Winter Survival
- March 6, 2024
- DRAGO entertainment
Get on Steam"Winter Survival" is a first-person survival game set in the snowy Mount Washington State Park. After being separated from your group during a hike, you must fight against harsh winter conditions, hunger, thirst, wildlife, and your own mind to reach an abandoned ranger station for help. The game offers dynamic combat, stealth, base building, and a unique sanity system, with multiple game modes and difficulties for varied experiences. Explore snow-covered forests, mountains, and frozen lakes while grappling with treacherous terrain and dangerous wildlife.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game has a lot of potential and offers a unique blend of survival mechanics reminiscent of 'The Long Dark' and 'Green Hell'.
- The developers are responsive to player feedback and have been actively updating the game, improving gameplay and fixing bugs.
- The graphics and atmosphere are immersive, creating a sense of realism in the cold wilderness.
- The game suffers from significant performance issues, including low frame rates and frequent crashes, making it nearly unplayable for some users.
- Many players find the combat mechanics frustrating and unresponsive, with issues like clunky animations and ineffective weapon use against wildlife.
- The crafting and inventory systems are convoluted and lack essential features, leading to a frustrating gameplay experience.
- story65 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 75 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The story in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it to be short and linear, often feeling constrained by quest-driven mechanics rather than enjoying an open-world experience. While some appreciate the atmosphere and voice acting, others express disappointment over the limited content and convoluted gameplay, especially given the game's long development time. Overall, players are hopeful for future updates to expand the story and improve the gameplay experience.
“I like the story so far and am excited to see what the future contains.”
“When playing it, it gives me shivers with intense background music, the graphics are amazing, and the storyline is engaging.”
“Overall, I'm looking forward to playing more of this and exploring more of the story and maybe a co-op in the future.”
“I was expecting this game to be an extremely cool open world survival game, but instead it's just a quest-driven survival game where you only get to do what the quests say.”
“Some bugs were expected, but after playing two hours, receiving a message about the end of the story for now was just a disappointing slap in the face.”
“The game being released in early access is fine and all, but with it only having one act after nearly 4 years of development time, this is what's most disheartening because I was truly expecting... or at least hoping... for a full story game.”
- gameplay46 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players enjoying the core mechanics and graphics, while others find the building mechanics clunky and the survival elements overly punishing. Many appreciate the unique environment and thoughtful mechanics, but express frustration with optimization issues and the pacing of certain gameplay features. Overall, while the foundation is solid, players are eager for improvements and polish to enhance their experience.
“The environment is different enough to be interesting on its own, but the actual survival mechanics and story are pretty solid too!”
“However, the core gameplay is solid and something I've been wanting for a while to help me scratch the long dark itch.”
“A few bugs and glitches as to be expected with an early access game, but the gameplay itself is incredible!”
“Very disappointing gameplay.”
“Building mechanics are very clunky and make it hard to move forward as you progress, frustrating to say the least.”
“Experiencing sluggish gameplay.”
- graphics32 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 34 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the stunning visuals and immersive environments, particularly after the update to Unreal Engine 5.3, which enhanced the overall quality. However, others report significant issues, including poor performance even on high-end hardware, leading to a frustrating experience. Overall, while many appreciate the graphical fidelity and dynamic elements, there are notable concerns regarding optimization and consistency.
“The graphics are amazing, you really feel the temperature and the weather playing this game.”
“The graphics are smooth and the many dynamic elements like moving auroras and vanishing hallucinations put the video card to work (Nvidia RTX 3080) but without any issues.”
“The visuals in this game are top-tier, and for the most part, it is decently optimized except around a few assets.”
“I have a 4000 series graphics card, ran all the settings on ultra and the game still looked poor.”
“Awful graphics.”
“The graphics had to be turned down on my PC so it wasn't stuttering, but they aren't bad.”
- stability22 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous users reporting frequent bugs, glitches, and performance issues that can make it nearly unplayable at times. While some players acknowledge that these problems are typical for an early access title and express hope for future fixes, many have experienced frustrating gameplay interruptions, such as freezing and loss of progress. Overall, the game is seen as incomplete and in need of substantial improvements to its stability.
“It has some good ideas and they have been working on it, but it's almost unplayable at times from being unclear or buggy.”
“The game is incomplete, has multiple glitches, no map system, kicks you to load screen whenever and all progress is lost and you cannot rearrange crafting stations once they are set down.”
“The game is buggy from A to Z.”
- optimization8 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews; while some players experience very poor performance even on the lowest settings, others note that the game is decently optimized for an early release, with high-quality visuals that only struggle around a few assets. Overall, the performance issues seem to vary significantly among users.
“Being an early release, the optimization isn't bad at all.”
“Very bad performance even on lowest settings.”
“The visuals in this game are top-tier, and for the most part, it is decently optimized except around a few assets.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game excessively tedious, with endless loops of resource gathering and crafting that hinder progress. The constant need for food and rest, combined with limited combat options, contributes to a frustrating experience that detracts from overall enjoyment. Many reviewers express strong dissatisfaction, recommending against the game due to its grind-heavy mechanics.
“Unlocking things through the adaptation system during endless mode is extremely tedious.”
“I cannot recommend this game: it is terribly grindy, you can barely go too far from the cabin because the character gets hungry/thirsty almost immediately, he gets tired after minutes of resting, and the combat options are horrible; the character can barely swing the axe.”
“After waiting more than a week for some bug fixes - since I liked the game itself - I decided to give the endless mode a go, but it's all about falling into an endless loop of grinding and dying because there's always something missing from your crafting list for survival needs.”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised, with exceptional lighting and sound design that enhance the overall experience, prompting players to pause and appreciate the visuals. While the story may be lacking, the focus on single-player gameplay effectively contributes to a strong sense of horror and immersion.
“The atmosphere, lighting, and sound design are great; I had to take some breaks to just take in the view.”
“The game is not multiplayer; however, I feel that is a good choice to build on atmosphere and horror.”
“The atmosphere is immersive and enhances the overall experience of the game.”
- music4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is highly praised for its intense and atmospheric quality, effectively evoking feelings of hopelessness and dread that complement the survival theme. Players report that the soundtrack enhances the overall experience, particularly during tense moments in the snowy forest setting.
“The music in the game is phenomenal; it actually makes you feel hopeless and dreadful, which is exactly what it should be doing when the player is stuck in a snowy forest trying everything they can to survive.”
“The music in the game is phenomenal; it actually makes you feel hopeless and dreadful, which is exactly what it should be doing when the player is stuck in a snowy forest trying everything they can to survive.”
“When playing, the intense background music gives me shivers; the graphics are amazing and the storyline is captivating.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by its clever portrayal of mental illness as a skill tree rather than a limitation, which many players find amusing and thought-provoking.
“On one hand, mental illness being a skill tree, not an impairment, is pretty funny.”
