Over the Hill Review: Slow Roads, Good Friends, Not Much Else

Funselektor made its name with *art of rally*, a stylish love letter to Group B. Over the Hill, out on Steam since 14 October (PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Switch 2 versions are planned for 2027), throws the stopwatch away entirely. There is no race here. You take a classic 4x4 into the wild, alone or with up to three friends, and try to get somewhere beautiful without rolling it into a lake. Over 1.2 million people wishlisted it and the demo pulled more than half a million players, so the appetite is real. The question is whether there is enough game behind the vibe.

How it plays

The vehicles are modelled on overlanders from the 1960s to the 1980s - boxy, heavy, gloriously unglamorous. The maps are biomes inspired by real places: forests, lakesides, mountains. The obstacles are the content. A steep rocky climb, a washed-out crossing, a fallen tree - you deal with them by laying planks, running a winch to a solid anchor or simply finding a smarter line. Dynamic weather and a day/night cycle change the same trail: the easy forest road at noon turns into a slippery mess in the rain after dark.

Along the way you find remote cabins and merchants for upgrades, paint and accessories, scenic viewpoints, meteorites to extract and portals that open new areas. There is also a camera for photographing wildlife and filling out a compendium, which is a lovely excuse to just stop and look.

The highs

- In co-op it clicks. One person spotting, one driving, one rigging the winch - it turns a muddy hill into a small team triumph. - The low-poly art direction is Funselektor at its best: clean, warm and great in motion. - The physics have real weight. Getting a heavy truck up a slope with careful throttle control is satisfying in a quiet way. - No timers, no fail states worth worrying about. It is genuinely relaxing.

The lows

- Solo, the lack of structure shows. Collecting meteorites and photos is pleasant, but there is little pushing you forward. - Progression is mostly cosmetic or small upgrades; do not expect a deep tuning game like SnowRunner. - Anyone hoping for *art of rally* thrills will find the pace almost too gentle. - Consoles have to wait until 2027.

Who is it for

If you have a regular group of two to four friends looking for a calm evening game, this is easy to recommend. If you play alone and need goals, you might bounce off after a few sessions. On Steam it costs €24.99 (with a 20% launch discount to €19.99 at the time of writing). Players here on a tighter budget should treat it as a co-op purchase first: it is worth far more split across a friend group than as a solo diversion.

Verdict

*Over the Hill* is a beautiful, low-stakes road trip that shines brightest with friends in the passenger seat. Alone it feels like a gorgeous sandbox in search of a purpose.

Score: 7/10

Image: ArildV / CC BY-SA 3.0, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Land_Rover_Series_II.jpg