Winter Resort Simulator

This offering by HR Innoways adds to the decade long tradition of simulation games. Whether you want to live off the land in Farming Simulator, or you want to drive on the open road in Euro Truck Simulator, there’s a simulation game for every kind of occupation. Winter Resort Simulator is no different, and the game gives you all the tools you need to live out your icicle drenched fantasy in the alpine heights.

Chilly Simulation

While many simulation games offer a lot of variety, Winter Resort Simulator, by its nature, is very focused. This isn’t a bad thing however, and players can expect a very rich and very detailed experience in running and maintaining their very own ski resort.

Players are tasked with keeping their ski resort operational and keeping their customers happy. The game is set entirely atop of an alpine mountain, where players are able to control snow vehicles and cable cars across a snow white map that spans six square kilometres.

A Cool Community

Reviews of Winter Resort Simulator made note of the game’s various issues. Stuttering seemed to be a frequent problem, as was a number of glitches and bugs. That said, the game managed to foster a dedicated fanbase that embraces the game despite its flaws. Many of the game’s rougher edges can be explained by its very small development team, who have gone on to develop Winter Resort Simulator 2 off the success of the first entry to the series.

To add to this, the modding community for the game is very active, with many users submitting their own contributions to the game’s collection of vehicles and other mechanics. Thanks to the Steam Workshop, browsing and adding mods is incredibly easy to do, which adds a ton of replayability to Winter Resort Simulator.

A Winter Fantasy

The biggest draw to Winter Resort Simulator is fulfilling the fantasy of running your own ski resort, which the game delivers in spades. Everything you’d hope from a game focused on alpine resort management is present here, but the game does lack in a few areas.

Unfortunately, some of the driving mechanics are a bit sloppy. It ranges from vehicle to vehicle, but acceleration can feel slippy (and not because of the ice!) Similarly, the sound design is not great, with the sound quality ruining the immersion during some moments of gameplay.

Visually, the game can look fantastic at certain angles. The dev team have done an excellent job at recreating the feeling of being atop a snow covered mountain range. The environments look realistic and natural without looking plain, however, some of the vehicles and town assets look significantly worse in quality.

Still, somehow this dip in quality in different parts of the game does not detract from the overall experience. Afterall, simulation games are known for their somewhat crude visuals and playstyles. All in all, Winter Resort Simulator is successful in that it presents a realistic and entertaining simulation of a mountain top business

PROS

• Great environments
• Fantastic setting and niche
• Unique and branded vehicles

CONS

• Could use a more in-depth tutorial
• Nothing to do during night time