SnowRunner Year 3 Pass review: Is it worth it?

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Is the SnowRunner Year 3 Pass worth buying and how does it compare with the Year 2 Pass and Year 1 Pass? It is time to find out.

Hello and welcome to A Tribe Called Cars. Subscribe and like. Now that the last season of the Year 3 Pass is available to all, I can give you a guide to what it includes and how it compares with the Year 1 and Year 2 Passes.

There will be no Year 4 Pass comparisons yet as it is currently in the early testing phase at the time of making this video. On with the show.

Year 1 vs Year 2 vs Year 3 Pass: The Trucks

Not including standalone DLCs or the available-to-all Anniversary DLC, the Year 1 Pass includes eleven trucks. This is compared to nine trucks for the Year 2 Pass and eight trucks for the Year 3 Pass.

For sheer quantity, then, the Year 3 Pass is weakest. For useful trucking though? It is pretty hard to beat as you get three absolute monsters plus a highly regarded and versatile cruiser. The remaining four scouts are pretty solid though the base game offerings can serve you just as well. More on truck specifics in a second.

To put the year passes into perspective, without DLCs there are 42 trucks in SnowRunner. Or 41 if on Epic as you could only get the Navistar 5000-MV via pre-order. The Year 1 Pass and standalone DLCs take the truck total to 58, while with the Year 2 Pass things top out at 79 trucks.

As things stand, SnowRunner offers a whopping 89 trucks if we ignore the Year 4 Pass, which is yet to be released. Factor that in and the total becomes 92 trucks. Or 91 minus the aforementioned Navistar, unless I got my maths wrong.

What about the maps?

Anyway, the Year 3 Pass also includes ten maps, compared with ten for the Year 1 Pass and nine for the Year 2 Pass. Every year pass has so far included a four-map season finale, which takes substantially longer to complete.

Season 9: Renew & Rebuild

Season 9: Renew & Rebuild has two 2x2km maps in Canada (Albany River and Burnt Forest), where you need to put out burning forests by delivering water. Expect two trucks, the torquey and sizeable Derry Special 15C-177 and the round-eyed old-school Zikz 566-A.

While the latter can prove effective, it is the Derry Special that shines in not just Season 9 but all seasons. Plus it has that epic firetruck styling.

As for the map experience, the terrain is some of the most memorable and distinctive in SnowRunner even without any actual fire. Task variety is decent, though it can be a bit grindy by the end.

Season 10: Fix & Connect

Season 10: Fix & Connect is also based in Canada. This time though, you get to visit the North Peak National Park and Duncan Bay summer maps (2x2kms in size). The two trucks included are the Mack Defense M917A and Kenworth 963.

This is a strong mix of trucking as the gigantic Kenworth is one of the more useful trucks (when fully upgraded), while the more normal-sized Mack Defense is versatile and powerful.

British Columbia boasts numerous lakes, scenic views, ferry boat shortcuts, boat deliveries and glowing sunsets. It is mostly enjoyable and will keep you busy for a while though veterans may find it looks too familiar.

Season 11: Lights & Cameras

Season 11: Lights & Cameras, meanwhile, takes you to Scandinavia. Europe, at last. Both snowy and mountainous maps (Mountain Ridge and By the Lake) are 2x2kms in size. Here, you get to help film a movie and rebuild a ski-resort (among other things) while driving the Burlak 6×6 scout and Neo Falcon 2000.

As scouts go, the Burlak 6×6 is chunky and unusual. It is, however, also not the best at pulling heavy loads. Certainly not fast, anyway. The Neo Falcon 2000 is your more traditional scout and is solid but unlikely to blow your trucking socks off.

Things get grindy by the end of Season 11 but you have more of an impact on the world. There is a wide variety of tasks and the scenery is enjoyable rather than super taxing. More could have been done with the movie theme, though, as well as the location.

Season 12: Public Energy

Ending the Year 3 Pass is Season 12: Public Energy. Not Public Enemy or Pubic Energy. Based in North Carolina of the US, you get to help rebuild a nuclear plant and start a duck sanctuary. One of those is a lie.

With four maps (Pineline Bay, Reactive Zone, Flatland and Oviro Hills), it rivals Season 4 and Season 8 for size but not the skill or patience required to complete it. For better and for worse.

The truck roster in Season 12: Public Energy is a mixed bag. The MTB 8106 Rock Grinder is nothing special. The FEMM 37-AT, on the other hand, is one of the best trucks in SnowRunner. At least, when it comes to off-road prowess and sheer cargo capability. But not steering.

You really can sink tens of hours into the Year 3 Pass finale, with the breadth of tasks and clever map design helping make it good value for money.

On the flip-side, even with new vegetation types it can look samey and it is not hugely challenging. Personally, there is too much tarmac for my liking. However, the lack of farming seen in Season 8 makes it more palatable.

The Year 3 Pass also includes the Save the Day Vinyl Wrap Pack, which adds four vehicle skins. Released before any season, it offered a clue as to what to expect from the Year 3 Pass but now is purely aesthetic.

So is the Year 3 Pass best?

In summary, the Year 3 Pass is more accessible with some new gameplay mechanics to give it flavour. Variety is pretty strong, with tasks taking place across some of the highest, prettiest and most memorable scenery in SnowRunner thus far.

The Year 3 Pass is also good for trucks and has less back and forth than in, say, Yukon of the Year 1 Pass. However, the lower difficulty will not necessarily sit well with veterans of the Northern Aegis Installation.

Overall, I would say the Year 3 Pass is worth buying. I would probably choose it over the Year 2 Pass, especially as Season 7 is the weakest of all, but not necessarily over the Year 1 Pass. Unless, that is, you want a more peaceful journey.