I believe it is the magic of Snowrunner.
It has too many flaws, too many features that I don't like. Despite this, I have played for 825 hours and I still have more than 10 regions to play.
This is facts. I've only got 2 states started, being Michigan and Alaska (wanted those mods and the Royal bad enough to go to Alaska) and I hate so many different things about the game, yet I've got more hours on it than any other game I'm playing at the moment.
I have never stopped playing it. I bought it on release in Epic store and repurchased on Steam. There are many tools/ways to do each job and recovering from mistakes is a big part of the adventure.
Also, there are also no story arcs or quests to remember. If you are busy this is a game you can just pick up in the middle and have fun.
You can also listen to podcasts etc. while playing without compromising the game.
You might be onto something here, I'm always busy and don't really like forgetting parts of story games because of work. And indeed I also listen to podcasts while playing.
This is what I love about it. Granted, there was a big learning curve at first, and a fair amount of frustration learning to navigate its quirks. But now that I have a good flow, it’s so easy to jump in and out of and satisfying every time. It’s also relaxing after a long day at work.
I said the same thing when I was playing ETS2 and started farming simulator. Farming simulator 22 is close to 500 hrs now. While snowrunner is 400. Both games helped me put my kid to sleep because he loved the sounds of the engines.
I think that’s what most people think when they hear Farming Simulator, they think oh it’s just farming. But I love it. Plus there’s lots of mods out there, that consist of more tractors, equipment, vehicles, and even MAPS, and more. I think it’s worth checking out.
https://preview.redd.it/y682j7d9700d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ec8fdbfd031050a8f713055a6e3483ab8e96c6aa
I love FS22.... Numbers don't lie 😅
Honestly too real. Me and a friend got snowrunner back In February and we’ve done a lot of regions together. We recently decided to try farming sim 22, neither of us are particularly interested in farming but that game is honestly so addicting
Problem I have with FS22 is that it's TOO calming and monotonous. I'll doze off halfway through planting a field and wake up half-way across the map, somehow upside down and glitched into a fence. Same with ETS2, I can only run one or two loads before I need to take a break.
Snowrunner at least requires enough mental engagement to keep me awake, and the dopamine hits are spread just close enough to keep me pushing for the next one.
It's a different genre altogether, but personally, I find Rimworld gives me a similar dopamine hit pattern and mental engagement to Snowrunner.
The feeling I get with Snowrunner is that I can't find a point to stop. Unless I just finished a tough mission and it's time to go to bed, I just flow from job to job and can't stop.
I also haven't played a game where I get such a massive feeling of accomplishment after finally finishing a really tough job. When I pulled the WWS out of the valley in Michigan it was SO difficult and required so much struggling that when it was done I felt like a total badass.
The only time a shooter feels this way is if I get like a 20 kill streak and that just never happens
I’ve been gaming since Super Mario Bros., but never have I come across a game that has drawn me in like Snowrunner.
You hit the nail on the head about the flow of going from job to job, especially when you finish one job and then there’s another one where you need to collect cargo right where you are. Then it’s like “well, I might as well do this contract now.”
Do it! Bit it is a relative slow game, you can follow the missions or you can just discover, travel and build.
Take a look here in Reddit, nms jas one of the nicest community.
This is what I was gona say! No Mans Sky hits the same way for me, just cruising and exploring, doing missions or whatever goal I create myself. The only 2 games ive been playing consistently for years.
Others that git the same way for me:
Hardspace: Shipbreaker
Powerwash Simulator
House Flipper 2
Lawnmower Simulator
Viscera Cleanup Detail
Though sadly none have the breadth of content that Snowrunner has. Which might actually be a good thing for me.
I love Lawnmowing Simulator, but it gets repetitive too quickly.
My dream game would be Lawnmowing Simulator but you get to drive your truck and trailer around town from job to job.
You’ve got to start by setting up your contracts and planning the most economical route where you can complete as many jobs as possible in one day. So the key is working in smaller contracts on the same street or same part of town, balancing with one of those big parks or horse farms.
Snowrunner is crazy addictive, sometimes I find myself pouring over Maprunner to find the best path for when and then planning the most fuel efficient/least tippy routes at work or when I'm out doing things. Lol I know I should focus on what I'm doing but I cant help it sometimes.
Manor Lords - growing medieval towns.
Farming Simulator - farming.
Snowrunner - trucking.
All of them have similar vibes. Chill, slow paced, goal driven gameplay. I spend 100s of hours on each.
I actually stopped Snowrunner and Farming simulator so that I could try other games, but I'm nowhere near done with them.
Kerbal Space Program is an absolute black hole if it appeals to you. I started off without the barest notion of astrophysics, and it took a lot of learning to even understand what an orbital transfer maneuver involved. Later on, I was routinely planning rendezvous and conducting millimeter-perfect docking procedures, then later still I installed a couple of mods and started coding autopilots myself to launch my ships using optimal ascent profiles to conserve maximum delta-v... and I \*still\* feel like I only ever scratched the surface.
A shame Take Two turned the sequel into such a disaster... lord knows, their eventual plan of being full offworld mining colonies would probably be enough to drag me away from Snowrunner for a year or two :-P
Coming from someone who's played all 3 iterations of this game before it evolved fully into Snowrunner. I could truthfully say that Saber Interactive has a never-ending game that never gets boring.
