2025-02-26 from the editor of ~insom
------------------------------------------------------------
I'm playing SnowRunner, a trucking simulator game I picked
up a couple of years ago. I am enjoying it.
It's janky in some ways and the tutorial and UI don't really
tell you what I think you need to know to start enjoying it,
but combined with a few guides and YouTube videos I think
that I "get it" and it's been ... well I don't fully want to
say fun, but it's been calming.
I think the secret, for me, is that it involves traversing
much of the same routes over and over again, opening up a
bit more of the roads or the map or expanding your
capabilities. Sometimes you absolutely _grind_ through some
muddy/snowy parts and it feels frustrating but it's rare
(with the trucks I currently have) to get completely stuck.
Instead I feel like it induces this hypnagogic state. It's
simple enough that I don't need to be very sharp when I'm
playing it but demands enough attention while you're driving
that you can't really be on autopilot. It's easy enough for
your mind to wander, but not easy enough for you to really
think about other things in any kind of depth.
Also, to be fair, it's trickling in little hits of dopamine,
like so many games do.
I have a (probably toxic) trait where many of the games that
I enjoy and want to play are actually _quite_ difficult, or
they come with permanent consequences for mistakes or
decisions. This is rewarding and interesting, but often the
total opposite of relaxing.
I don't fully remember why I picked this game; it's not
really my kind of thing and I don't think it was dirt cheap,
but it's good to have something to play that shifts my brain
into a lower gear. (sry).
