SnowRunner is a wonderful game where players not only complete various tasks but also explore the edge of civilization, becoming pioneers of different dangerous and hard-to-pass terrains. The player battles the elements, completing tasks of varying difficulty in a wide range of locations. Overall, SnowRunner features three regions: Michigan, Alaska, and Taimyr.
The maps have been significantly redesigned, with improved detail and overall size. For example, some maps in MudRunner are 3-4 times smaller than those in SnowRunner. The developers want to further enhance cooperative play capabilities. Exploring large maps cooperatively is very engaging, and they want to see how it turns out. The territories are truly vast, and conquering them will require joint efforts.
Alaska and Michigan each consist of 4 different maps, while Taimyr has three. The regions and maps differ significantly in overall style and design, so exploring each map and region individually will be an interesting process. Each map will also have its own musical accompaniment and story.
The difficulty of the maps steadily increases. As you progress through the campaign, you will notice that the next map becomes more challenging. However, players are not restricted and can explore any region at any time. This does not mean the game will be either too easy or too hard. Everything is balanced, and on easy maps, you will encounter difficult quests, while on hard maps, there will be easier ones.
Moreover, during the main campaign, you will often move between maps. That is, after accepting a task on one map, there is a good chance you will need to travel to another map. To do this, you must reach a specific point on the map and transition using special tunnels. There will also be cases where moving to another location requires completing a series of different actions/tasks.
Michigan
The initial location where players’ journey begins. As mentioned above, you can explore any map/region at any time. However, if you follow the increasing difficulty level, Michigan is the easiest and first region. Michigan is located in America. It is a very dangerous area with many dense forests and, worse yet, swamps covered with various oil fields. Large companies compete with each other trying to earn income, and you will have to work for such companies. Michigan mainly features a lot of off-road terrain. However, compared to the other two regions, there are many more good roads here.
Alaska
In MudRunner, you traversed areas covered with deep, sticky mud. Welcome to Alaska – the complete opposite of the aforementioned terrains. Alaska is entirely covered with snow and ice. You definitely need to get winter tires, as there is a high chance you will slip off the road without them. Speaking of roads, in Alaska, roads are quite narrow, and falling off these narrow roads can lead to plunging and crashing.
Alaska is a rather wild area, mostly featuring frozen lakes, snow-covered rocks, and other difficult-to-pass terrains. However, even here you can find traces of civilization: various buildings, an airport, and so on. You just need to look carefully. A huge pipeline runs through all the maps of Alaska, and it’s not just a decorative detail. Your goal is to maintain the operation of this facility.
Taimyr
Taimyr is the last and arguably the most difficult area, the toughest region. It is also the only region in SnowRunner located in Russia. Taimyr is a peninsula, and on this peninsula, you won’t find any roads—don’t even try. The terrain is mostly covered with taiga and swamps. It is a harsh region where you will really have to work hard to complete the necessary tasks.
Among Taimyr’s tasks is the search for oil fields. For this, a new tool is used: the seismic module. But the tasks vary widely. As mentioned above, even in Taimyr, you can find easy tasks, and difficult tasks can be found somewhere in Michigan.