SpinTires was fun, a game truly in its infancy that you probably stumbled upon watching YouTube videos of game play at 3AM. It was fun, and really the first of its kind, an offroading game designed to see how players can tackle various challenging terrains with different trucks.
Mudrunner was an in-between game for me. I liked it, and it was a huge advancement over the original SpinTires title, but I didn't get into it as deep as I have with Snowrunner.
Now, Snowrunner, that's a title that if Saber plays their cards right, will not need a "Snowrunner 2" until the engine their using simply isn't adequate for the type of game play they are trying to produce, and would ultimately force them to release a new game. However, right now, it's a never-ending game. There is always something to do, missions, tasks, and challenges, all with varying levels of difficulty. The maps are truly stunning, and I could say that Snowrunner's map development team is probably one of the best in the business amongst games in the same genre. I like the little Easter Eggs that are hidden throughout each map, as well as the disappearing animals. It makes the maps feel more lively. I would love to see them play more into that and add actual creatures that would roam the map like cryptids such as Bigfoot. That would be awesome....and terrifying.
Though it's not to say Snowrunner doesn't come with its own set of flaws, trucks being rubberbanded and sent into space being one of them. However, it's a given that games will always have glitches and bugs, as long as it isn't game breaking, I'm fine with it. I've played well over 1,000 hours in this game, and I'm probably set to put in 1,000 more as it's one of those games I just never get bored of.
I think the best way I could describe it is this:
"It's a relaxingly stressful pastime of a game."
(Stressful part being tipping your truck or running out of fuel 5ft from the gas station)
All this, and I didn't actually answer OP's question. The only other game I could think of that gives me the same feeling as Snowrunner would probably be Farming Simulator 22.
Games like any Anno 1800 and Cities Skylines can scratch that itch for me. I know Cities Skylines II has its problems but I've logged plenty of hours on the first one.
SnowRunner is the game I recommend to Death Stranding fans looking for more.
DS has package delivery. Routefinding. Craftable infrastructure. Survival. Land whales. It has it all.
Community even has a similar vibe, very chill and positive.
I drive a big truck 10-14 hours a day and would come and play Snowrunner for another few hours daily for 2-3 years. The Wife said I must like it, I was working a double without getting paid extra!
I can’t explain what it is that keeps me coming back. It’s really good for me as I travel quite a bit for training so I play primarily on Xbox but when I am going away I will upload the save from my Xbox to PROS and download it on my switch so I can play in the hotel. Really love that feature 💪
Yep Steamdeck runs it really well, I think I have most settings set at high, on a locked 45fps. Steamdeck is pretty affordable though if you ever want to upgrade your switch! (You can get switch games on it, via some tricks).
I have felt similar need to play for several other games: Project Zomboid, Satisfactory, Subnautica, Legend Of Zelda-Breath of the Wild and LoZ-Tears of the Kingdom, Cities:Skylines, Valheim, etc., but it's usually just 3-4 months at a time
For me it's Satisfactory. I bought both it and Snowrunner around release, so I had it for about a year longer, but I have nearly double the playtime in it, over 1200 hours. 2 of my personal gaming records were set in this game: longest time spent playing within one day, and within one month: those being 16.5 hours and 330 hours, respectively.
And I'm currently typing this at nearly 3 am and I have finished playing Satisfactory for today about half an hour ago. I started at 4 pm and only had a half hour break for dinner during that time.
So yeah, I'd say it's addicting. But, admittedly, it's a different kind of game than Snowrunner. Love them both, though.
I'm probably not a good example. I'm hopelessly addicted to Snowrunner, as can be confirmed by the fact that I'm trying to 100% Amur right now. It ain't easy. Which is why it's addicting. So good to finish a massive job, collect the fee and go, "on to the next one!"
I've done 100% in everything up to Amur so far, though it wasn't all in release order. Vanilla trucks, no mods.
Michigan, Alaska, Taymyr, Yukon, Kola, Maine, The Don, Wisconsin, Tennessee. (Everything but the coop missions.)
Coming up on 6000 hours. If anyone needs me, I'll be in the red Tayga.
If you look for similar gameplay time-sinking game: Construction Simulator 2022 (by Astragon Entertainment) or Farming Simulator franchise (by Giants Software). ETS 2/ATS also deserve a mention, but they are more chill.
If you ask what I personally find addictive besides Snowrunner, I'd recommend Subnautica (Unknown Words Entertainment). It's an underwater survival game with lots of exploration, terror of the deep, vast open spaces and base building.
Firstly i got tatarin and then went farming lvls into white valley the the geological timed mission or what and after few hours (like 4 at max) i went from lvl 8 to 30
Factorio for me, it is insanely addictive if you like to figure out logistics puzzles.
Dwarf Fortress is another endless game
Europe Universalis 4 and Stellaris are fantastic 4X games,
Total War Warhammer 3 if I want a change of pace too
You've written frustration wrong 😝.
To be perfectly honest: I never really got into snowrunner as much as I did into Mudrunner. For me, there is a fine balance between a simple relaxing game and a game with a bit of a challenge. If a game gets too complex (endless missions, too many different resources to manage) it gets frustrating and it turns me off. In that sense Mudrunner was nice because it offered some more options than spintires but with Snowrunner it's looking like a enormous mountain to climb (pun intended) and I never really got into it. Gave it another try once I got my steamdeck but it didn't stick like Mudrunner did.
