Today Is A SNOW News Day

That is, today is a day where I have a tiny bit more information and screenshots on the game SNOW. I would still be writing about SNOW on a busy day, because it's a bit bonkers. A free-to-play open-world winter sports game that enables players to explore a mountain on skis and snowboards? I'm betting the developers are avid winter sporters.

It makes sense. You take the niche you enjoy and sort of gamify it. So SNOW, as implausible as it sounds, will allow you and friends to just sort of ski and roam around a mountain. That sounds like fun to me: sliding, enjoying the view and the physics, finding interesting places. I want to ride the ski-lifts with a buddy and admire the piste. As you can see from the shots and the short video, they're making the most of the Cryengine in that regard. If you're more interested in a structured experience, events and challenges will task your specific snow-boarding or skiing skills, while competitions are timed events with unique rewards.

The free-to-play part looks like it'll be taken care of with ski fashions: they're signing up brands, so I'd imagine kitting out your avatar will be a costly business. You should be able to find out how costly sometime this year, when it launches.

The screens are mahoosive. I'd suggest you open them in another tab.