Steep is an extreme winter sports simulator game, with exceptional physics mechanics, and graphical fidelity. It is great for those who wish to experience the wonders of winter without actually leaving the house or those wishing to mindlessly ski, snowboard, or fly down a winter mountainside. Steep has graphics that are above average. The snowpack obeys the laws of physics fairly realistically and you leave a nice path of turned snow behind you as you tear your way down the mountainside. A beautifully rendered skybox enhances the experience and coupled with the highly detailed map creates a great sense of immersion. The map is gargantuan to the point that it sometimes takes more than 20 mins to make it from the highest peaks to the end of the world. All in all, cruising down the mountainside is incredibly satisfying.

I should also address the negatives, while the gameplay is fairly smooth while shredding down the mountain, but as soon as you try to make your character move while not on a board the seamlessness of the movement falls away to the infuriating existence that is trying to navigate both on foot and through the games various menu screens. Navigating the menus feels like you are playing on a console: It is sluggish, bulky and unintuitively laid out. Maybe the experience is different for people who play on console regularly but for me at least the menu system in steep does not endear it to me.

That’s enough of me ranting about how much I hate the menu and walking in Steep. What Step does really well is pretty much everything else, the movement while on a snowboard is fluid and intuitive. Doing tricks both looks and feels amazing. Skiing is a little weird to get used to with a mouse but is also quite good. Wingsuiting is super thrilling. There are only a few other games that include wingsuits to any degree and this is by far the best without a doubt. The paragliding isn’t bad; it just isn’t the greatest either. Snowboarding and wingsuiting by far steal the show.

While the stunts are plenty of fun, I have enjoyed myself most in Steep when ignoring races and objectives to do my own thing. I’ll find a high point on the map and work my way down the mountain by whatever means I feel like. This can lead to some really cool organic moments, speeding down the slopes pointed toward the sunset for ten or more unbroken minutes, only stopping when I hit the limits of the map. It is an experience that feels very much my own; another player might do something similar, but that exact ride is mine alone. I think I can recommend Steep to anyone looking for an open world sandbox type game to just lose themselves in satisfying gameplay, although PC players might get a little irritated at the menu, it’s still well worth it.