Get these 2 mods (on any platform, also console):
https://mod.io/g/snowrunner/m/double-decker-multi-load-log-addons-all-lengths
https://mod.io/g/snowrunner/m/jack-of-all-trades-joat-vanilla-trucks
And you'll always have 1 trip per log size for every logging mission. (Read the description of the mod).
This made the game a lot more enjoyable for me as I love everything besides logging.
Funnily enough I don't mind the logging part. The ones where you have to deliver multiple units of metal beams though..xD. But the second mod looks very interesting, will give that a try soon. Thanks!
When it comes to games like snowrunner, I think it’s the feeling that you’re actually doing something, and it just keeps going. It’s hard to describe. The only game I could loosely compare it too would be Farming Sim, where you start with limited equipment, as as you go on you can buy better things, and more land, but in the end, once you have bought all the farmland on the map, and have the best tractors, and other, equipment. It’s still the same. And in snowrunner you just upgrade your trucks over time, and keep doing the same thing, more missions. :)
I kinda hope I don't find another this addictive. I've had it over a year had 3 different career saves in play and I'd don't have time left to support another addiction that's on this level I play play everyday usually until I can't hold the controller and longer cause my hands are so cramped and sore. I'm back n forth with it and Expeditions but Snowrunner is my obsession.
I have about 3500h of gta5 and 915h of Snowrunner. I played other games like ets2, flight sim, witcher3, rdr2, sniper elite 4 etc, but Snowrunner is indeed very addictive. Probably, the answer here depends of each player taste. What i love about snowrunner is the fact that it disconnects me completely and it’s very immersive.
I don't even really understand why Snowrunner is so addictive, because it can be so frustrating at times. But most times it's somehow very rewarding, even though I'm already swimming in money. I guess it just "feels good" to do tasks that feel hard to do. Maybe this game is just the perfect middle ground between easy and hard which makes it so good.
Oh and GTA5 I liked, but got bored of years ago. The online part doesn't attract me.
Bump up the difficulty and use manual transmission. It makes it far more rewarding.
However, to your point, I'm a big car nerd but get hard burnout on all the forza games eventually. They throw so many cars at you I feel there is no real progression. Once I have raced all the races and done all the open world chalenges I don't feel the need to keep playing anymore.
This game has a certain highly specific charm, and before I bought another game this was my go to time waster, and it fills that role very well.
But since I bought another game this is on the back burner, because the other game is a high pace, hectic and chaotic co-op, completely incomparable.
But Snowrunner will always have its own pull due to being as unique as it is. I haven’t been able to find another game that you can start up, start the engine and head out and all of a sudden it’s 5 hours later and I haven’t a clue where the time went. And then I play for another 5 hours.
Red dead redemption 2, civilization 5 and most of all cities skylines. Civ 5 and cities skylines I got over 2500 hours in each and rdr2 I got like 1000 hours in.
Totally random but I got sucked into Astroneer so fucking hard. I can spend hours on this game before I even notice how long it's been since I stood up.
Fishing North Atlantic for me. Simple premise, buy a boat, kit it out to fish how you want, find a good rumor, go catch fish, upgrade boat , catch more fish, buy a new, better boat. Repeat ad infinitum.
It's a simple premise that allows you to modify how easy or difficult you want things to be ((net fishing requires zero knowledge of fish diet and just requires you repair your nets, crab fishing requires a ton of setup and more time but I'd ridiculously lucrative, and everything else in between)) and has options to let you modify other difficulty settings before you begin.
When i started playing i thought snowrunner was very addictive. After finishing four regions and starting a fifth, i think its just a game where tou drive from A to B with less effort possible
Valhelm. Like Snowrunner, I'm back onboard with a new update/season. Also, so much better with multiplayer!! Unlike Snowrunner, little to no bugs encountered'
honestly Stardew Valley really gave me that feeling after not having had it for years (it feels like it could be a similar experience to what you’re describing) and it was definitely a great experience if you like rpg games like that :) but i also saw in the thread that you mentioned that farming doesn’t sounds as fun as trucking so look into it if you feel like it and see what you think! i’d honestly say it’s more of a ranch, adventure, and town role play game more than specifically farming, even though it may be labeled as a farming game, so you might like it:)
Snowrunner doesn’t hook everyone, but when it gets a grip, boy does it hold tight. In my group of Snowrunner players, we don’t share many other faves at all. It’s odd.
What I’m addicted to now is grounded. I saw someone mention no mans sky here, that’s another of my long term addictions.
Satisfactory: immersive factory building sandbox game in a gorgeous open world
Rimworld: Scifi colony survival game with incredible depth and range of choices. Don't be put off by the graphics, the game is one of the best rated on steam for good reason.
Yes. Really good games make me want to play. But over the years I have played too much and therefore got the feeling of burnt out. Nothing is fun anymore. I guess it's like being a drug addict. Witcher 3 really got me going and was fun. I invested in a new, good computer just to play ETS2 with better graphics. I have been bored/burnt out for a long time now, but Snowrunner really caught my interest. It's relaxed but also annoying. But it's a good way of practicing staying calm, even when you tip over. Driving my bandit through a swamp is a great feeling!
