Wikipedia

Steep(video game)

Steepis asportsvideo gamedeveloped byUbisoft Annecyand published byUbisoft.It was released worldwide on 2 December 2016 forPlayStation 4,Windows,andXbox One.

Steep
Developer(s)Ubisoft Annecy[a]
Publisher(s)Ubisoft
Director(s)
  • Igor Monceau
  • Arnaud Ragot
Producer(s)Sébastien Arnoult
Designer(s)Arnaud Mametz
Programmer(s)Grégory Garcia
Writer(s)Barry Keating
Composer(s)Zikali
EngineAnvilNext 2.0
Platform(s)
Release2 December 2016
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player,multiplayer

Developed by Ubisoft Annecy beginning in 2013, it was their first original game. It is set in theAlps,where players can participate in several winter and action sports disciplines,skiing,snowboarding,paraglidingandwingsuit flying.With laterdownloadable content,mountains inAlaska,JapanandKoreawere also included in the game androcket-powered wingsuit flying,sledding,BASE jumping,andspeed ridingwere incorporated as additional sports. Furthermore, two of the game's expansions allowed the player to take part in theWinter X Gamesand the2018 Winter Olympics.The game places a great emphasis on online multiplayer, focusing on competing in various winter sporting challenges with other players online.

Upon release, the game received mixed reviews. While critics lauded the overall graphics, vast open world and enjoyable activities, they also pointed out its lack of direction and overall scope, while criticism was also directed at the fact that being online was mandatory to play most of the game.

Gameplay

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A gameplay screenshot showing a playersnowboardingdown a mountain

Steepis an online multiplayerextreme sportsgame set in anopen worldenvironment of theAlps,centered on theMont Blanc,the tallest mountain inEurope,which can be explored freely by players.[1]Laterdownloadable content(DLC) also added theAlaska Range,centered onDenali(formerly known as Mount McKinley), the tallest mountain inNorth America,as well asJapaneseandKoreanmountain ranges into the game. Korea features the venues of the2018 Winter OlympicsinPyeongchang County.[2]The game can be played from either afirst-personorthird-person perspective.The game also utilizes camera angles similar toGoProduring races, via a sponsoring deal.[3]The four main activities available in the game includeskiing,wingsuit flying,snowboarding,andparagliding.[1]With later DLC,rocket-powered wingsuit flying,sledding,basejumping,andspeed ridingwere also incorporated.[4]Players can switch between these activities by using the game's menu wheel.

Steepis an online-focused game, in which all players share the same game world, engaging in various sports activities simultaneously.[5]Players can collide with each other unless disabled in the settings.[6]To navigate the world quickly, players can use the "mountain view" mode, which shows different "drop zones" in the game. These drop zones serve asfast travelpoints that allow players to reach different parts of the game's world without having to actually move that distance. There are various hidden races, challenges, and areas, which can be discovered and unlocked through exploring the world.[7]Players are equipped with a pair of binoculars, which can be used to discover new locations.[8]

The game has a trick system, which allows players to perform special maneuvers such as spinning and grabbing while they are skiing or snowboarding. Players receive points if they perform tricks.[9]If the player performs excellently in a race, they will receive a medal as an award. When the player crashes during a challenge, they have the ability to retry it immediately[10]and view the amount ofg-Forcethe player's character endured during the crash.[11]When players move around on the map, their path will be recorded automatically and can be viewed through entering the mountain mode. Players capture screenshots and view their own performance data.[5]These replays can be shared to the game's community and various social networking sites. Players can set and share their trail as a challenge for other players.[5]There are six types of play style ranging fromracing,toexploring.

