Overpass | Switch Review

A Lesson In Off-Roading Excellence

I’ve been an RC enthusiast for many years, and have experience with anything that flies or floats. One of my favorite categories was off-road rock crawling, and I actively participated in a local RC group. I’ve since left the hobby because it is so dang expensive. As soon as I saw the trailer for Overpass, I just knew that I had to get my off-roading fix.

All Fueled Up

Overpass is published by Bigben Interactive, whose impressive library includes titles such as WRC 8 and Warhammer: Chaosbane. Overpass is developed by fast-growing game company Zordix Racing based in Umeå, Sweden. They are the same development team responsible for the widely popular Moto Racing series.

Overpass isn’t your typical off-road racing game. Where some games take a more rally-inspired or motocross approach to off-road racing, Overpass is an experience that focuses primarily on overcoming technical obstacles in the shortest amount of time. You will commonly encounter steep inclines and deep ravines with terrain including everything from sand and gravel, to large boulders, muddy bogs and industrial obstacles.

Between A Rock And A Hard Place

Overpass is something special, and I really appreciate the amount of detail that was added to handling controls and the way that different terrain affects your vehicle. However, It’s not perfect. Sometimes your vehicle will catch on surfaces and send your center of balance out of whack. Other times you won’t have bite when you know you should. (Even with the differential locked.)

You have a choice between 9 ATVs and 15 UTVs, all of which are officially-licensed. Progressing through the racing season will earn money that can be used to purchase upgrades for your favorite vehicles. You can upgrade your motor, suspension, frame, livery, and drivetrain. I was very disappointed there were no tire upgrades. Tires are the most important part of technical off-roading, as they are the piece of equipment that connects you with the course. Some sections can only be done with one class or the other, so you’ll have to master them both.

Engines Pumping And Thumping In Time

The graphics aren’t bad, but look a bit dated on hardware nearing the end of its life cycle. Your equipment will get covered in dust, mud, and dirt while traversing the course, but it would have been nice to see more accurate mud and water physics, as well as vehicle damage.

The sound of your vehicle will drown out most sounds from the terrain and environment, which was disappointing. There was no setting in the options to decrease vehicle volume or increase environment volume. They are combined in the menu as ‘SFX’. The music was pretty lively, hard-rock inspired, and was good enough to crank over the noise of your vehicle.

Crossing The Finish Line

Despite a few quirks and missed opportunities, I absolutely LOVE Overpass! It is a breath of fresh air in the racing game genre. It’s very cool to see a development team produce a racing title that explores a racing specialization that is atypical in the video game industry. I had lots of fun playing it, and I absolutely recommend this game to those that want to kick back and just go off-roading.

To hear me talk more about Overpass, be sure to check out Episode 286 of The Gaming Outsider Podcast around the 1:20:26 time stamp.

This review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy of Overpass provided by Homerun PR for coverage purposes. It is also available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.