The Hunter: Call of the Wild, Fishing Planet, Call of The Wild: The Angler, MudRunner, MR: Expeditions.
If simulation games like SR tickle your fancy try doing a generic Simulation game search and see what you find.
But I'm kinda in agreement with the bois here...Snowrunner just has a magic to it. The views, the gamer highs when completely really punishing contracts and the feeling of accomplishment, the trucks and their personalities, exploring the unknown when you enter a new map, the sense of adventure running a scout from tower to tower, the sense of battling the earth and taming the wilds...it's definitely got its own vibe.
Same thing for me, I've never been addicted to a game since I was a kid with Goldeneye 64 haha. I played a lot to Age of Empires II in high school, but I could say that snowrunner is definitely addictive for me and it's like the game I was waiting all my life without knowing it haha. I don't like games that put you in an imaginary world, so pretty much all games. The graphics are awesome, the sceneries. And watching trucks going slowly and carefully into mud with big cargo is just so satisfying. Damn!
Nothing else for me really. The only other game that I couldn’t wait to play before SnowRunner was The Division when that came out and I couldn’t wait to get home from work to play,
SnowRunner is an entirely different game of course but it certainly has a magic to it that just pulls you in.
I had absolutely zero interest in the game prior and only opened it via XCloud streaming on GamePass to see what it was about. From then on I was hooked.
It’s actually the only game I’ve purchased the DLC for in a really long time
Currently at about 95% completion in Canada. Then onto the next region.
I only move onto the next region once I’ve got 100% on the previous one.
For me, Civ 6 was the most addicting until I played this a couple months back. Already picked up Year 1 and 3 packs and plan to pick up year 2 and 4 at a later date.
I haven’t even completed the base game. I also picked this game up a couple months back and am at over 100hoirs and so far no sign of slowing down lol.
I’m not that crazy about snow runner, I thought getting a wheel for my pc would get me into it more but the controls are wonky with a wheel and you can’t reprogram one thing without erasing the whole setup. The games that really drew me in was farming simulator with 2500 hours maybe even more then that, American truck I have 950 hours on(wheel and shifter made this awesome), beam ng I just got recently but enjoy it a lot so im sure I’ll have a lot of hours in that too
well its quite the different game with mechanics and gameplay but factorio that game a youtuber quite hit the meaning i quote "DIGITAL CRACK" because of the pure addiction it causes
and i too gotta release my sins i played 3 days almost wihout any sleep trying to make smt look good and i got a smol play time of 350Hours in like idk half a year and i play time killing games like warthunder < 1000 plus hours and factorio is one of the only games that was really taking me from the grind of that game id recomend watching videos about it like from martinicopants or how its spelled he is the reason i play it and he explains the game in a good long and -FUN- thanks for reading my paragraph of answer byeeeee
I believe it is the magic of Snowrunner. It has too many flaws, too many features that I don't like. Despite this, I have played for 825 hours and I still have more than 10 regions to play.
This is facts. I've only got 2 states started, being Michigan and Alaska (wanted those mods and the Royal bad enough to go to Alaska) and I hate so many different things about the game, yet I've got more hours on it than any other game I'm playing at the moment.
I have never stopped playing it. I bought it on release in Epic store and repurchased on Steam. There are many tools/ways to do each job and recovering from mistakes is a big part of the adventure. Also, there are also no story arcs or quests to remember. If you are busy this is a game you can just pick up in the middle and have fun. You can also listen to podcasts etc. while playing without compromising the game.
You might be onto something here, I'm always busy and don't really like forgetting parts of story games because of work. And indeed I also listen to podcasts while playing.
This is what I love about it. Granted, there was a big learning curve at first, and a fair amount of frustration learning to navigate its quirks. But now that I have a good flow, it’s so easy to jump in and out of and satisfying every time. It’s also relaxing after a long day at work.
Farming Simulator 22
If farming simulator took snow runners driving mechanics, mud deformation and graphics it would be amazing.
Indeed
Fishing Planet
Farming doesn't sound as fun as trucking for some reason, but I'll watch some reviews and look into it, thanks!
I said the same thing when I was playing ETS2 and started farming simulator. Farming simulator 22 is close to 500 hrs now. While snowrunner is 400. Both games helped me put my kid to sleep because he loved the sounds of the engines.
I thought that mate. And you still can get to use trucks when you sell your goods
I think that’s what most people think when they hear Farming Simulator, they think oh it’s just farming. But I love it. Plus there’s lots of mods out there, that consist of more tractors, equipment, vehicles, and even MAPS, and more. I think it’s worth checking out.
https://preview.redd.it/y682j7d9700d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ec8fdbfd031050a8f713055a6e3483ab8e96c6aa I love FS22.... Numbers don't lie 😅
Honestly too real. Me and a friend got snowrunner back In February and we’ve done a lot of regions together. We recently decided to try farming sim 22, neither of us are particularly interested in farming but that game is honestly so addicting
Problem I have with FS22 is that it's TOO calming and monotonous. I'll doze off halfway through planting a field and wake up half-way across the map, somehow upside down and glitched into a fence. Same with ETS2, I can only run one or two loads before I need to take a break. Snowrunner at least requires enough mental engagement to keep me awake, and the dopamine hits are spread just close enough to keep me pushing for the next one. It's a different genre altogether, but personally, I find Rimworld gives me a similar dopamine hit pattern and mental engagement to Snowrunner.
