's a weird mix of stressful and relaxing, challenging and easy. A typical task will have you carry a load of metal beams to repair a bridge downed by a storm, or haul some wood to help reopen a factory in the middle of a swamp. You'll also spend an awful lot of time helping hunters, explorers and other wayward souls retrieve their trucks from some godforsaken ditch or other.
Now you can do it while you yourself are on the go. The Switch version of the game features all the same content as the Xbox and PC releases, including all the DLCs and seasons, which should be plenty enough assignments to keep you busy for a very long time indeed. Cooperative multiplayer is also on offer, including an option for "local" co-op that got me excited when I spotted it in the menu. However, it's just local network, not single-console couch co-op.
What has the game lost? Graphical fidelity is the big thing. All the details are still there -- from swaying dash ornaments to flapping rain caps -- they're just a little harder to spot. More troubling is the size of the text. Snowrunner is a game about trucking, not reading, but there is a good amount of text. On the Switch's screen, that text can be difficult to make out. The devs included a built-in magnifying glass that you can toggle by tapping the screen. That's a functional albeit clumsy solution.
But don't let that deter you from checking out one of my favorite driving games of all time. Snowrunner on Switch is available May 18.
