Steep

I enjoyed just about every minute I spent playing Steep. Grandiose, attractive environments serving as the backdrop to varied, intense challenges are enough on their own to make this wintry playground somewhere I was always delighted to go back to and spend more time in - a feeling I still have even after finishing the bulk of the content.

Steep is an enjoyable open-world game that excels in exploration but suffers from finicky controls and repetitive challenges.

Ubisoft's wayward winter sports game is at its best in moments of solitude and exploration.

Steep’s freedom is exhilarating and it looks stunning, but clunky, imprecise controls tarnish the experience.

Steep never holds players back or slows them down

Steep looks stunning and offers plenty to do and see, but unfortunately gets repetitive too quickly.

You won’t have to look hard to find what this game has to offer, from its extreme situations to its more subtle pleasures

For all its enthusiasm, openness, and Red Bull product placement, Steep can’t overcome a mountain of small problems.

These also aren't things I found myself thinking about when I was hellbent on earning a gold medal in yet another event. In those moments, Steep is a simple yet functional form of escapism. It's afterward, when unsure where to go and what to do next, that it hits you: Steep really isn't what it aims to be.

Steep is very successful at capturing the breakneck exhilaration of Alpine extreme sports, and with an atmospheric open world that's packed full of enjoyable challenges it picks up the mantel dropped by the likes of SSX well. While it doesn't quite hit the lofty peaks it's aiming for – mainly due to some poorly explained mechanics and the underwhelming multiplayer – you won't be piste-off if you decide to take the plunge.