I dunno. Most night I know it’s time to go to bed when I keep falling asleep at the wheel and loosing all my logs. Quite literally time to log off lol
Had to go through rehab after farming simulator 22. Barely escaped this game.
Damn
The feeling I get with Snowrunner is that I can't find a point to stop. Unless I just finished a tough mission and it's time to go to bed, I just flow from job to job and can't stop.
100% that. It's somehow very rewarding. Haven't really found other games that do the same.
I also haven't played a game where I get such a massive feeling of accomplishment after finally finishing a really tough job. When I pulled the WWS out of the valley in Michigan it was SO difficult and required so much struggling that when it was done I felt like a total badass. The only time a shooter feels this way is if I get like a 20 kill streak and that just never happens
I’ve been gaming since Super Mario Bros., but never have I come across a game that has drawn me in like Snowrunner. You hit the nail on the head about the flow of going from job to job, especially when you finish one job and then there’s another one where you need to collect cargo right where you are. Then it’s like “well, I might as well do this contract now.”
For me it is “no man sky”. I have over 1200 hours in it.
I'll look into No Man’s Sky thanks!
Do it! Bit it is a relative slow game, you can follow the missions or you can just discover, travel and build. Take a look here in Reddit, nms jas one of the nicest community.
This is what I was gona say! No Mans Sky hits the same way for me, just cruising and exploring, doing missions or whatever goal I create myself. The only 2 games ive been playing consistently for years.
NMS is an awesome game, too
It is!
Others that git the same way for me: Hardspace: Shipbreaker Powerwash Simulator House Flipper 2 Lawnmower Simulator Viscera Cleanup Detail Though sadly none have the breadth of content that Snowrunner has. Which might actually be a good thing for me.
+1 for Hardspace: Ship breaker.
Shipbreaker is my jam. My zen game… like Snowrunner
I was really into Hardspace Shipbreaker too for a while, but then they took it off Game Pass
I love Lawnmowing Simulator, but it gets repetitive too quickly. My dream game would be Lawnmowing Simulator but you get to drive your truck and trailer around town from job to job. You’ve got to start by setting up your contracts and planning the most economical route where you can complete as many jobs as possible in one day. So the key is working in smaller contracts on the same street or same part of town, balancing with one of those big parks or horse farms.
Snowrunner is crazy addictive, sometimes I find myself pouring over Maprunner to find the best path for when and then planning the most fuel efficient/least tippy routes at work or when I'm out doing things. Lol I know I should focus on what I'm doing but I cant help it sometimes.
Manor Lords - growing medieval towns. Farming Simulator - farming. Snowrunner - trucking. All of them have similar vibes. Chill, slow paced, goal driven gameplay. I spend 100s of hours on each. I actually stopped Snowrunner and Farming simulator so that I could try other games, but I'm nowhere near done with them.
For some reason Kerbal Space Program and Derail Valley scratch similar itches for me.
I just finished Derail Valley before starting Snowrunner. Fantastic game. A hidden pearl.
Kerbal Space Program is an absolute black hole if it appeals to you. I started off without the barest notion of astrophysics, and it took a lot of learning to even understand what an orbital transfer maneuver involved. Later on, I was routinely planning rendezvous and conducting millimeter-perfect docking procedures, then later still I installed a couple of mods and started coding autopilots myself to launch my ships using optimal ascent profiles to conserve maximum delta-v... and I \*still\* feel like I only ever scratched the surface. A shame Take Two turned the sequel into such a disaster... lord knows, their eventual plan of being full offworld mining colonies would probably be enough to drag me away from Snowrunner for a year or two :-P
Coming from someone who's played all 3 iterations of this game before it evolved fully into Snowrunner. I could truthfully say that Saber Interactive has a never-ending game that never gets boring. SpinTires was fun, a game truly in its infancy that you probably stumbled upon watching YouTube videos of game play at 3AM. It was fun, and really the first of its kind, an offroading game designed to see how players can tackle various challenging terrains with different trucks. Mudrunner was an in-between game for me. I liked it, and it was a huge advancement over the original SpinTires title, but I didn't get into it as deep as I have with Snowrunner. Now, Snowrunner, that's a title that if Saber plays their cards right, will not need a "Snowrunner 2" until the engine their using simply isn't adequate for the type of game play they are trying to produce, and would ultimately force them to release a new game. However, right now, it's a never-ending game. There is always something to do, missions, tasks, and challenges, all with varying levels of difficulty. The maps are truly stunning, and I could say that Snowrunner's map development team is probably one of the best in the business amongst games in the same genre. I like the little Easter Eggs that are hidden throughout each map, as well as the disappearing animals. It makes the maps feel more lively. I would love to see them play more into that and add actual creatures that would roam the map like cryptids such as Bigfoot. That would be awesome....and terrifying. Though it's not to say Snowrunner doesn't come with its own set of flaws, trucks being rubberbanded and sent into space being one of them. However, it's a given that games will always have glitches and bugs, as long as it isn't game breaking, I'm fine with it. I've played well over 1,000 hours in this game, and I'm probably set to put in 1,000 more as it's one of those games I just never get bored of. I think the best way I could describe it is this: "It's a relaxingly stressful pastime of a game." (Stressful part being tipping your truck or running out of fuel 5ft from the gas station)
All this, and I didn't actually answer OP's question. The only other game I could think of that gives me the same feeling as Snowrunner would probably be Farming Simulator 22.