The game features anonlinear story,that follows the chosenplayer charactersas they seek to become a winter and extreme sports legend. To achieve the rank of "Ultimate Legend", the characters have to attain legendary status in all six disciplines the game has to offer.[12]With later DLCs, the player can also enter theWinter X Games,[13]and take part in an event called "Winterfest", where he has to overcome costumed adversaries to be crowned the "King of Winter". The "Road To The Olympics" featured a new story campaign, in which the player character, an aspiring winter sports athlete, has to complete a series of events to qualify for the 2018 Olympic Games and become the first athlete to wingold medalsin all three freestyle disciplines:big air,slopestyle,andhalfpipe.[14]

Development

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The game was developed byUbisoft Annecy,a French studio which had previously worked on the multiplayer modes of theAssassin's Creedfranchise and theTom Clancy's Splinter Cellfranchise as well as assisting in the development ofTom Clancy's The Division.The game was co-developed by Ubisoft studios inKyivandMontpellier.[15]Steepbecame the first original game created by them.[5]Development of the game was started in late 2013.[16]The concept was inspired by the developer's close proximity to theAlps,and another Ubisoft game,Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands,whose large open world forced developerUbisoft Paristo implement transport methods such as paragliding. TheTrialsseries also influenced the game's design.[15]Ubisoft originally was not convinced by the development team's concept, but they later greenlit the project's development, mainly due to the huge popularity of extreme sporting videos on the video sharing websiteYouTube.[17]The developers were also inspired by the renewed interest in the skateboarding gameSkate 3after it was re-popularized throughLet's Playstreaming events performed by YouTubers and others.[18]According to Igor Manceau, the game's director, the team pitched the project to Ubisoft as they believed that the game's online structure and open world are elements that are new to thesportsgenre.[15]

Manceau claimed that the game was a "passion project" and a "natural progression" for the studio,[19]and that it was designed to be accessible for newcomers and complex for fans of the genre.[5]The team collaborated with the action sport industry and consulted several professional skiers and extreme sports athletes and experts, such as Louis Aikins,Kevin Rolland,Sammy Luebke, and Horacio Llorens.[20]However, one of the professional skiers,Matilda Rapaport,died while shooting a promotion video for the game inFarellones, Chiledue to a sudden avalanche accident.[21]

The game was revealed with a trailer and playable demo at the2016 Electronic Entertainment Expoas the closing act to Ubisoft's press conference.[22]An open beta was set to be released prior to the game's official launch.[23]Steepwas released forPlayStation 4,Windows,andXbox Oneon 2 December 2016.[24]A new region,Alaska,was introduced into the game as a free update soon after the game's release.[3]A version for theNintendo Switchwas announced but later canceled.[25][26]

Additional expansions

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The game was supported by aseason passduring the first year of its release cycle. The season pass included theWinterfestDLC, adding sledging and new challenges, theExtreme Pack,adding speed riding, basejumping and rocket-powered wingsuits, as well as theAdrenaline Pack,adding night races and new outfits. In June, atE3 2017,Ubisoft announced that aWinter Olympicsexpansion,Steep: Road to the Olympics,would be released on 5 December 2017.[13]The expansion featured new mountain ranges in Korea and Japan and let the player take part in the2018 Winter Olympics.[2]For the third year of the release cycle, theX Games Passcould be purchased, including theRocket WingsDLC, adding more rocket-powered wingsuit events, the90sDLC, adding 90s-themend clothing, as well as the eponymous X Games DLC, allowing the player to enter theWinter X Gamescompetition. All three releases could be purchased separately or as enhanced versions of the base game, respectively.[citation needed]Access to theRoad to the OlympicsDLC was removed from the game in 2022 to comply with third party rights.[27]

Reception

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Steepreceived "mixed or average" reviews, according toMetacritic.[28][29][30]While critics generally lauded the game's vast open world and enjoyable activities, critics also pointed out its lack of direction and overall scope, with critique also being directed at its always-online concept. In February 2019, Ubisoft announced that Steep was played by 10 million individual players.[40]

