Developer: Above the Desk
Publisher: Wandering Wizard
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Above the Snow – Review
A resource management game in an Alpine resort released in spring? Groundbreaking! Above the Snow, a game developed by Above the Desk and published by Wandering Wizard, tells the story of a forsaken snow resort that the player gets to restore to its former glory. Along with a grand cast of characters, some more likeable than others, and various tools to unleash your creativity, this tycoon game tries to set itself apart with its unique setting.
Story
Above the Snow is described as a story-rich game, though this should be taken with a grain of salt. The campaign mode starts with a narrative of the main character, Francis Harland, owing a rich baron a lot of money. To pay back his debt, he gets one last chance to help a family member of the baron at their Alpine resort. It is here that the game will take place, when Francis and his wife, Eva, take note of how decrepit and forsaken the resort has become. Though this is the initial plot of the game, it gets pushed more into the back as the actual gameplay takes center stage. As more characters get introduced, smaller stories develop, but in the end, these are simply more introductions to new mechanics or gameplay than actual progress.
It can be said that a story isn’t exactly mandatory for a management-type game, but the fact that this is one of the main selling points marketed on the Steam page made us desire a bit more than a few bits of text, followed by little to nothing.
Graphics
There is no denying that Above the Snow is a beautiful game. From 3D sky-view graphics to stunning waterpainting-esque sprites of the characters, players will always find something to look at. It is a shame, then, however, that most of the time these graphics are obscured by the clunky-looking UI. On every side of the screen, there will be icons and buttons to keep an eye on, regardless of what you are doing. Though this isn’t unusual for a micro-management game, the option to hide these elements would feel a lot less imposing on the player. Games in the past, such as The Sims, have managed to clean up their UI by hiding everything on one side of the screen under various buttons, giving a less stressful impression to newer players.
Though not all is bad when it comes to the graphics of Above the Snow. The resort itself is designed so that almost every texture feels authentic. The laminated floors, dusty seats, and even the greasy kitchen look so realistic. This makes for a great immersion when playing the game, or a nice backdrop when doing something else on a second screen.
Sound
Music is quite essential when half the time, you’re staring and waiting for something to happen, and Above the Snow sure delivered in that regard. The soundtrack consists of various instrumental tracks, meant to emphasize the cozy tone it tries to go for. Though we weren’t always paying attention to the background music, because of tasks, the moments we did were simply lovely and allowed us to take a brief breather.
The characters introduced in the game also each have their own voice lines. When assigning or selecting them, they will speak up with one of their quotes before doing as told. Some are better than others, as one character says the same thing in two slightly different ways, but it adds a personalised touch.
Gameplay
As mentioned before, Above the Snow describes itself as a cozy, story-rich, micromanagement game. Two-thirds of that description fit the bill. One might wonder how a management game can still be cozy when there’s a lot to watch out for. For starters, there are three different difficulty settings: easy, normal, and hard mode. Players who are new to this genre are recommended to play on easy, so that they get introduced to all the mechanics and can then choose to start anew on a greater difficulty.
Secondly, the game is anything but punishing. There are resources to keep an eye on, of course. But plenty of tasks guide you into managing these just fine, and if you do run out, there are little to no repercussions and gateways to erase your mistakes again. During gameplay, we found ourselves running out of raw food. Initially, we thought this to be a ‘game over’ scenario, but at worst, it lowers your reputation with resort-goers until you gather enough money to stock up again. In a sense, this makes for a ‘cozy’ game, giving players a lot more leeway compared to other management games. Referring back to The Sims, for example, your character might perish if you don’t manage them well enough. In Above the Snow, it will simply cost you a few angry customers.
Aside from the resort, you are also tasked with setting up trails for the ski-enthusiasts. These people get sorted into a few categories, from casual walkers to professionals. Based on the category they fit in, you are meant to set up trails of different lengths, landmarks, and heights to reach maximum customer satisfaction. These trails can then be upgraded with handrails, cable cars, and so on, to guarantee happier trail walkers.
Finally, there is a ‘tech-tree’ mechanic. Players can see this as their main progress bar or ‘resort level’, as it requires popularity to level up. In this tree, you can spend coins to unlock new resort items, open more land to place additional resource stations, and upgrade the rooms in the Alpine cottage. The tree is properly divided into four corners, making it clear which side branches out to furniture, areas, or accessories for customers, leaving little room for error when unlocking the wrong nodes.
Conclusion
Though not a bad game, Above the Snow feels like it tries its best to be a certain type of genre without living up to the standards. There are various quality of life fixes necessary, at the time of writing, as well as plenty of bug fixes. Some tasks can’t proceed due to a bug in the UI, which can be bypassed by rebooting the game, but it is still annoying nonetheless. Players who want to enjoy a management game with little punishment will definitely enjoy Above the Snow, but gamers who are used to something more intense might have to pass up on this one for now. In the end, it’s a pretty game with some enjoyment to it, though, at the quality of an Early Access game.
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