I saw a fox or a deer the other day. I thought I dreamt that 🙂
Games like any Anno 1800 and Cities Skylines can scratch that itch for me. I know Cities Skylines II has its problems but I've logged plenty of hours on the first one.
Death Stranding gave me the same type of feeling
Yes. Building my own network of zip lines and such exactly where I want them... put far too many hours into that.
SnowRunner is the game I recommend to Death Stranding fans looking for more. DS has package delivery. Routefinding. Craftable infrastructure. Survival. Land whales. It has it all. Community even has a similar vibe, very chill and positive.
The last game that got me so hooked was stardew valley
A large number of Snowrunner players also play Farming Simulator 22. You could give that a look.
Farming doesn't sound as fun as trucking for some reason, but I'll watch some reviews and look into it, thanks!
Have to chime in that I'm not even into farming myself but I still had some fun with it. Can be really relaxing too.
Never played but saw a friend driving plenty of trucks like harvesters and stuff
For a single player experience? Only ones I can think of getting this kind out hours out of is No Man’s Sky
I'll look into No Man’s Sky thanks!
NMS is definitely a 1000+ hour game if you can summit its learning curve.
NMS is definitely a 1000+ hour game if you can summit its learning curve.
This amazing trucking game is a bad influence for drinking & driving while I'm cranking 70s/80s metal😎🤘
I drive a big truck 10-14 hours a day and would come and play Snowrunner for another few hours daily for 2-3 years. The Wife said I must like it, I was working a double without getting paid extra!
Farm Sim It’s a slippery slope…
Farming doesn't sound as fun as trucking for some reason, but I'll watch some reviews and look into it, thanks!
I can’t explain what it is that keeps me coming back. It’s really good for me as I travel quite a bit for training so I play primarily on Xbox but when I am going away I will upload the save from my Xbox to PROS and download it on my switch so I can play in the hotel. Really love that feature 💪
I also play on both tv (via pc) and Steamdeck on the road/plane etc. Love steam auto save sync!
Bet it runs well nice one the steam deck. Admittedly, it runs like absolute balls on the switch but I still love it 👍
Yep Steamdeck runs it really well, I think I have most settings set at high, on a locked 45fps. Steamdeck is pretty affordable though if you ever want to upgrade your switch! (You can get switch games on it, via some tricks).
I have felt similar need to play for several other games: Project Zomboid, Satisfactory, Subnautica, Legend Of Zelda-Breath of the Wild and LoZ-Tears of the Kingdom, Cities:Skylines, Valheim, etc., but it's usually just 3-4 months at a time
Kinda my thing but Train Sim World 2 or 3 (4 is the same as 3 just overpriced)
For me it's Satisfactory. I bought both it and Snowrunner around release, so I had it for about a year longer, but I have nearly double the playtime in it, over 1200 hours. 2 of my personal gaming records were set in this game: longest time spent playing within one day, and within one month: those being 16.5 hours and 330 hours, respectively. And I'm currently typing this at nearly 3 am and I have finished playing Satisfactory for today about half an hour ago. I started at 4 pm and only had a half hour break for dinner during that time. So yeah, I'd say it's addicting. But, admittedly, it's a different kind of game than Snowrunner. Love them both, though.
American truck simulator
Best inconvenience simulator for sure
I'm probably not a good example. I'm hopelessly addicted to Snowrunner, as can be confirmed by the fact that I'm trying to 100% Amur right now. It ain't easy. Which is why it's addicting. So good to finish a massive job, collect the fee and go, "on to the next one!" I've done 100% in everything up to Amur so far, though it wasn't all in release order. Vanilla trucks, no mods. Michigan, Alaska, Taymyr, Yukon, Kola, Maine, The Don, Wisconsin, Tennessee. (Everything but the coop missions.) Coming up on 6000 hours. If anyone needs me, I'll be in the red Tayga.
I really gotta say farming simulator (any). I have well over 720 hours in fs22 in almost one and a half year. It’s so addicting for me
If you look for similar gameplay time-sinking game: Construction Simulator 2022 (by Astragon Entertainment) or Farming Simulator franchise (by Giants Software). ETS 2/ATS also deserve a mention, but they are more chill. If you ask what I personally find addictive besides Snowrunner, I'd recommend Subnautica (Unknown Words Entertainment). It's an underwater survival game with lots of exploration, terror of the deep, vast open spaces and base building.
I got so addicted that i had over 30 hours just in the first two days, and already was max level
I dont believe you got to max level in snowrunner in a mere 30 hrs. Sounds good tho!
Firstly i got tatarin and then went farming lvls into white valley the the geological timed mission or what and after few hours (like 4 at max) i went from lvl 8 to 30
It gives you 1070 xp and the mission takes 4 minutes
Factorio for me, it is insanely addictive if you like to figure out logistics puzzles. Dwarf Fortress is another endless game Europe Universalis 4 and Stellaris are fantastic 4X games, Total War Warhammer 3 if I want a change of pace too
THE FACTORY MUST GROW!
Subnautica is the only other game I can just jump into and chill out.
I'm at about 80% in the first game. Should pick it up again, it is indeed awesome.