Matthew Kato ofGame Informerawarded the game a positive review. While he was initially wondering if a game solely centered on extreme sports and a vast open world would capture the players, he foundSteepto be very captivating through its open world, gameplay, and atmosphere.[33]He called the "volume of challenges [...] admirable, as is the scale of its open world", but was especially pleased with how well the world was tailored to cater to each discipline, thus interacting with the world was a "breathtaking and demanding" process.[33]He noted that the trick system was aimed at accessibility and thus did not provide a feeling akin to theTony Hawk'sseriesof video games. TJ Hafer ofIGNalso rated the game positively for similar reasons, describingSteep'sworld as "one of the most diverse and visually interesting open worlds" in video games.[37]He called the physics of the game "satisfying" and noted that they managed to find a balance between realistic and arcade approaches.[37]Unlike other critics, he found the open concept of the game to be working out well. He lauded the game for its well executed controls, which he described as "intense, engaging, and at times [...] frantic."[37]Also, he praised the game's open world, which he described as "gorgeous" and also "just awe-inspiringly gargantuan", with its "grandiose, attractive environments".[37]

Ray Castillo ofEGMgave the game an average rating and was more critical. He too lauded Ubisoft Annecy for the game's graphics and world design, stating, that the "game looks gorgeous, and each mountainside has character to it."[32]Furthermore, he noted the customization options for the different characters as very rich. However, he was critical of the game's map and objective structure, stating that the map opens up too early and is convoluted, while the presentation of objectives is confusing, and they do not seem to be designed to lead the player to an end goal through constant progress. This led him to conclude that the game lacked direction. He called the fact that the game has to have an internet connection to be played "unforgivable". He concluded, that while the game had "a lot of good ideas at its core", it was "more frustrating than fun."[32]Similarly, Hafer noted that the paragliding path was the least entertaining of the four initial play styles but if a player wanted to complete the game, he was forced to do these events. Furthermore, he missed the option of increasing a character's stats, as it was handled in most classic extreme sport titles.[37]

Additional expansions

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The additional expansions were similarly received as the main game. TheRoad to the OlympicsDLC was criticized by Kato of for providing little substance. While he enjoyed the Japanese mountain ranges, he was very critical of the game's new story mode and the Korean mountain. He noted that the mode "half-heartedly attempts the staging of its own Olympic drama" without conveying an Olympic experience.[14] The decision to only include freestyle disciplines in the story while completely omitting skiing events such asSuper-Gorgiant slalomadded to that sentiment. He questioned the decision to include the Korean mountain ranges where the Olympics took place but not making them accessible in freeride mode. All in all, he noted that the expansion "restrict what is best about Steep with little to show for it in return."[14]Chris Shive ofHardcore Gamerwas less critical of the expansion, calling the new story mode "a goal-focused narrative that so many gamers have been conditioned to crave", while noting the game's stunning visuals, especially in the Japanese mountains.[41]

TheX Games Passwas described by Michele Sollazzo ofEurogameras a completion of the game's development, bringing it to its final form. Also, he noted that the expansion provided a good contrast to the previousRoad to Olympicsexpansion, as it focused more on extreme sports. While he noted the X Games expansion itself as short, he found the competitions to be rather challenging.[42]Stefan Stuursma ofXGNalso noted the difficulty of the X Games events and felt the new challenges added depth to the game. However, he criticized Ubisoft for not including a new area and the relative small amount of content in the new DLC package.[43]

Accolades

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The game won "Best Sports Game" at the 2016Gamescom Awards[44]and the 2016Game Critics Awards,[45]as well as "Sports Game of the Year"at the20th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards.[46]

Award Year Category Result Ref.
Gamescom Awards 2016 Best Sports Game Won [44]
Game Critics Awards Won [45]
20th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards 2017 Sports Game of the Year Won [46]

See also

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  • Riders Republic,a 2021 extreme sports game also developed by Ubisoft Annecy

Notes

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  1. ^Additional work byUbisoft Kyiv,Ubisoft MontpellierandUbisoft Sofia

