Off-roading fans rejoice! Co-op driving game Over the Hill to receive a console port

If you’ve been hankering after console port news about the chilled-out off-roading game Over the Hill, then today is your lucky day, as the collaborative effort between Funselektor Labs and Strelka Games won’t just be a PC game.

“We are focusing for the moment on the PC version but are planning on a console release after,” stated Strelka’s CEO Pietro De Grandi, which will be music to the ears of those looking to play the relaxing driving sim from the comfort of their couches.

The news, which emerged during an interview/playthrough chat between Funselektor’s Dune Casu, De Grandi and Traxion, arrived alongside the release of Over the Hill’s first official gameplay trailer, showcasing the game’s exploration mechanics amid a beautifully stylised world.

Origins

Much like Funselektor’s art of rally, Over the Hill looks incredibly atmospheric, with dynamic weather and time-of-day settings, but what inspired Casu to move in a different direction?

“I was subconsciously playing some off-roading games like Spintires,” ruminates Casu on Pavel Zagrebelnyy’s hardcore off-roading sim. “[I was] really appreciating the good design of all these old off-road cars… like the old rally cars from art of rally. So it was kind of a natural progression I guess”.

The sumptuously verdant environments players can explore in Over the Hill are also heavily inspired by Casu’s hobbies

“I spend a lot of time riding mountain bikes in second-growth forests that have been logged, which means there are nice fire roads and rough roads to go up to the trails,” he states, with these “beautiful environments” accessible no matter the time of day or weather:

“It’s been fun to play with the dynamic time of day [and] dynamic weather,” he continues. “In art of rally, all the lighting and weather was static but here it can change. It just makes it that more interesting. You just get more interesting views, more sounds and ambience and makes for good pictures too”, he concludes, highlighting the game’s photo mode – one of Over the Hill’s most anticipated features.

Gameplay

So what is the goal of Over the Hill? 

“Simply put, just explore the whole world: each area, each region,” states Casu. 

“That’s from [driving] challenging trails to [finding] objectives like scenic points or just finding rewards to upgrade your car,” he continued.

“Exploration is the key point of the game,” chimes in De Grandi. 

“Of course, [you can do this] together with friends or by yourself,” he muses, referencing the fact that Over the Hill can be played cooperatively with three other players. 

“If you have your own progression in single player and you join someone else’s game you still have your own goals and objectives.

“So you’re not going to join someone else’s match, you’re just joining someone else in the map,” emphasises De Grandi, stating that players can work toward their own goals and achievements while enjoying cooperative gaming with other players.

Exploration is the key here, then, with players likely requiring help from others to traverse the trickiest terrain. Thankfully, vehicles are equipped with winches and high and low-range ratio transmissions, so players will find it easier to work together to reach the end of the most challenging trails, one of which – set in Canada – is enveloped in a blanket of snow in our playthrough.

Objective: off-road

This 4 Km2 area is littered with objectives and loot, like cosmetics for players’ cars. These can be roof racks, ladders or spare wheels, with players also able to upgrade engines (to improve speed and torque) and upgrade tyre grip to suit different conditions.

“[There are] trails inspired more by rock crawling as a sport, so it’s more like technical passages that are going to give you a reward at the end,” said De Grandi, hinting that completing the toughest trails will reap the best rewards. Makes sense.

Although Casu and De Grand wouldn’t be drawn on specifics surrounding a future console release for Over the Hill, it’s a safe bet to assume it’ll appear on PlayStation and Xbox one day.  

A Nintendo Switch (or Switch 2!) version would also seemingly suit such a laid-back and cooperative title like Over the Hill, which will surely be a hit with Steam Deck users when version 1.0 drops for PC later this year.

Over the Hill is available to Wishlist on Steam now.
Are you enthused by Over the Hill’s gameplay reveals and console port announcement? Let us know in the comments below.