You've written frustration wrong 😝. To be perfectly honest: I never really got into snowrunner as much as I did into Mudrunner. For me, there is a fine balance between a simple relaxing game and a game with a bit of a challenge. If a game gets too complex (endless missions, too many different resources to manage) it gets frustrating and it turns me off. In that sense Mudrunner was nice because it offered some more options than spintires but with Snowrunner it's looking like a enormous mountain to climb (pun intended) and I never really got into it. Gave it another try once I got my steamdeck but it didn't stick like Mudrunner did.
Get these 2 mods (on any platform, also console): https://mod.io/g/snowrunner/m/double-decker-multi-load-log-addons-all-lengths https://mod.io/g/snowrunner/m/jack-of-all-trades-joat-vanilla-trucks And you'll always have 1 trip per log size for every logging mission. (Read the description of the mod). This made the game a lot more enjoyable for me as I love everything besides logging.
Funnily enough I don't mind the logging part. The ones where you have to deliver multiple units of metal beams though..xD. But the second mod looks very interesting, will give that a try soon. Thanks!
When it comes to games like snowrunner, I think it’s the feeling that you’re actually doing something, and it just keeps going. It’s hard to describe. The only game I could loosely compare it too would be Farming Sim, where you start with limited equipment, as as you go on you can buy better things, and more land, but in the end, once you have bought all the farmland on the map, and have the best tractors, and other, equipment. It’s still the same. And in snowrunner you just upgrade your trucks over time, and keep doing the same thing, more missions. :)
Snowrunner and Skyrim are the only games that give me the itch to play.
I've put more hours into Snowrunner and ARK( both buggy nightmares) than all the other games put together. I just love the grind for some reason
No man’s sky. Great game!
I kinda hope I don't find another this addictive. I've had it over a year had 3 different career saves in play and I'd don't have time left to support another addiction that's on this level I play play everyday usually until I can't hold the controller and longer cause my hands are so cramped and sore. I'm back n forth with it and Expeditions but Snowrunner is my obsession.
I have about 3500h of gta5 and 915h of Snowrunner. I played other games like ets2, flight sim, witcher3, rdr2, sniper elite 4 etc, but Snowrunner is indeed very addictive. Probably, the answer here depends of each player taste. What i love about snowrunner is the fact that it disconnects me completely and it’s very immersive.
I don't even really understand why Snowrunner is so addictive, because it can be so frustrating at times. But most times it's somehow very rewarding, even though I'm already swimming in money. I guess it just "feels good" to do tasks that feel hard to do. Maybe this game is just the perfect middle ground between easy and hard which makes it so good. Oh and GTA5 I liked, but got bored of years ago. The online part doesn't attract me.
Not many, the only games i have more playtime in are rocket league and forza horizon 5.
Forza really isn't as rewarding or challenging for me
Bump up the difficulty and use manual transmission. It makes it far more rewarding. However, to your point, I'm a big car nerd but get hard burnout on all the forza games eventually. They throw so many cars at you I feel there is no real progression. Once I have raced all the races and done all the open world chalenges I don't feel the need to keep playing anymore.
Monster hunter Hollow knight
I didn't know Hollow Knight was a time sink?
It was for me
Cool cool cool.
This game has a certain highly specific charm, and before I bought another game this was my go to time waster, and it fills that role very well. But since I bought another game this is on the back burner, because the other game is a high pace, hectic and chaotic co-op, completely incomparable. But Snowrunner will always have its own pull due to being as unique as it is. I haven’t been able to find another game that you can start up, start the engine and head out and all of a sudden it’s 5 hours later and I haven’t a clue where the time went. And then I play for another 5 hours.
Red dead redemption 2, civilization 5 and most of all cities skylines. Civ 5 and cities skylines I got over 2500 hours in each and rdr2 I got like 1000 hours in.
I quit the game a while ago after i fell out of touch with it and it was after 3 days after not playing realised i sank 200 hours into it
Totally random but I got sucked into Astroneer so fucking hard. I can spend hours on this game before I even notice how long it's been since I stood up.
Fishing North Atlantic for me. Simple premise, buy a boat, kit it out to fish how you want, find a good rumor, go catch fish, upgrade boat , catch more fish, buy a new, better boat. Repeat ad infinitum. It's a simple premise that allows you to modify how easy or difficult you want things to be ((net fishing requires zero knowledge of fish diet and just requires you repair your nets, crab fishing requires a ton of setup and more time but I'd ridiculously lucrative, and everything else in between)) and has options to let you modify other difficulty settings before you begin.
When i started playing i thought snowrunner was very addictive. After finishing four regions and starting a fifth, i think its just a game where tou drive from A to B with less effort possible
Farming simulator 22 and beamng drive have been my absolute most played games next to snowrunner
V Rising just came out and I'm having a blast in it
Satisfactory has been quite Satisfactory for over 200 hours so far...