References

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  1. ^ab Orry, James (13 June 2016)."Ubisoft reveals extreme winter sports game Steep".VideoGamer.Archivedfrom the original on 9 August 2016.Retrieved13 June2016.
  2. ^ab Newhouse, Alex (9 December 2017)."Steep: Road To The Olympics Review".GameSpot.Archivedfrom the original on 23 January 2019.Retrieved23 January2019.
  3. ^ab Miller, Ross (13 June 2016)."Steep is Ubisoft's new extreme sports game, complete with 'GoPro view'".The Verge.Archivedfrom the original on 14 June 2016.Retrieved13 June2016.
  4. ^Barker, Phil (22 November 2016)."Rocket wings, sleds and more are heading to Steep".Redbull.Retrieved5 March2019.
  5. ^abcde Makuch, Eddie (14 June 2016)."Ubisoft's Open-World Action Sports Game Is a Challenging Thrill".GameSpot.Archivedfrom the original on 18 June 2016.Retrieved14 June2016.
  6. ^ Futter, Mike (13 June 2016)."Ubisoft's Steep Is A Connected Action Sports Game In The Alps".Game Informer.Archived fromthe originalon 17 June 2016.Retrieved17 June2016.
  7. ^ Blain, Louise (17 June 2016)."Steep is beautiful but its open world leaves me cold".GamesRadar.Archivedfrom the original on 12 October 2016.Retrieved17 June2016.
  8. ^ Furniss, Zack (13 June 2013)."Ubisoft's Steep is scratching my SSX itch".Destructoid.Archivedfrom the original on 14 June 2016.Retrieved17 June2016.
  9. ^ Coffey, Helen (14 June 2016)."Experience extreme skiing without the risk in new video game Steep".The Telegraph.Archivedfrom the original on 17 June 2016.Retrieved17 June2016.
  10. ^ Kollar, Phillip (15 June 2016)."Steep: Watch 15 minutes of Ubisoft's new extreme sports game".Polygon.Archivedfrom the original on 16 June 2016.Retrieved15 June2016.
  11. ^ Senior, Tom (17 June 2016)."Steep pits you and your friends against the mountain".PC Gamer.Archivedfrom the original on 16 June 2016.Retrieved17 June2016.
  12. ^ Reparez, Mikel (21 June 2016)."Steep: How You'll Go From Scrub To Legend".Ubisoft.Archived fromthe originalon 1 December 2017.Retrieved2 August2016.
  13. ^ab Frank, Allegra (12 June 2017)."Steep's first expansion is all about the Winter Olympics".Polygon.Archivedfrom the original on 9 February 2018.Retrieved22 July2017.
  14. ^abcKato, Matthew (13 December 2017)."Steep: Road to the Olympics. A Lonely Mountain".Game Informer.Archived fromthe originalon 4 June 2018.Retrieved21 February2019.
  15. ^abc Partridge, Jon (13 June 2016)."Find your own way down the mountain in Steep".Red Bull.Archivedfrom the original on 16 June 2016.Retrieved13 June2016.
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  17. ^ Dring, Christopher (13 June 2016)."The story behind Ubisoft's new open world action sports game Steep".MCV. Archived fromthe originalon 24 October 2016.Retrieved13 June2016.
  18. ^Dring, Christopher (4 January 2017)."How PewDiePie and Skate inspired Ubisoft's Steep".GamesIndustry.biz.Retrieved17 January2017.
  19. ^ Schwartz, Terri (13 June 2016)."E3 2016: Ubisoft's Steep Link Open World And Sports".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on 16 June 2016.Retrieved13 June2016.
  20. ^ Takahashi, Dean (13 June 2016)."Ubisoft's Steep is a daredevil sim for winter sports".VentureBeat.Archivedfrom the original on 16 June 2016.Retrieved13 June2016.
