SnowRunner Season 9 PTS has arrived

Stop whatever you are doing unless it is reading this SnowRunner Season 9 PTS article, it is time to check out the sizzling first DLC of the Year 3 Pass.

SnowRunner Season 9: Renew & Rebuild was the clue we had to go on, as the names of all Year 3 Pass expansions except for the last one had been released. Now the guessing is over as the forthcoming DLC has landed on the Public Test Server.

Yes, that means those on Epic Games – not Steam, as PTS support was dropped – can sample the first iteration of the Phase 9 DLC, in which the theme is indeed firefighting (kind of) and the location is Ontario.

The official in-game region description reads: “Somewhere in the east of Canada, there is a land of countless lakes and rivers, towering mountains and dense forests – the snow-covered region of Ontario.

“Here, on the shores of river Albany, gold-mining enterprises are looking for hidden deposits of precious metal, while local citizens go on with their lives at an unhurried pace. Only the employees of the local fire department get no rest – for reasons unknown, they have to work day and night, covered in sweat and soot…”

Light my fire

Yes, you will see a lot of happy, healthy trees and some that are burnt and in distress as part of the two-map Ontario region. Up first, we have The Albany River, which is a good pub name and where your journey begins.

Think narrow and winding ascents and descents over mountains, empty and embering woods and stunning water crossings that surround each large expanse of land. It feels like various SnowRunner maps combined yet there is nothing quite like those colourless dead woods.

The second map, Burned Forest, also offers tarmac cruising in the north-east but goes easier on the water and goes harder on inclinations and rock. Especially as there is a quarry, which looks rather like the one we had in Taymyr, Russia.

Adding to the challenge, there is no garage in Burned Forest and maybe the fire was started at the fuel station as that is currently missing too. Thankfully, there are two gateways to get in there. Both unlockable via separate tasks.

Looking at the current contracts list, which could well change – remember, the Public Test Server build is not final – we see Fire Department. As guessed, there are fires to be put out (kind of) at various buildings using water.

As things stand, this means driving into a blue box with a fire tank addon (more on that later). No man-handling hoses, getting all wet and extinguishing burning sensations. Or something.

Who started the fire? Well, there is only one person we know who is actually alive so I am not naming names, but…

Ontario Administration, meanwhile, offers more generic deliveries of cabins, hay bales and other typical SnowRunner materials. There does not appear to be many tasks to do, especially compared with the mammouth experience that is Season 8: Grand Harvest.

“Waymause Mining LTD” also has relatively few tasks as things stand, but there does appear to be some larger cargo to lug up and down those steep and narrow singletracks.

Just like in Phase 6 in Maine, life begins without full garage utility. You will need to unlock the customise, truck store, refuel and repair functions. The task is hardly challenging but does take time.

As for new trucks, Season 9 adds the Zikz 566-A and Derry Special 15C-177. 15C being a reference to a Canadian summer.

Truck time

The former is an offroad truck with up to 79-inch tyres although most PTS-goers agree this is a typo. It currently has switchable Diff Lock and always-on AWD. It also goes rather slowly, which may also be a temporary characteristic, and has a measly 150-litre fuel tank.

As predicted, there is that aforementioned addon for carrying water. In the case of the new Zikz, the ‘fire tank’ can carry 1,800 something of water. Litres or gallons, not millilitres, presumably. Unless we are dealing with a really small fire.

The Derry Special 15C-177 also gets the new fire tank upgrade as well as various other vanilla trucks, including my beloved Tayga King. Despite being considerably larger than the Zikz alternative, it shares the same 1,800-whatever capacity. It also has always-on AWD, switchable Diff-Lock, 380 litres of fuel capacity, 55-inch tyres and a turning circle measured in miles.

What do I think of Ontario in SnowRunner? Well, initially it seemed a bit Michigan-meets-Maine and as previously said the firefighting element does not have you pointing a water cannon at blazing infernos – Burning Rangers style.

However, the first map is particularly varied and that there is a vibe the developers have really honed the things that make SnowRunner most satisfying and stuck on some Canadian flags.

I will go into more detail about my first impressions in another video, as well as dissect the new trucks, but for now I will say that this could be the prettiest map pack so far. Some of the hilltop routes are like Michigan on steroids, all served at a low to medium difficulty pace.

Despite the fact I spent an entire day filming Season 9: Renew & Rebuild to show it off, only for all footage to be unusable, I did really enjoy my first few hours.

For all other platforms including Mega Drive, Game Gear and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, we will have to wait an undisclosed time for the official public release. When is the release date? Maybe a month or two from now – I shall keep you posted.