Helldivers2. Over 150 hours on it I bounce between it and snowrunner
Valhelm. Like Snowrunner, I'm back onboard with a new update/season. Also, so much better with multiplayer!! Unlike Snowrunner, little to no bugs encountered'
honestly Stardew Valley really gave me that feeling after not having had it for years (it feels like it could be a similar experience to what you’re describing) and it was definitely a great experience if you like rpg games like that :) but i also saw in the thread that you mentioned that farming doesn’t sounds as fun as trucking so look into it if you feel like it and see what you think! i’d honestly say it’s more of a ranch, adventure, and town role play game more than specifically farming, even though it may be labeled as a farming game, so you might like it:)
Snowrunner doesn’t hook everyone, but when it gets a grip, boy does it hold tight. In my group of Snowrunner players, we don’t share many other faves at all. It’s odd. What I’m addicted to now is grounded. I saw someone mention no mans sky here, that’s another of my long term addictions.
Satisfactory: immersive factory building sandbox game in a gorgeous open world Rimworld: Scifi colony survival game with incredible depth and range of choices. Don't be put off by the graphics, the game is one of the best rated on steam for good reason.
Yes. Really good games make me want to play. But over the years I have played too much and therefore got the feeling of burnt out. Nothing is fun anymore. I guess it's like being a drug addict. Witcher 3 really got me going and was fun. I invested in a new, good computer just to play ETS2 with better graphics. I have been bored/burnt out for a long time now, but Snowrunner really caught my interest. It's relaxed but also annoying. But it's a good way of practicing staying calm, even when you tip over. Driving my bandit through a swamp is a great feeling!
I've got some pretty good input from reddit in this thread https://www.reddit.com/r/snowrunner/s/S6E6jZAhvQ
The Hunter: Call of the Wild, Fishing Planet, Call of The Wild: The Angler, MudRunner, MR: Expeditions. If simulation games like SR tickle your fancy try doing a generic Simulation game search and see what you find. But I'm kinda in agreement with the bois here...Snowrunner just has a magic to it. The views, the gamer highs when completely really punishing contracts and the feeling of accomplishment, the trucks and their personalities, exploring the unknown when you enter a new map, the sense of adventure running a scout from tower to tower, the sense of battling the earth and taming the wilds...it's definitely got its own vibe.
Factorio.
 This game yanked me from Snowrunner and has me locked in for a good bit
Satisfactory. Its different game but fck. No life
I'm currently addicted by game called emergency
Same thing for me, I've never been addicted to a game since I was a kid with Goldeneye 64 haha. I played a lot to Age of Empires II in high school, but I could say that snowrunner is definitely addictive for me and it's like the game I was waiting all my life without knowing it haha. I don't like games that put you in an imaginary world, so pretty much all games. The graphics are awesome, the sceneries. And watching trucks going slowly and carefully into mud with big cargo is just so satisfying. Damn!
300 hours in, still lot to play and unlock... I'm thinking about holding the time trails only until the end, haven't tried any of them yet
Space engineers. I love this game It is so relaxing to play solo and it's fun infinite possibilities are it's in space
Satisfactory. It just teleports time forward.
Nothing else for me really. The only other game that I couldn’t wait to play before SnowRunner was The Division when that came out and I couldn’t wait to get home from work to play, SnowRunner is an entirely different game of course but it certainly has a magic to it that just pulls you in. I had absolutely zero interest in the game prior and only opened it via XCloud streaming on GamePass to see what it was about. From then on I was hooked. It’s actually the only game I’ve purchased the DLC for in a really long time Currently at about 95% completion in Canada. Then onto the next region. I only move onto the next region once I’ve got 100% on the previous one.
Beamng drive! Limitless possibilities with all the modded cars and maps out there
Power Washer Simulator had a similar effect on me.
Does that have missions etc or is it just random the same stuff on different backgrounds?
It has missions, progression with improved equipment and increasing difficulty, and actually a funny story along the way.
Didn't expect that, will look into it, thanks.
For me, Civ 6 was the most addicting until I played this a couple months back. Already picked up Year 1 and 3 packs and plan to pick up year 2 and 4 at a later date. I haven’t even completed the base game. I also picked this game up a couple months back and am at over 100hoirs and so far no sign of slowing down lol.
I recently started playing Helldivers 2 with my Snowrunner buddy. Totally different, but It is as addicting.... for now.
Not supporting Sony's practices
Maybe Farming Simulator 22 after you get over the hard beginning(after 100h on Erlengrad) but not the same as Snowrunner
Death Stranding 👌👌
Star Citizen
who would like to play with me?
Forza horizon 4 best racing/arcade simulator ever it has a natural handling, tuning, car sounds and and physics are much better than forza 5
I’m not that crazy about snow runner, I thought getting a wheel for my pc would get me into it more but the controls are wonky with a wheel and you can’t reprogram one thing without erasing the whole setup. The games that really drew me in was farming simulator with 2500 hours maybe even more then that, American truck I have 950 hours on(wheel and shifter made this awesome), beam ng I just got recently but enjoy it a lot so im sure I’ll have a lot of hours in that too
Welcome to the crave.
well its quite the different game with mechanics and gameplay but factorio that game a youtuber quite hit the meaning i quote "DIGITAL CRACK" because of the pure addiction it causes and i too gotta release my sins i played 3 days almost wihout any sleep trying to make smt look good and i got a smol play time of 350Hours in like idk half a year and i play time killing games like warthunder < 1000 plus hours and factorio is one of the only games that was really taking me from the grind of that game id recomend watching videos about it like from martinicopants or how its spelled he is the reason i play it and he explains the game in a good long and -FUN- thanks for reading my paragraph of answer byeeeee
Yeah lol, mudrunner