  21. ^ Hilliard, Kyle (19 July 2016)."Pro Skier Matilda Rapaport Dies During Promotional Film Shoot For Ubisoft's Steep".GameSpot.Archived fromthe originalon 23 July 2016.Retrieved20 July2016.
  22. ^ Grayson, Nathan (13 June 2016)."Steep Is Ubisoft's Open World Alpine Sports Game".Kotaku.Archivedfrom the original on 14 June 2016.Retrieved13 June2016.
  23. ^ Skipper, Ben (13 June 2016)."Steep: Ubisoft announces new open world skiing and snowboarding game at E3 2016".International Business Times.Archivedfrom the original on 16 June 2016.Retrieved17 June2016.
  24. ^ Frank, Allegra (17 August 2016)."Steep drops this December".Polygon.Archivedfrom the original on 17 August 2016.Retrieved17 August2016.
  25. ^ Watters, Chris (12 January 2017)."Ubisoft Reveals Nintendo Switch Lineup".Ubisoft Blog.Archived fromthe originalon 1 December 2017.Retrieved12 January2017.
  26. ^ Craddock, Ryan (9 August 2018)."Ubisoft Has Halted Development Of Steep On Nintendo Switch".Nintendo Life.Archivedfrom the original on 19 August 2018.Retrieved19 August2018.
  27. ^"Availability of Road to the Olympics downloadable content".Ubisoft.16 February 2022.Retrieved13 March2022.
  28. ^ab "Steep for PC Reviews".Metacritic.Archivedfrom the original on 2 December 2017.Retrieved8 December2017.
  29. ^ab "Steep for PlayStation 4 Reviews".Metacritic.Archivedfrom the original on 26 December 2017.Retrieved8 December2017.
  30. ^ab "Steep for Xbox One Reviews".Metacritic.Archivedfrom the original on 25 November 2017.Retrieved8 December2017.
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  32. ^abc Carsillo, Ray (8 December 2016)."Steep review".Electronic Gaming Monthly.Archivedfrom the original on 10 December 2016.Retrieved8 December2016.
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  36. ^ Loveridge, Sam (11 December 2016)."Steep review: 'A peaceful distraction that eventually wears thin'".GamesRadar.Archivedfrom the original on 11 December 2016.Retrieved11 December2016.
  37. ^abcdef Hafer, TJ (7 December 2016)."Steep Review".IGN.Archivedfrom the original on 7 December 2016.Retrieved7 December2016.
  38. ^ Reynolds, Whitney (12 December 2016)."Steep review".Polygon.Archivedfrom the original on 13 December 2016.Retrieved12 December2016.
  39. ^Edge Issue 302, Feb 2017, p.116
  40. ^"Ubisoft Has Proudly Revealed That Over 10 Million Players Have Already Joined STEEP Community".Gamefrogger. 20 February 2019.Retrieved31 December2019.
  41. ^ Shive, Chris (4 December 2017)."Review: Steep: Road to the Olympics".Hardcore Gamer.Archivedfrom the original on 22 February 2019.Retrieved21 February2019.
  42. ^ Sollazzo, Michele (10 December 2018)."Steep X Games - recensione"(in Italian). XGN.Retrieved7 March2019.
  43. ^ Stuursma, Stefan (26 December 2018)."Steep X Games Review - De reden om terug te keren naar de piste?"(in Dutch). XGN.Archivedfrom the original on 22 February 2019.Retrieved21 February2019.
  44. ^abLinken, Andre (20 August 2016)."Gamescom Awards 2016 - Das sind die Gewinner"(in German).Gamestar.Retrieved1 May2021.
  45. ^abLinken, Andre (6 July 2016)."E3 Game Critics Awards 2016 - Zelda: Breath of the Wild ist der große Gewinner"(in German).Gamestar.Retrieved1 May2021.
  46. ^abO'Brien, Lucy (24 February 2017)."DICE 2017: Overwatch Wins Game of the Year at DICE Awards 2017"(in German).IGN.Retrieved1 May2021.
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