If you think about “driving games,” what comes to mind? If someone asked me, it would be the Forza series. I don’t really play driving games, but give me a great exploration game that just happens to include driving, and I’m intrigued. Enter ‘Over the Hill’ from Funselektor Labs Inc.
Over the Hill is an off-roading exploration game that combines a minimalistic and chill approach to create a very mindful game that I wasn’t expecting. You drive around through the rugged wilderness in your little 4×4 vehicle, simply because it’s there and you can. While there are points of interest, campsites, and events to partake in, most of the time, you are simply exploring and upgrading your vehicle using parts you unlock in crates you find while driving around. These abandoned crates contain customizations for your truck: fenders, lights, roof racks packed with camping equipment or kayaks, spare wheels, shovels, etc. Create the perfect customizations that match your style.
Some of the events you will encounter include helping a vehicle that is stuck by towing it to a safe area, or you can take on the ‘challenge trails’ that test your patience and skills.
I loved the retro and simple style of the vehicles, a toy-like representation of well-known vehicles like the Land Rover Defender (known as the Protector in-game), Toyota Land Cruiser (Roamer), and Mercedes G-Wagon (Sentinel).
As someone who plays a lot of video games, I’ve become accustomed to vehicles that simply right themselves after rolling over or don’t take damage; it took me a few times to realize Over the Hill wasn’t like those games. A wrong bump or skid could result in needed repairs, or getting stuck in the river for too long meant your engine just stopped working. Taking a shortcut over a cliff looked like a clever idea on the map but resulted in me trashing my poor 4×4 and having to respawn at the closest camp I had unlocked. This meant a lot of wasted time retracing zones based on my carelessness.
Less learned? Not really. I tested the limits of what my Protector would do. How deep the water could be, how steep the elevation it could climb. After all, that’s all part of an exploration game: trial and error. Sometimes I could use my winch to get out of these sticky situations if there was a tree nearby, but often I had to respawn.
There are many tools to uncover and equip that will make the journey more enjoyable, and using some of them, or waiting it out at one of the fast travel camps, can clear poor weather, making your travel clearer. I enjoyed heading off in pouring rain or heavy snow just to see what would happen. The game also has a fantastic day/night cycle, along with the dynamic weather that really transformed the wilderness.
You can play Over the Hill with 3 friends, creating a 4-player co-op experience, but I played it solo. I am curious if having a friend might have saved me from myself and pulled me out of places I got stuck in, but there was something about traversing the wilds alone I found therapeutic in some ways. While I drove through areas that could easily be mistaken for the Canadian wilderness, complete with dense forests and snow, muddy riverbeds, and rocky outcrops, I was transported to being home riding around on family members’ ATVs.
Once you complete parts of the map and find a portal (ferry), you can move along to another map section and discover new areas. I loved the slow way upgrades unlocked, feeling as if you had to work to earn them.
I also really loved the photo mode in-game. While the game is mostly low-poly models and hazy, moody lighting, taking beautiful photos was easy, and I found myself playing around looking for the perfect shot many times. Be sure to take photos of the animals you find around the world if you are an achievement hunter.
The game allows you to select your own soundtrack in some ways. You can use the cassette player in your vehicle to pick an album and scroll through the tracks to find your perfect music to explore with. Each album had its own charm and added to the secluded backdrops.
With a launch price of under $25 USD, it’s a bargain. It is available on Steam today and will be coming to XBOX, PS5 and Switch 2 in the future.
Over the Hill isn’t a very demanding game. Once I learned to slow down, drop into a lower gear, and pay attention to my surroundings, it became relaxing to play. If you enjoy games like Jusant and Cairn, I think you’ll also enjoy this game. The developers said it best: “This is a driving game, not a racing game. Take your time, enjoy the drive, find your own route, and see where the road leads.”
Until next time…be good to yourself and be good to each other.
**Special thanks to Game Drive for the review code**
Leave a Reply