In 2020 the indie game Art of Rally dazzled us with its gorgeous lo-fi graphics and incredible selection of cars. Its creator has now announced Over the Hill, a new game with the same graphical style but with classic off-roaders inspired by the real cars like the Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser.
Over the Hill‘s announcement trailer shows homages to three classic 4x4s, the aforementioned FJ40, a first-gen Ford Bronco, and a Land Rover Defender. They’re unlicensed, but the inspiration is obvious. Over the Hill‘s description on Steam says players will be able to “drive iconic vehicles from the 60s to 80s.” And if Art of Rally‘s offerings are anything to go by, the lineup of rigs will likely expand. We hope that means the Suzuki Jimny, Nissan Terrano/Pathfinder, Toyota Hilux/4Runner, Isuzu Trooper, or even vans like the Mitsubishi Delica will be on the roster.
The game appears to focus on exploring rather than beating a clock, for a decidedly more relaxing pace. It can be played alone or with up to three friends. In the trailer it appears there will be some obstacles, like a river, which co-players can help winch you out of. There’s even an option to set up camp, which allows players to just chill and catch up.
The vehicles will be customizable, and new ones will unlock as players progress through the game. The variety of landscapes is wide-ranging, with varying weather conditions and day/night cycles. There’s also a built-in photo mode that captures the game’s beautiful scenery. As the description states, Over the Hill is more about the journey than the destination. The release date is yet to be announced, but we’ll be watching this one.
Hoping for a Lada Niva and UAZ “loaf” van next.
Art of Rally was just ok as a game..it lacked the utter genius of their first title “Absolute Drift” which captured drifting as medidative calligraphy perfectly.
Art of Rally just seemed to not really know what it was.. was it relaxing? not really.. not a sim, but not really a carefree arcade racer either.
I’m hoping the 3rd times a charm, but honestly, kinda done with the whole premise of an indie game being “ooh look, stylized PS1 era graphics” and not much else of a gameplay hook.. especially when a game like SnowRunner exists for your off road chill while listening to a podcast needs. I mean FJs are cool and all, but it’s hard to top balancing an 8 wheel drive Tatra 813 on the side of a mountain.
Gotta agree. I actually only recently purchased Art of Rally (Collector’s Edition). I probably put it off figuring I usually prefer more sim-style. But I thought it should be fun. After all, I grew up in the NES/SNES era and spent tons of time with games like Super Off Road.
But I found the gameplay underwhelming, maybe I’m just really rusty with my controller driving skills, I dunno, because I wasn’t great at Absolute Drift either.
But it was eye catching.