Let’s go to the discovery of Grand Mountain Adventure Wonderlands, a relaxing arcade game based on snowboarding and skiing.
As pleasant as it is to play video games that offer a high level of challenge (the success of Elden Ring is a self-evident testimony), it is also nice to alternate the most demanding game sessions with others that pamper the player with a relaxed gameplay, perhaps accompanied. also from an audiovisual sector that makes the experience even more enveloping.
Even with some limitations which we will talk about below, Grand Mountain Adventure Wonderlands is the title suitable for those looking for a product that can represent a simple entertainment or occupy those moments when you want to play but time is running out. We too have immersed ourselves in the relaxing world of the PC version of Grand Mountain Adventure Wonderlands and are ready to tell you about it in detail.
A Zen experience
Before starting with the review, a premise must be made: Grand Mountain Adventure Wonderlands is nothing more than the re-edition of a product on Steam already available for some time on iOS and Android devices, platforms on which it enjoys an excellent reputation and you also allow the download of a free trial version. Making this clarification is very important, since net of the indisputable quality of the game, it is undeniable that porting to PC is not perfect and that overall it offers a less enjoyable experience. But let’s proceed step by step. Grand Mountain Adventure Wonderlands is a video game that makes simplicity and immediacy its strengths.
The project carried out by the tiny Toppluva AB team is nothing more than a arcade with isometric view in which the player takes control of a small character and immediately begins to navigate with ski or snowboard the numerous ski resorts and mountains that refer to the most visited in the world (there is also the Grolla Pass). Each of these areas consists of a huge playground that can be freely explored by the player, who can then decide to have fun or try one of the many timed challenges useful for collecting the Ski Pass, a sort of token whose collection unlocks access to the next map.
The real peculiarity of this title, however, lies in the control system almost identical regardless of the type of tool used to cross the snowy landscapes.
In fact, there is no possibility of walking and the character can only move downhill through the alternation of the two keys dedicated to lateral movement. This is a very peculiar choice that, paired with the fixed camera, could generate moments of great frustration when it is necessary to complete complex challenges that require a certain degree of precision. Fortunately, we find a large amount of points for fast travel around the maps, so that we can start the descent towards the goal again and maybe veer in the direction of a collectible that had escaped you.
However, it should be specified that the presence of hidden secrets and time challenges for the map is not the main focus of the title, which is mainly designed for those who want to spend time in carefree. In this regard, the developers have implemented the Zen Mode, which removes from the map any element of ‘disturbance’ such as animals and NPCs, so that the player (or players, in case you want to take advantage of the local cooperative) can simply enjoy the landscape. and have fun without thinking about scores or challenges.
This is undoubtedly the most successful aspect of Grand Mountain Adventure Wonderlands and is perhaps the one that allowed the game to gain a certain fame on the mobile device stores due to its immediacy and the effectiveness of low poly graphics in combination with a lot of music. relaxing.
Ups and downs of the technical sector
The less refined aspect of Grand Mountain Adventure Wonderlands is certainly the technical one, also because the development team has not contributed
major changes to the version currently available on iOS and Android e in some cases it is evident that it is a mobile product. The interface is not easy to navigate and the control system does not fit the joypads, since it is much more comfortable to play with the arrows on the keyboard, the use of which is the closest to the touch interface of the smartphone version (which works very well). As for the graphics sector, the game offers a style based on very few polygons which, however, fits perfectly with the philosophy behind the project and the only peculiarity that can be seen on the screen is related to the trails we leave on the snow, which reacts realistically to the passage of the protagonist.
If the simplistic aesthetic works well and the scenarios are well diversified, the problem is represented by all the elements that roam the map and are controlled by the AI: be it animals or other skiers, everything moves clumsily and often lacks animation breaking the immersion in the splendid seabed.
Fortunately these disappear in Zen Mode which, as we have already said, is the one that works best. The audio sector also has some defects and, despite the nice soundtrack, the effects are made cheap (especially those of avalanches) and have the same feeling of animals that walk without moving their legs.
